“Food makes my organs flare up daily.”
IMAGINE IF EATING MADE YOU ILL EVERY DAY, LIKE ASHLEY. NOW THIS
BRAVE 18-YEAR-OLD IS WORKING ON A CAREER IN FOOD PREPARATION.hen I was eight years old,
types of food made me unw
Eating was causing me terrib
pain, excruciating at times and
after weeks of suffering I was sent
to hospital. To investigate, they
told me I was going to have to have a camera put inside my body,
like some kind of sci-fi experiment and although it made me very
scared, it seemed like the doctors already knew what was wrong.
It was Crohn’s disease. It’s an
autoimmune disease that causes my
digestive organs to become inflamed.
I never wanted it to start a bad relationship with food or my
body but living with Crohn’s has meant living with constant and
unpredictable flare-ups when I eat.
My disease got particularly bad when
I was 11. I stopped eating altogether
because it was too painful.I didn’t grow
a single centimetre or gain any weight. Over three years I had
to miss eight months of school, spend 12 weeks in hospital
and eventually have eight centimetres of my bowel removed in
a particularly gruelling operation.
During one nasty flare-up my weight plummeted to
a dangerous weight and I had to wear a nasal-gastric tube to feed
my body with the essential nutrients it needed to survive.
Returning to school, I was scared that
I would be bullied for being different.of my classmates didn’t know what Crohn’s disease was or
understand why I had to wear a feeding tube. While all my friends
had been complaining about homework I was just wishing I could
be back at school instead of completing my homework from
a hospital bed. I was jealous of their very ‘normal’ lives.
Thankfully everyone was really
supportive. In fact, my friends were my
lifesavers.They would help me carry my bag and books when
I was weak and best of all, they treated me just like everyone else.
This meant the world to me because I was going through such
a hard time and I couldn’t have coped with any teasing.
Obviously food hasn’t always been such a good friend to me. On
the bad days I can be in agonising pain – there have been days when
I wake up and literally can’t walk. But Crohn’s is chronic, meaning
that it’s lifelong and there’s no cure, so I’ve learned how to deal with
it in the best way for me.
It’s been 10 years since my diagnosis
and I’m actually learning how to be
a cook.Go figure! A few years ago I discovered my love
for food preparation. During a work experience placement at
a really cool patisserie, I was offered an apprenticeship in food
before training in hospitality.
It’s ironic that I enjoy serving food when it has caused me so
much pain in the past but the thing is,I’m never going
to let my disease stop me from living
my life to the fullest– even if I can’t always eat the
delicious food I prepare.Ineverwanted
[crohn's]tostart
abadrelationship
withfoodor
mybody.
Despite how hard it can
be, I try to live a normal life.TO
FIND OUT
MORE ABOUT
CROHN’S DISEASE
AND IBD, VISIT
OWNYOURIBD.
COM.AUgirlfriend.com.au 53 girlfriendMAGAS TOLD TO
BECKY FREETH