Hannah King Hannah J King

We're not sure how or why but I have an unhealthy colon. Looking back I started to get a small belly in the spring of 2011 and we just took it as my body changing as I was hitting puberty. Over the years no matter what I ate or how I exercised I always had a small belly and would get stomach aches often. I started to lose my appetite in June 2015. During that month I started eating less and less besides not being able to go to the bathroom. By mid-July my stomach was pretty big and hard, you could thump it and it sounded like a watermelon. The morning of July 23 my mom took me to the hospital for a simple test which led to a procedure which led to being admitted for observation to being medevac by the late afternoon the following day. LeBonheur Children's Hospital became home to my parents and I for the next 18 days. I left with a flat stomach and 20 lbs/72 cm less of my colon. Within months instead of feeling better I began feeling bad again and getting a belly.


Every month from August 2015 until March 2016  (except September when  my aunt Michelle died and we went to Florida) I went  back to  Memphis to see my pediatric gastroenterologist with LeBonheur to have tests done to  see how to proceed.


By March 2016 I was referred to one of the top pediatric gastroenterology hospitals in the country, Cincinnati Children's Hospital.  We made the day drive each way in April, May, June, July, August and December.  In June I was in the hospital for 5 days for a procedure and in July for 15 days  when I had surgery to remove another 10 cm of my colon.  In December I had a good post-op check-up which was followed up in July 2017 with a good 12 month post-op check-up.
 
I was still having issues off and on but was able to maintain a somewhat normal lifestyle. On October 30, 2017 abdominal pain came out of nowhere and I ended up being taken to the Florida Hospital in Winter Park by ambulance. I spent 6 days in the hospital and had another surgery. My colon is very large and was stretched, kinked and hanging heavy in one area.


I am currently recovering from surgery and hoping the adjustments made will keep my colon where it's supposed to be and not give me such pain and discomfort. Only time will tell if this was my last surgery on my colon.