Hello, I’ll Be Your Nurse This Shift

Imagine sitting in a doctor's office and hearing you are the fourth generation in your family to be diagnosed with a chronic disease. You feel sick daily, have lost roughly 20 pounds without trying, and when people look at you, you know they know your secret.

I am sick.

In 2021, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease—an inflammatory bowel disease. It sucks all my energy, and it makes daily planning a difficult task without knowing what my body is going to do. (This is no way for a teenager to live!)

I was confident I was in the clear of getting this diagnosis because my mom was much younger than I was when she received hers. I’ve learned that’s not how life works. Sometimes “hard” happens, and it’s up to us – up to me – to decide how we’ll respond. This is one moment that, even though it took a toll and I felt physically awful, I wouldn’t change even if I could. That first day on the way to the gastroenterologist for my appointment, I watched tears stream down my mom’s face (Mom guilt is real-life). She was crying because she felt it was her fault I was carrying on our family’s intestinal legacy. While genes play a part, no friend or foe would wish this on their worst enemy. In that moment, though, what my diagnosis did do was help my mom and I grow closer together, bonding over something much bigger. Together we’re stronger, and because of her, I am regularly

reminded I can navigate this too.

Remember when I said earlier, “When hard happens, it’s up to me to decide how I’ll respond”? So, what’s life like for me these days? (I know you’re wondering.) About every eight weeks I travel to Indianapolis to receive an intravenous infusion to help keep my disease under control. The infusions last about two hours. It is a nice time to step away from usual daily activities, especially knowing it’s these two hours every eight weeks that keep me as healthy as I can be.

I have developed strong relationships with my nurses at the GI Infusion Clinic. Blake and Hannah have become my new BFFs, adding in occasional pointers on how I should get my nursing degree and what classes they think I will benefit from the most. In fact, Blake and Hannah are two of the biggest reasons I decided to go into the nursing profession. Their empathy in the face of difficulty inspires me to be that type of nurse – kind, encouraging, personable, and loving.

Crohn’s Disease isn't the easiest thing in the world. Quite literally, it can be gut-wrenching. But I’ve found the personal gain can far outweigh the physical difficulty. If anything, it’s taught me to expect the unexpected and that even in the hard moments, there’s always good to be found. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Good: plans to prosper. Good: plans for a hopeful future. Good: to receive and to give – even

when it’s hard, even when it hurts, even when it’s overwhelming. We may not choose our circumstance, but we choose our response. In everything, I choose good.

No one expects to wake up one morning and receive a chronic disease diagnosis—something that will affect me every day for the rest of my life. But it happens, and it happened to me. Despite the IVs, fast and furious marathons to the bathroom, and the occasional worst-stomach-ache-you’ve-ever-had-feeling, I wouldn’t change what I have

gone through. Someone needs my story, and that’s why someday in the not-too-distant future, I may just greet you at your bedside with a “Hello, I’ll be your nurse this shift.”

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Jillian Culp is a senior at Jr/Sr High School and the runner-up

of the Fall 2024 High School Writing Contest.