I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis at the early age of 5, but I'm pretty sure I had it from day one.  I experienced flare ups maybe once or twice a year lasting for a month or longer.  Always off and on with the Steroids for months at a time.  That never stopped me from day dreaming and finding my true passion.  If you asked my mother she would tell you she always knew I would be a fireman someday.  She even hung on to the little fire engine with Ernie from Sesame Street that I used to play with non stop when I was 3 or 4.  In Nursery school my teacher told my mother every time a fire engine or ambulance went by with its sirens blasting, no matter what we were doing I would get up and run to the window.  I never truly felt like a "normal" kid growing up though.  Throughout junior and senior high school I struggled with depression and the daily anxiety of whether or not I would be able to make it to the bathroom in time in case my UC flared up.  To the point that I would fake being ill some days so I could stay home "just in case".  I dated girls over the years, even with the steroid induced swollen chipmunk face.  There was a point in my life I think when I was 16 that I felt absolutely hopeless.  I think the only thing that got me through that period was my supportive and loving family and friends.

     I definitely would not have predicted I would be where I am today 10 years ago...  I mean I could barely get my stomach under control enough to go to a few classes how could I possibly save somebody from a burning building and put a fire out??  I used marijuana to cope with my emotional pains, while that helped at the time it didn't in the long run.  One day I realized that I really need to get my life back on track, this is MY life not my Colitis life!  I have spent the last 6 years working as a Paramedic in one of the most dangerous cities in America. (its on the list I'm not making it up, haha.)  Thanks to my family, eating a little better, working out daily, taking vitamins, and my Remicade treatment every 7 weeks I have been able to make a difference in other peoples lives.  And it honestly puts everything into perspective for me.  Having IBD SUCKS.  But it could always be worse! a LOT worse!  I have gotten past the anxieties of going out into public and I know others can too you just have to fight the fears!  I am not the strongest guy out there, to this day I'm still a little bit in shock that I made it through the firefighting academy last year.

      I have always been made fun of for my skinniness, but it doesn't bother me.  Cause when it came down to it, this 140 pound guy carried the same 180 pound dummy everybody else had to to become a firefighter.  Living in a dorm with 28 other guys(and only 3 toilets), up at 5 am every day, working out for an hour and a half, running a couple of miles, then spending the next 8 hours learning how to be a firefighter!  If you had told me I was gonna do that at 16 I would've have told you, you were nuts.  My joints hurt almost every single day for those 3 and a half months.  But it was all worth it, because I had my goal and I was willing to do whatever I needed to to reach it.  Tylenol and Bengay were my best friends then.  I am now a paid city firefighter and a paramedic and I love every minute of it.

     I chased down my dreams and I know others on here can too.  We just need to fight a little harder for it.  And on a side note, people with OUT IBD have accidents out in public just as much if not more then we do...  so you don't have to feel so different, I have plenty of stories from the last 6 years!