Overcoming IBD:  “I am bigger than my Crohn’s disease.”

Like most high school seniors, Camden Vassallo of Norwell has a very busy schedule. The 17-year-old Thayer Academy student manages a heavy academic schedule, works at the local YMCA, is a two-sport, three-season athlete and is looking ahead to college. But like nearly 800,000 children and adults in the U.S., Camden is also managing Crohn’s disease — a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The condition causes intense stomach pain, diarrhea, fatigue, bloody stool and weight loss in severe cases. Although the disease has uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing symptoms, Camden says Crohn’s hasn’t slowed him down or shaken his optimism. “At first I struggled with having a disease that deals with a gross part of the body,” he says. “But Crohn’s doesn’t consume me and I don’t let it control my life.” The season of change During the winter of 2015, Camden was healthy and in the midst of a busy season of athletics and academics. But that January, something changed. Stomach pain, diarrhea and frequent urges to go the bathroom became part of his daily routine. “It initially started as a bloated feeling, but after a few months it took a turn for the worse really fast,” he recalls. Camden also experienced a rare symptom of Crohn’s disease called orofacial granulomatosis (OFG) — a chronic inflammatory condition of the mouth that often causes mouth sores. “I also had cold sores in my mouth and inflammation throughout my ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Athos Bousvaros Crohn's disease IBD Inflammatory Bowel Disease Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center Source Type: news