GUT HEALTH SPECIAL
We speak to four incredible women about their journeys to better digestive health and wellbeing, and the major trials they’ve experienced along the way.
‘I HEALED MY BODY WITH FOOD AND FEEL HEALTHIER THAN EVER’
Meghan Thomas, 40, from New York was told she might have Crohn’s disease and underwent an operation to remove part of her bowel… only to later discover a severe misdiagnosis. Here, she tells us about her road to recovery through whole-food nutrition.
AS I WAS BEING WHEELED INTO the operating room, I looked at the surgeon and in a soft voice I whispered, ‘I don’t believe I have Crohn’s disease’. He glanced back at me and said, ‘don’t worry, I’m just going to have a look around, it’s exploratory’. And with that I handed him my power. I woke up hours later foggy and confused. The surgeon came into the room and said, ‘you were right, there was no evidence of Crohn’s disease’. Then he gestured with his hands: ‘I took a foot of your small intestines.’ Bewildered by this statement I said, ‘well if it wasn’t Crohn’s, why did you take anything?’. His response was to have it tested.
When I was able to go home, I was told I could go back to anything I liked, but this was not the case. It was as if my body was rejecting all food. The surgeon reassured me that I needed more time to heal. So, I gave it more time. Weeks turned into months, and I’d tried all sorts of simple, easily digestible foods – everything left me running to the bathroom within minutes of eating. I lost so much weight that every single rib protruded from my fragile body. My hair fell out in clumps and my eyes lost their sparkle.
I was not getting better; in fact, I was getting weaker. I tried to find other doctors who could help me understand what was happening, but it felt as if I was standing on top of a mountain screaming and no one could hear. My body was slowly dying, and no one seemed to care.
After 10 months of extreme malnourishment, my lung spontaneously collapsed and I found myself back in hospital awaiting lung surgery. I didn’t know it, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as after my surgery I went to the Mayo Clinic for a second opinion.
On my first day at the Mayo, I met the gastroenterologist who would be a part of the team of doctors working with me. He sat me down and pulled out a single piece of paper. A medical record I had never before seen. It was from the pathologist who tested what was removed from my body 10 months prior. It said that what was actually removed was 3.5ft of sm
