Stephanie has a form of Colitis called Pancolitis. Pancolitis is:

Pancolitis is a form of Ulcerative Colitis that is very severe. Pan refers to the fact that the disease is spread throughout the large intestine. This is from the Cecum to the Rectum of the individual. Symptoms are very similar to those of any Ulcerative Colitis patient except more severe in nature. Additionally, people with pancolitis have a much greater risk of developing Colon Cancer. This is especially true when a patient has this chronic form of the disease for a great length of time, i.e. ten years and more. – WikiPedia

The interview starts with Stephanie explaining to us that she was nineteen ( 19 ) years old when she first started experiencing symptoms and was diagnosed. It was particularly hard for Stephanie given that she was away at college ( University ) when the symptoms started to occur. Stephanie walks us through each procedure that was done in order to determine that she had Pancolitis.

Stephanie’s journey did not become any easier after receiving the official diagnosis. In fact, it was just the opposite. Stephanie quickly realized that not only did she know very little about Inflammatory Bowel Disease, but a lot of the medical staff also had a poor understanding of it. After being on 26 pills per day to try and keep her IBD under control, nothing was putting her into remission.

Stephanie then found herself facing to have an emergency surgery. With the possibility of her rectum tearing from the large amount of inflammation over long periods of time she now has to have an ileostomy. The surgeries doesn’t stop there. She’ll have two more and eventually end up with a J-Pouch.

After watching this amazing interview, make sure you check out Stephanie White on Facebook

If you would like to comment or give feedback on this interview please do so on YouTube