1st Hospitalization

It was the fall of 1998, I had my real estate license and was starting a new job. At work, I started to feel ill so I ate some crackers to settle my stomach. However, I ended up in the bathroom, sick from both ends. I had to call my mother to pick me up. Once home she convinced me to go to the hospital.

We lived close to the University of Michigan so rather than going to the county hospital we went to the university hospital. That was probably one of the best choices I made.

My first hospitalization changed me. It was an eye opener. It made the reality of Crohn’s sink in a bit. Not only did I meet the first fellow Crohn’s and Cannabis patient; the first hospital admission is also what I consider the true starting point. From that point I would not have a “normal” life ever again.

It was during my first hospitalization that a fellow patient shared with me how cannabis helped with her own Crohn’s battle. I’ll admit, in the beginning, even I questioned if this was just an excuse. I’ll never forget how she opened my mind to the possibility of cannabis as a treatment. She shared with me her experience and her positive attitude helped me to look at this illness and believe I could overcome it.

Though we were only friends or associates for a short time she taught me a lot about my life and situation. During that hospitalization I saw a glimpse of my own future. I was at a point in life where I had graduated high school but wasn’t ready to start college. She had her support circle; and I remember someone bringing her homework and books up to the hospital.

Though I didn’t know it then, that is what my future would look like. Having someone who had a little experience with Crohn’s as a roommate during my first hospitalization helped me to have a positive attitude towards my future. There would be time when the emotion of the situation can be overwhelming; having a hospital roommate during my first stay with experience helped me to keep from freaking out and believe I could indeed live with this illness.

However, I ended up in the hospital at the University of Michigan. The first time I was admitted through the emergency room they assigned me a doctor and started tests, including a colonoscopy. My first mistake was telling the doctor I had been diagnosed with Crohn’s and my second mistake was focusing on the pain. 

It will forever be my steadfast belief, that doctor, did not read the test results. I believe she treated me based on what I told her a previous doctor said. I was truly offended when I got my medical records and found over an eight month period this doctor’s repeatedly reporting after each appointment “patient appears more debilitated that test results show” because she never did any tests beyond the first colonoscopy.