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 Several years ago, I began a journey to reclaim my life. Believe it or not, you’ve been an important part of that journey.
In 2001, after many years of declining health, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a debilitating condition that can lead to life-threatening complications. I was referred to the Inflammatory Bowel Disease clinic at OHSU, where my path toward a healthier life began.
OHSU is renowned for being part of the cutting-edge of medical knowledge. It’s a place where you’re among young people with fresh ideas and new perspectives who are learning from some of the best medical minds in the country. It’s also a place that values the individual above all else.
For me, OHSU is about the people I came to cherish from my experience: it’s Dr. Judy Collins, my gastroenterology specialist, who held my hand and laughed and cried with me every step of the way; it’s Dr. Karen Deveney, my surgeon, who cared enough to come to my wedding two years later; it’s the medical resident who visited me so diligently each day at 4 am; it’s Vicki Jakovec and Susan Schenk, the nurses who took so much time to sit with me and my family as I began the transition home. It wasn’t an easy road to get there. It took almost six months and required four surgeries to complete.
Today, I watch my diet carefully, exercise five times a week, and feel healthier than I did before I even knew I was sick. I’m enjoying the wonderful rewards of my career directing a YMCA childcare center that serves as many as 80 children per day. None of it would have been possible without my journey to OHSU.
OHSU is also about you. Your support makes this special place, and journeys like mine, possible.
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