Back in the summer of 2018 I was reaching a pivotal moment in my life. I had had celiac disease and ulcerative colitis since 2006, but the colitis had flared to an 11 and wasn't responding to drugs. Prednisone disrupted my sleep but didn't even begin to take the edge off my colitis pain. Daily I was going into the shower, closing the door, cranking the radio, and literally screaming because I couldn't take the pain anymore. I had talked to my doctor several times about the prospect of colectomy