I will never forget the moment I was given my diagnosis. I was lying in a bed recovering post Flexi Sig. merely expecting to be collected by the porter who had dropped me off at Digestive Diseases some time before. I certainly didn’t expect a consultant to be at my bedside offering information that would change my life. She was quite a young woman, with blonde hair. I can no longer see her face just a blurred mass beside me. What I do remember clearly is the file she had in her hand with photographs pinned to it. These photos showed some internal orifice which looked extremely red and bumpy. Turns out these were images of my colon. The red showed just how sore my insides had become and the bumpy bits were literally ulcers. No wonder I was in such agony.

Having explained that I had Ulcerative Colitis but not offering any detail on what this meant, the consultant then scared the living daylights out of me when she uttered the words ‘the surgeon will be along in a moment to talk to you’. I was literally petrified. The ‘moment’ it took for the surgeon to reach my bedside felt like eternity while I began to concern myself with what might happen next. The dark haired man that appeared, however, offered nothing but positive news. He told me that surgery is not off the cards with such a condition but that it was now a last resort with up and coming medications proving successful with many patients and that the team would do all they could to prevent surgery in the future.

With that, I was left to ponder over this diagnosis for a further two hours while I awaited the porter. My mother was waiting for me in my room and never have I wanted to get back to her to talk over what had happened so much in my life. However, during this long and painful wait I had a conversation with a lady in a bed opposite which I will never forget and which had a real positive impact on how I dealt with the diagnosis. She was recovering from her colonoscopy and told me she had suffered with UC from the age of 13. My guess would be that she is now in her mid forties. Realising that I was a newcomer to the IBD club she offered real encouragement through her own experiences.

What this lovely woman told me most importantly was that it was a condition that can be managed. She explained that she was now able to catch a flare in its early stages and that she could phone her GP, explain the situation, tell them what drugs she would take and for how long. In other words, she was now in control. She also stated that the worst thing I will encounter as a sufferer on a reasonably frequent basis was the colonoscopies that would now be a part of my life and would occur at least once every three years. The last piece of advice which has stuck in my head ever since was to try drinking Actimel on a daily basis as it contained bacteria that was beneficial to the gut. Interestingly, I have had Actimel in the fridge ever since my discharge from the hospital. Do I think it helps? I think it’s more the placebo effect but what I have discovered since is that we are all after a miracle cure and will all swear by something that we believe helps to either retain remission or curb the symptoms.

The journey back to my room was long and uncomfortable. I was made to be transported in a wheelchair which I felt was a little over the top but in hindsight was entirely necessary. My body was now seriously weak as I hadn’t eaten anything for days. This too was also probably a good thing as my body also couldn’t handle the bumpy surfaces the wheelchair was navigating and I found myself retching all over the place when I returned to my bed.

I remained entirely unaware as to what this whole new world would mean for me throughout the rest of my hospital visit. From the point of diagnosis 5 days post admission I was then required to stay a further 5 days while I had a course of IV steroids administered and during this time was merely left with a few leaflets about the condition and information about Crohns and Colitis UK. This is an amazing charity that has now become an important part of my life. They not only raise money for research but also offer the most comprehensive information not only on the conditions themselves but also help and advice on living with the disease.

In hindsight I can understand why the hospital didn’t bombard me with information at that moment in time. I already had enough to contend with what with a new diagnosis, a lot of pain, fatigue, antibiotics, steroids and new drugs I was told I would now have to take every day. Just getting through each day at this stage was enough. I was to learn more once I was discharged, assigned a consultant and offered an outpatients appointment.