Sarah Machin
20th May 2018 - Sarah, Ian, Karen Machin's Half Marathon
Fundraising for Crohn’s & Colitis UK
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, affecting more than 300,000 people in the UK.
Hi my name is Sarah and I was diagnosed with Ulcerative colitis in October 2010. I had never heard of ulcerative colitis before my diagnosis and was caught completely off guard as no one expects to be faced with such a dilemma after just three months of marriage and a daily battle to be the mum I always wanted to be.
After 2 years of constant stomach pain and exhaustion, so bad I could barely leave my bedroom to crawl to the bathroom and back. I finally decided the time had come to push the doctor to carry out further tests to get the answers I desperately needed.
I had visited the doctor several times before my diagnosis and was told time and time again it was other things like standard stomach cramps, anaemia and my favourite not drinking enough water. It took for me to collapse in the doctor’s surgery for him to admit me to the hospital for examination, where I ended up staying for 2 weeks to commence treatment immediately to reduce the risk of needing an emergency operation.
Over the next three years after my diagnosis I was a completely different person, I lost all confidence, and had to come to terms with living with a lifelong condition with no cure. I was no longer able to do the challenges I craved and the activities I loved. I learned the hard way of the long list of medications and side effects of trying to beat a condition I knew nothing about.
Luckily for me I reacted extremely well to the medications and slowly started to get my life back, it was one of the hardest things I have ever faced in my life and would never have got through it without the help and support of my amazing family and incredible friends.
I have thankfully been in remission for the past two years and decided I was going to enjoy my life and challenge myself in things out of my comfort zone so what better way than fitness . I always try to remember everything happens for a reason and we are challenged with situations to make us stronger and remind us to keep fighting and never give up.
After completing mountain climbing and a few fun run races and watching my mother in law and husband complete their first half marathon I decided I should give it ago, so I am completing the Liverpool Rock n Roll half Marathon on May 20th to raise money for a cause that has directly affected me and will do for the rest of my life.