Apparently I had a pretty classic case of Crohns, no doubt about it, but what the heck does that even mean? In my twelve-year-old brain I couldn't understand what this autoimmune disease was nor how it was affecting my body. After being diagnosed, it was a blur of doctor visits, medicines and hospitals. My life went from being normal, average and easy to very very complicated. I missed 58 days of school that year and most of those were half days, but I made it through. I remember taking 12 or 13 pills every morning. I wanted to pretend it wasn't happening and that I was still normal, but I reached the point when I couldn't keep pretending, I had to realize that my life was no longer normal.
I grew up a lot that year and had to learn how to deal with a life long illness. While other kids were learning about how to write and do fraction, I was learning about my autoimmune disease and immunosuppressant medication. I had to be careful what I ate, where I went and if there was a bathroom nearby at all times. In sixth grade, going to the bathroom was embarrassing and the fact that I was going 10-12 times a day was mortifying. But I got through it and since then have gotten accustom to going to the bathroom time and time again.
I don't remember a ton of the year I was diagnosed, but I do remember having to grow up and change. In just a few months, I went from being a normal child, to having a not so normal life.