He thought he was suffering from stress, but he had a terrible disease: he was given 24 hours to live
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gruponacion/RLY4SCUXJBDXLLCBI6SRN5MOL4.png)
Victoria Danson’s story has become a social media example as she has beaten a potentially fatal illness and is now helping more people with her condition after launching a fund called Supporting Crohn’s and Colitis in Lancashire.
When she was 18, she began to experience excruciating stomach pains and fatigue, but at the time she thought it was stress, working 60-hour weeks and hanging out with friends on the weekends.
In a post on his foundation’s Instagram, he commented that he also went to the bathroom up to 20 times a day and felt like something was wrong. After deciding to seek medical attention, he was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gruponacion/RLY4SCUXJBDXLLCBI6SRN5MOL4.png)
However, a year later, doctors diagnosed him with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease. “I was like this for about 12 months before I had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease,” she commented on the post.
She added: “At first I refused to admit it and thought the medicine would cure me and my life revolved around the bathroom and the hospital became my second home, I felt so alone and I had no one to talk to so I suffered in silence.”
This disease led to the development of an abscess in her abdomen, which was fatal. Doctors gave him 24 hours to live as a life-threatening infection swept through his body and required urgent surgery.
Victoria recalls that this abscess was located near her ovaries and there was a possibility that it could burst, which could lead to loss of fertility. During the procedure, he was removed about 45 centimeters of the intestine.
“I woke up in the intensive care unit and immediately felt better, but I was very weak and lost all my muscle mass. He had a catheter, he was on oxygen support and a machine with morphine for pain, ”he said in the publication.
READ MORE: 6-year-old girl being carried on a stretcher dies after being crushed by a hospital elevator
After the operation in 2014, Victoria had to radically change her life. “At first I didn’t think I could live on and I had no idea how I would continue to be active,” he told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
In that sense, she was forced to change her diet due to her condition. Also, do the important inner work of accepting your new life.
Despite the difficulties, Victoria managed and became the mother of a boy who is now seven years old. On top of that, he wanted to give back to his community, which is why he even started his own support group, Cron and Colitis for Lancashire, where he supports hundreds of people with his condition.
In addition, he organizes seminars at universities to tell others about his illness.
“I am living proof that with the right mindset, you can still achieve your goals no matter what, but always see your doctor if you are unsure. It could save your life,” he concluded.