Personal Narrative: My Life With Crohn's Disease

I have struggled my entire life with Crohn’s Disease. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s as a very young child and have spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital as my doctors have tried to control my disease. I have had major surgeries from Crohn’s but thankfully my condition has stabilized.

Prior to entering Bloomfield Hills High School, I attended the East Hills Middle School, Eagle Creek Academy, Way Elementary and Eton Academy. Because I missed so much school as a result of Crohn’s, I had to attend a few different schools to help me catch up with the rest of the students. As I went to East Hills Middle School, I was able to get the help I needed through Directed Studies. East Hills Middle School benefitted me with improving test scores and having additional time to talk with the teachers If I was having trouble on an assignment. One subject I was really good at while I was in middle school was math since I loved solving equations. East Hills Middle school provided me with enough content to prepare me through Bloomfield Hills High School.

I have needed additional support throughout the years and thankfully my family has been by my side to help me through my difficult times. My mom would stay at home with me to make sure I was well enough to go back to school instead of going to meetings.

While I enjoy sports, my disease has kept me from gaining the necessary weight to participate in most sports.

Thankfully, I learned about Wrestling which allows you to participate against other students that are similar in weight. This allowed me to earn a varsity letter in both my freshman and sophomore year and my parents bought me a letter jacket for this accomplishment which I wear with great pride. Other activities I generally enjoy are skiing since I love winter sports. During the winter, I would go to Mt. Holly with my friends and ski down the mountains. This year, I look forward to doing both wrestling and skiing to enjoy myself and have

fun.

Because of my Crohn’s disease, I have missed a lot of school throughout the years and as a result, struggled with grammar and I am not a very strong reader. Hopefully, this year in English I’ll gain knowledge about Reading strategies, insight on the Sat but also what it’s like to grow as an individual from the beginning to the end of the year. However, accomplishing these goals take lots of time and effort so I must stay continues with my work and not fall behind. If I manage to fall behind, I would be able to contact my teacher through email, Advisory or set up an appointment sometime during school.