My name is Matthew Powalie and I am 29 years old. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis when I was 21 and so I have been living with this disease now for 8 years. I cannot express how much this disease has interfered with my life, I have always been naturally thin but when I was diagnosed I began seeing changes one of which was more weight loss, I went from 155lbs to 130lbs within 2 months and for someone who is 6'2" you can only imagine. During this time I had also gone through a breakup and like for most people it can be depressing and can cause stress and anxiety, this period made my disease even worse. I couldn't eat anything because it would bother me and I would find blood in my stool which was very scary. When I would express my fear and my pain to my friends and family no one would take me seriously, everyone thought I was exaggerating about how I felt and how many times a day I would have to be on the toilet and how bad my stomach pains actually got. This ended up in me losing many people in my life who I thought were my friends and that made me feel even worse. In 2015 I started doing crossfit and found a great community of people who were so positve and I think was one of the few things that gave me hope that maybe my disease didn't have to dominate me. After starting crossfit I gained 30 lbs and I felt great. Since I was diagnosed I have had colonoscopies every year and for those of you who know what that's like you know it is a horrible and painful experience. I got married in 2017 and I had my wife help me with healthier options for me to have and my weight climbed up to 170lbs which for me was incredible! Then about 4 months ago I went through a period of stress and my flares came back, this time with revenge. I can sometimes need to use the restroom about 6-10 times on a good day and 15-20 times on a bad one. I guess I should also mention that I drive about an hour to work every day and with this urgency it can take me 2-3 hours to get to work. I have been taking medication since I got diagnosed and now i'm back on steroids which have horrible side effects and aren't even helping, I keep going back to my gastro but all they keep doing is continue giving me more drugs and it can be frustrating. I wan't to be rid of this disease so that I can live a normal daily routine without having to worry about this urgency and pain. I am reaching out to anyone who would be kind enough to help me through this journey and be a part of my healing this horrible disease, if no funds can be donated prayers are just as good!
