Posted by Fizza Khan on March 30, 2022
Hi! My name is Fizza, and I am 17 years old. I was diagnosed in March 2021 with Crohn’s disease. One interesting thing people don’t know about me is that I love to do makeup. It’s like therapy to me.
My greatest obstacle with IBD was the Crohn’s Disease Exclusion Diet. That thing was torture for me. I’m not trying to be ungrateful or anything, but I ate the same bland food every single day for six months. It was tough because I didn’t have the urge to eat anything, but I had to eat everything that was in the diet so the treatment would work. It used to take me about three hours to eat eight small chicken pieces every day. Because I had to bring my food everywhere, my friends and family felt guilty eating restaurant/junky food around me. I felt bad because I did not want them to feel that way, but I couldn’t do anything about it.
During that time, I always thought positively and told myself that I had to be patient because, in the end, good things will come when you are patient. As it turned out, after all that, my doctor told me that the diet wasn’t working and that my inflammation wasn’t getting any better. He decided to give me an entyvio infusion. I was really scared at first because I didn’t really know what an infusion was. I received my first infusion when I was admitted to the hospital (for the second time). Honestly, the infusion was the best thing that happened to me after those six months. Getting infusions every eight weeks has made me feel like a normal person again! Now, when I look back at those six months, I am glad I was patient because right now, I am finally in a good place!
I was attracted to the PAC because I could meet and relate to people who go through the same struggles as me. Talking to someone who shares similar battles makes me feel like I am not alone. Being a part of the PAC has brought me this comfort and warmness because everyone is so welcoming. I feel like I can just rant to them all day about how I am feeling, not only with IBD-related things, but other things too. My goal with the PAC and ImproveCareNow is to connect with many people and become more involved 🙂Â
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