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Greetings everyone,
I have created this fundraising page for two main reasons:1) To share my personal story & 2) Raise awareness for a wonderful cause
Before I begin, I would like everyone to know that this race really means a lot to me! As you read below, I really hope you understand why.
The story behind this race begins in 1994, the same year the Philadelphia marathon had begun. During that time, I was living in Palatka, FL. I remember myself as a really happy-go-lucky kid – enjoying sports, school, and all the other activities a fourth grader would. Back then, I never really noticed, but I would get sick more often than most of my other classmates. I went to the doctor frequently, but did not think too much of it. As the years progressed, the symptoms started getting worse. In addition to the nausea and vomiting that I typically experienced, I started having stomach aches. The pain would come at the oddest times, and I would have to lie down in order to alleviate the problem. It was sort of a mystery what was going on, and why I was having so many abdominal issues. Then, in 1998, I received “the news” that would change my entire life. The week before finding out, my parents and I drove up to Columbus Children’s Hospital so that I could get an endoscopy from one of the leading GI physicians in the area. The doctor took several biopsy samples from my colon and a pathologist analyzed them.
I was in school at the time when my parents found out the results. I remember that day as if it were yesterday; it was the first time I saw my mother cry. She broke the news to me in a muffled way, telling me that I had Crohn’s Disease. To be honest, I did not know exactly what that meant. So I lived my life, taking the medicine that the doctors prescribed. Thinking back, it was pretty amazing how compliant I was, especially since I had to take the pills six times per day. I continued without really associating myself with the condition. I started running my freshman year of high school, and noticed that the exercise helped ease the symptoms that I experienced with my illness. I joined the cross country team, and eventually progressed as the years went on. I was awarded the most valuable runner my sophomore year, and was varsity captain my senior year. It felt great to simply run.
My senior year of high school, when it came time to apply to colleges, I wrote about this sport and my illness in many of my essays. Though I did not tell others about it, living with Crohn’s Disease was a big part of my life. I used to read blogs online about other teenagers coping with this illness, and frequented the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation webpage. Once college began, and I was free from my parents, I was not as compliant with my medicine. Coincidently, I did not exhibit many of the symptoms I had once experienced before. So I started experimenting. I would take my medicine less frequently, and would see how I felt. This occurred my first two year of undergrad. Eventually, I got to a point where I completely weaned myself off the medication and felt “okay.” My disease was under remission. It was sort of strange, but I only informed my parents of this after I was completely off. Of course, they were ecstatic, but wanted to make sure that I was doing well without the medication. As the years went on, I would frequently give blood so that I could test for an indirect inflammatory marker. Though this was a nonspecific test, it still provided some clues as to my progress. I started thinking more about my illness and life in general as college was coming to a close.
Having a chronic illness, I always thought to myself that I would not live a full life. It was around my junior year that I started making some big life changes. I decided that summer before my senior year that I would postpone my application to medical school and take a year off to experience as much as I could outside of academia. In the time between graduating and starting medical school, I lived life abundantly. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to learn a new language, take classes through the School of Public Health, and travel around the globe. I began medical school last August. It was really exciting, as I was living my dreams. I have always wanted to become a physician, and I was on track. I kept myself busy while I was in school, and started re-introducing some of the habits that I felt I had deprived myself of in the years past. I started running again. It was a big leap, but I signed up for the Healthy Huntington half marathon last November. I trained very insufficiently, but surprisingly did very well in the race, placing third in my age-group. This fueled my motivation to continue to run. When 2009 began, I thought I would test my body to the extreme limits and do my first marathon. With a few other classmates, I signed up for the Pittsburgh marathon in May. I trained hard and stuck to my schedule. I got up to 19 miles by March, and felt great doing so.
Then…..the abdominal pains returned. With the stress of school, life, and running, I was pushing myself too much and too hard. I thought a break from running would help. When I returned back my regimen, I felt absolutely drained and fatigued. It felt sort of like an out-of-body experience. I decided that I would get a blood test and check the inflammatory marker. I got the results back, and all my body’s electrolytes were off -balance, in addition to there being substantial inflammation. I was really upset, and I decided that it would be best to go to a GI specialist. This was the first time I had gone back since high school, and I was uneasy about the situation. After doing a physical check up, the doctor advised me to get a full scope - colonoscopy and endoscopy- to get an idea of what was going on. My parents were really concerned, but praying for the best. I got the procedure done about a week before my birthday in April. (Ironically, as an aside, my 24th fell on the Bengali New Years Eve…the first time since I was born.) It takes about a week to get the biopsy results back. During that time, my mother was hoping that there was significance to my birthday overlapping with the Bengali calendar. So that Friday, a few days after turning 24, I got “the news” that would again change my life. I had NO clue what to expect, and was thinking the worst – colon cancer.
Instead, it was something miraculous. I looked at the scan, and it was completely clear! There was NO diagnosis of Crohn’s! Instead, the results indicated microscopic colitis, which would explain some of the symptoms [in addition, my doctor suggested for me to reduce my intake of dairy products, and that has also helped]. Despite the wonderful news, I was very ambivalent and unsure what to make of it. Part of me was very happy, but part of me felt confused as to how I lived half my life. Anyhow, I continued with school. Because I got behind academically with the activities in my life, I decided to cancel the marathon in order to give myself more time. I worked incredibly hard and finished on a positive note. Soon after, I went to Bangladesh. When I was there, I read 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days by my running hero, Dean Karnazes. In the book, there is a section on running for a cause. When reading it, flashbulbs went through my head! I knew I was upset that I could not run the race in Pittsburgh. Also, I felt as if the “the news” was unresolved.
So that is why I signed up for the Philadelphia marathon……
Philadelphia itself is an awesome city, the first place that my parents and I lived in the US.
I started training for the marathon early-August, and I am continuing to go strong. I hope you can help support my cause, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, and help the "the news" settle in.
Thank you for your time and attention.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me: rezwan13@gmail.com
-Rez
For more information about Crohn’s Disease, you can visit:
http://www.ccfa.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohn%27s_disease
https://www.google.com/health/ref/Crohn%27s+disease
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