Welcome, Friend!

Thank you for stopping by and being part of my healing journey. I trust you were lead to look at my story for a reason and I am so very grateful that our paths have crossed here. 

If you don't already know me, my name is Janessa Botticelli and I have been struggling with Crohn's/Colitis since 2016. 

For years I have kept my struggle with this illness relatively private. My close family and friends know better what my real story has been, but I'm typically a person that likes to keep a smile on their face despite the pain I have felt physically. I learned a long time ago that you can be in pain and miserable or you can be in pain and still love and appreciate the good things that continue in the midst of it. Not to say I'm always perfect at having that outlook, but that's the outlook that I believe God has given me to make it this far. But before I get in too deep, let me explain some things so you have better context.

What is Crohn's and Colitis? Crohn's is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the lining of my digestive tract and Colitis is chronic inflammation more specific to my colon. 

What does that really mean in someone's day to day life though? 

Well, for me it has meant a long and intense battle for my life ever since my first ever hospital visit (but certainly not my last) at the age of 24 over Christmas week the next year. I was in severe abdominal pain that I had described to the doctors as a red hot rake scraping across my intestines, I had blood in my stool and I was weak from malnourishment and dehydration. It was clear that my life had come to a major and permanent shift. Over the next 9 months my weight dropped from 189 lb to 110 Ib. I went from wishing I could lose weight to looking like I had anorexia, because my body just couldn't get enough nutrition from my food due to decreased appetite and the constant painful ulcer injuries in my intestines. 

Then my third major hospital stay that year happened. I was using a walker to visit the bathroom 20+ times a day (it felt like I lived there). Eventually I wasn't able to walk to the bathroom at all and had to use other methods that I won't get into too much detail about. I was even more malnourished than my first visit and my family and the doctors were very worried that I wouldn't live this time. I wasn't even able to move my own legs or lift my head very well without the help of the nurses. I felt so helpless. This hospital experience is a story all its own, but for the sake of not making this intro a whole book, I'm going to do a little time skipping. 😉

I survived (Surprise! 😆), but as you can imagine this quality of life is not what I had planned or imagined for my 20's and 30’s. Over the following years I tried many different medications available. Unfortunately, I found that my body does not tolerate them well at all and instead of helping, they make my Crohn's/Colitis worse in the long run, adding even more complications to my condition (such as severe rashes, increased bleeding and pain, sensory sensitivity and so on). It was clear early on that I had to set aside my successful medical massage business that I had been running for 6 years at that point. My body quite simply wouldn't let me stay out of bed for very long and there was no way I would have been able to get through a session professionally with one of my main symptoms being the need to frequent the bathroom 20+ times a day. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, I was extremely depressed. I felt like my life and dreams had suddenly been stripped away from me and all that I could do was pray for guidance, a gentle spirit despite the temptation to be bitter and to keep a sound mind through the persistent pain that was constantly wearing away at me.

Then one day, through what I believe was a divine appointment, my mother bumped into a friend at the store that she hadn't spoken with in some time. This friend lead my mom to an Integrative Health NP who knew more about balancing and helping the body to heal itself with a more natural lifestyle. This information came not a day too soon, I could feel myself declining again and I was terrified of another hospital stay. I cried with relief when she made a special appointment to see me that week. There was hope! That was a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time. 

Since that day, I have found that the more natural way of helping my body has been the right path for me. My body accepts it better than the pharmaceuticals I was very intolerant and allergic to. If the typical medicines work well for you and you are able to live a full and normal life with them, that's wonderful and you should do what is best for you. I have simply found the most effective and gentle way to help my own body is the more natural path.

Since working with my Integrative Health NP, I have seen huge improvements and I have not had to be admitted to the hospital since. I already know that this is something that really works for me. 

"So why are you here if you found what works" you ask? 

While I know that this is what I want to do, and I have been able to keep myself out of the hospital, I am still not well enough yet to hold down a job or even be able to participate in many life events because of my constant systemic inflammation. I experience daily extreme muscle and joint pain, still (but less) frequent visits to the bathroom (10+ times a day), as well as uveitis and other complications caused by long term inflammation. This is due to a couple of things I am still lacking, but the good news is, I believe that with your help, that can all still change!  

The first thing I knew I needed was someone who knew more and had more experience with Crohn's/Colitis themselves. This is because, even though my NP is super amazing, both of us came to a point in my treatment where we didn't know how to make a sustainable lifestyle that would ideally keep me on my feet long term. So, I started looking through more lectures on YouTube, different diet programs, lifestyle institutes, until I finally found what I was looking for, Crohn's & Colitis Lifestyle (CCL). This company is comprised of mostly people who live with Crohn's or Colitis just like me! They are using their individually tailored lifestyle plans to manage their condition and live amazing lives again! They give personal coaching, recipes, and work with your doctor to help educate you both in finding the solution that will work best for you. To say I'm super excited to have found this company would be an understatement. There are already hundreds of testimonials from others who have gone through their SHIELD program. It’s so refreshing to find a group like this that knows exactly what I’m going through. The kindness and understanding I have already been shown during the information call I had with the staff has only solidified that this is something I really want to try for myself.

The big hiccup in this plan forward is finances. I have not been able to work except for an odd job here and there when I am physically well enough. I have been surviving due to the support of my amazing, understanding retired parents. This has made money very tight for them as well, so we are not able to afford the program, quality supplements and medical tests needed for this everything to work its best, on our own. Unfortunately, insurance will not cover most of this either, so that leaves us in a very tight stop. 

My goal of $5,000 will help purchase the lifetime membership into CCL itself, personal coaching, education, supplements and medical tests, all the while still allowing my family to afford the payments due for our basic life necessities such as food, utilities, our home and any medical visits of their own parents need.

I know that this is the next positive step into this journey with Crohn's for me and I would be honored if you decided to be a part of it, big or small.  

I have made a private Facebook group for those of you who feel so inclined to contribute and wish to follow my story. I hope to see you there! Click Here: Help Janessa Live Again (Next livestream event at April 30th at 10am EST!)

May your day be filled with blessings and lots of smiles!

Janessa