I first found out I had Crohn’s disease six months before I entered high school, although I knew something was wrong with me years before. My tween and early teenage years were plagued with stomach pains, fatigue, malnourishment, and a constant need to go to the toilet. To cope, I always identified the closest restroom and became encyclopedic on every bathroom in southeastern New Hampshire. At school, I was on a first name basis with all the custodians, who were really the only ones who knew just how severe my illness was. In class kids would make fun of me for always leaving and occasionally the teacher would accuse me of trying to skip class.
At the onset of eighth grade, I was a puny five feet and a measly sixty pounds. The problem with
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One pill would make me feel hungry, another injection gave me nausea. The only feeling that stayed the same was an overwhelming exhaustion. For weeks at a time it would be a struggle to get out of bed and I consistently missed classes, tests, and homework. I kept my struggle a secret from classmates and teachers for fear of being asked to take a med-leave where many students never came back. The high-stress, high-intensity environment at Phillips Exeter Academy took its toll on my health and prolonged my suffering. My parents, doctor, and even some family-friends even held an intervention to get me to drop out for my own good. I stubbornly refused. In one three month period, I missed nearly every Monday and Tuesday. I took both days off just so I could recover from a potent injection of Methotrexate, a drug typically reserved for patients receiving chemotherapy.
One medication my doctor suggested nearly killed me. After taking the drug, I developed a temperature of 107 degrees, even when I took fever suppressants the temperature never faltered. I received all of my care at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, a three hour drive into northern New Hampshire. The drive took double as it occurred during a typical New England blizzard. When I reached the hospital my physician gave me another dose, thinking it would remedy the situation. I don’t remember the rest of the night, according to my dad I dipped in and out of consciousness for