Justin was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when he was 15 years old. In October 2016, he underwent his first surgery, thanks to major Crohn's inflammation and a resulting bone infection in his sacrum area. His surgeon removed about a foot of his small intestine, a bit of his colon and gave him a temporary colostomy (bag). Following the surgery, he underwent several weeks of IV antibiotics to try to beat the bone infection, but it didn't work. The bone infection is considered "encapsulated" and "inactive," but it remains an obstacle in his care.
February 13, 2018 brought his second surgery. Two new surgeons worked on him to remove some more of his diseased rectum, reconnect his colon to his small intestines and give him a temporary ileostomy (bag). The ileostomy will still divert his intestines, letting the reconnection heal, then go back in for a later surgery to reverse the ileostomy.
The other piece of the February surgery was this bone infection. The orthopedic surgeon went under the rectum to remove as much of the infection he can, and placed antibiotic beads on the sacrum to try to kill the infection.
The October 2018 surgery is the last piece of the puzzle. The hope is to reverse the ileostomy so Justin can live without the bag! Crohn’s will always be a part of his life and a battle, but there is hope for some normalcy.
If you would like to read more details and history about his Crohn's journey, go here:
http://wanderinglavignes.com/2017/01/24/inflamed-yet-untamed-my-crohns-story_24/Also, a good mailing address for Justin's in Denver is 300 Hudson Street Unit 208 Denver CO 80220.
Otherwise, we will do our best to keep family and friends informed on this CaringBridge website. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.