Marina is 22 years old and lives in the northern suburbs of Chicago. She was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and has been living with it for a 1 year and 2 months. She shares her story on instagram marina.gendek21 "It has been up and down rollercoaster (lately its been mostly up). Before I was diagnosed with this disease, I was probably hiding the symptoms for 6 months. It all started out in my senior year of high school, which is when I got symptoms of fatigue and upset stomachs from certain foods I ate. I had a well healthy diet mixed with some days burger and fast foods, but that was normal. I had never told anyone and didn't think there was a doctor in these sort of circumstances. Until I went to see my physician and told her what I was experiencing and gave me a referral to a Colorectal Surgeon and wanted to do a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Time passed and doing the prep mixtures I had to drink the night before to clear and clean out my entire colon was a terrible experience. After days of my procedures, I was referred to a Gastroenterologist because I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. My GI doctor had met me in my colonoscopy and in my first visit with him. He is a very friendly doctor and had told me all this information about this disease. He gave me resources to learn more about it in the crohnsandcolitisfoundation.org and I was shocked and knowing that I was not alone in this crazy journey I was going to start. I am also a student at the University of Illinois in Springsfield studying Business Administration with a minor in Marketing, hoping to help and strive businesses in the future! I am striving my best to reach and connect to people today who also battle this chronic illness and letting them know that they are not alone and together we all stand out to advocate to the public that you should never hide from this disease but make yourself visible! So I thank my family and friends for supporting me through this journey I am so grateful, it's a true blessing! <3"
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