Carol Wheatley

My name is Carol Wheatley. I have five children and twelve grandchildren, who keep me pretty busy. I was first diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 1979. I was treated medically and the colitis went into remission for many years, with an occasional flareup. But by 1996 it returned with such a vengeance that I had to resign from the work force. I suffered with it a few more years until I was not responding to any medicinal protocol; so I was pretty much house bound, and losing profuse amounts of blood. Since ulcerative colitis patients have an 86% higher chance of it turning into colon cancer, and I had already had numerous polyps removed, I opted for the operation of total removal of my colon. The doctor told me later that it was more diseased than even he had suspected. I have not been sorry. I joined this support group soon after my surgery in 1998, and became treasurer shortly thereafter, followed by vice-president, and now president. I have a much better quality of life now. My husband and I even traveled to Austria in 2002 with no problems. I could barely travel to the grocery store before that.