Light It Up Fundraiser

In 2010, when I was 24 years old, I began to feel pains in my stomach that were unlike anything I had experienced before. Three months later, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis - an autoimmune disease in which your body attacks your colon. There is a higher prevalence of this disease in Jewish people and a disproportionately higher risk in Jewish women - and now I was one of those statistics.

For about a year, oral medications kept my disease under control, but shortly afterwards, I began my journey on biological medications. For three years I would go to the hospital for an infusion every eight weeks for thirty minutes. This was a blessing compared to what many people with this disease experienced. I felt lucky.

That was until March of 2020, right before COVID plagued our planet. The pain came back with a vengeance, and for a year my doctors tried medication after medication. From biologics to steroids, we tried everything just to get me through the day. Usually by the end of the workday I would be at home, in the fetal position, screaming from the pain. But what broke my heart more was that I did not want my two-year-old son to witness any of it. My whole family stepped up, bringing him to fun events all around Long Island, but I was missing all of it.

After a year of living like this, my doctor said the words I was dreading - that I would need to have my entire colon removed or I would not survive. This would be a three-part surgery, over five months, in which I would live with an ostomy bag. The dread and fear I felt as I left the surgeon's office left me in a haze.

September of 2021 was the first surgery, in which the colon was completely removed. I woke up, and for the first time in a year, I had zero pain. My body could finally relax, and I could spend time with my son as much as I wanted. Except, there was a complication, and within a week I was back in the hospital with a pulmonary embolism. When I returned home with blood thinners, I had to balance the emotional toll of living with an ostomy bag and the physical toll of recovering from this extensive procedure.

In December of 2021, it was time for the second surgery, in which they would reconstruct my small intestine so that it could replace some of the functioning of the colon. After this surgery, I began to truly understand the brutality of surgery. I was beginning to feel like a butcher's board. And once again, after a week at home, there was a complication. I had an obstruction and was back at the hospital. But when I returned home I did my best to keep my eye on the prize. The third surgery would allow the doctor to permanently remove the ostomy bag.

It continued for months, and there was a chance that after all of that, I would need to live with an ostomy bag again. But I was connected with an incredible doctor who not only helped me get better, but also supported me through getting pregnant again - a dream we thought might have been gone for good.

After getting pregnant, the pain came back, and my team of doctors decided it was time to put me back on biologics. I thought I was done with those medications, but it was necessary. And in 2024, my husband and I welcomed our second baby boy. The medications were working, I had two beautiful boys, and we were thriving.

Yet five months later, I was back in the emergency room. I could not believe it - this was not possible. Strangely, after ten hours, the pain was gone. I thought maybe it was a small obstruction, and the doctors were unsure what happened. But when it happened a second time, my surgical team decided to do exploratory surgery. As it turned out, my new small intestine was wrapping around itself. This happens a small percent of the time - but hey, I was a statistic again.

This all sounds terrifying, and every time I relive this story, I still get scared. But guess what - I am pregnant again, with another boy. I am healthy, the healthiest I have been in years in fact.

Through all of this, my husband - my absolute rock and champion - my parents, my in-laws, my brother and his family, my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, and my friends supported me and my family. I learned through this journey just how strong I can be. I learned that my husband is the most selfless, giving man I have ever known. I learned that through darkness, great joy can come in the form of smiling children. I learned that those who love you will never judge you. And I learned that there is a large community of people just like me out there who can all benefit from doctors who are committed to the cause and from research that continues to bring better medications, more sophisticated surgery, and - hopefully one day - a cure.