My ulcerative colitis story starts in November of 2013, during the holiday season. I was living in Santa Rosa, California and working on my thesis in graduate school for Cultural Resource Management at Sonoma State University. I also had a cool part-time job as an Assistant Curator at the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society. Needless to say, it was a busy time of year. Deadlines, finals, and research papers were looming in the distance and the museum staff was working many extra hours trying to put up a new exhibit.

On top of all this, I had been feeling off for a while. Really bad indigestion and heartburn, extremely bad (and toxic) gas, and fatigue. But I didn’t think it was anything serious. Who would? But that would soon change.  Read more on Part I – The Beginning.