Patience Is a Virtue

Eosinophilic (ee-uh-sin-uh-fil-ik) esophagitis (EoE)A recognized chronic allergic/immune condition. A person with EoE will have inflammation of the esophagus. The esophagus is the tube that sends food from the mouth to the stomach. Teenagers and adults most often have difficulty swallowing, particularly dry or dense, solid foods. The esophagus can narrow to the point that food gets stuck. This is called food impaction.

Currently, the only way to diagnose EoE is with an endoscopy and biopsy of the esophagus. An endoscopy is a medical procedure that lets your doctor see what is happening in your esophagus. During a biopsy, tissue samples will be taken and analyzed. If you are diagnosed with specific food allergies after prick skin testing and patch testing your doctor may remove specific foods from your diet. In some individuals, this helps control their EoE. Although there are a few ways to help maintain a healthy balance

The summer of 2018, I was granted with a summer of reflection and discovery. This was an unwelcoming happenstance in which changed the perspective of pain and call-to-action. A summer full of children laughing dancing and having fun in another state with new experiences in action and everything was in place but the immune system had other plans. What was once an accident landing a seventh grader in the emergency room after toughing it out to be strong and not let people see the pain hidden beneath quickly turned into an autoimmune disorder that would explain the inability to digest several foods and give excuses while turning to accuse people of ableist language. Although this was an unfortunate event that took place, research allowed me to figure out how to cope with what I had subconsciously figured out. This began with the types of food that my body didn't allow me to eat. Certain foods like chicken, turkey, black pepper, and garlic along with rice prohibited me from the Americanized holiday taking place around the end of November.

I had to accept the fact that my summer was full of patience and acceptance. June of 2018, there were several visits to many doctors who had no idea about how I functioned medically. To have vague answers from said doctors is the most frustrating thing on this god given green earth. Several tests such as a skin prick test to see surface level reactions to whichever allergens appear. Having not eaten chicken and the majority on that list that was given to my family and me in the first place, has changed much of my diet. This auto-immune disorder has only made me more conscious of how unhealthy I am, which isn't the best when in a college setting. The fact of the matter is I just had a major reality check causing me to make better decisions with which food I consume. The medical financial situation has taken a downfall due to the absolutely terrible insurance coverage that has plagued my family almost constantly with every appointment that takes place.

With this in mind, I made several attempts to will myself to get better as I left the hospital mid-June. Having had all my plans that were set in stone be washed away by a very weak immune system, I felt defeated and helpless. There was also this hidden insecurity that without taking care of yourself, one is rendered powerless. This feeling stuck with me the entire duration of June, July, and the beginning of August when I was ready to move back into the hole I call my dorm room here at university. Throughout this summer, I had the driving force that pushed me to, of all things, try to be productive while feeling like a complete waste of space. When people say Cabin Fever is real, that feeling was all too much intense for my well-being.

June into July taught me several things. One was that not all things go the way they are planned. I was supposed to work as a Summer Camp Dance Instructor to several young minds. That, however, didn't happen. The second thing was that unless you live in a bubble and have the utmost clean bill of health that the most qualified doctors have seen, you can't always bank on the phrase "mind over matter" because it won't matter where your mind is at, sometimes our bodies have other plans. That was one of the hardest things for me to learn because I'm a very strong-minded person. This amongst others morphed me from being narrow-thinking to trying to understand the small meticulous events that happen in one's day to day lives. The one key phrase that rings in my head constantly when faced with issues is "patience is a virtue."