In a world where medical professionals have only a few minutes to go over a whole slew of symptoms, medication interactions, and surgical complications, it is impossible to cover the psychosocial aspects of one’s condition(s). These aspects include methods of coping with the emotional roller coaster of living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).This is where support groups come into the picture. They fill that gap between doctor-patient interactions and provide real-time support and understanding to patients caught in the rigmarole of hospital visits, health insurance, and invasive testing. But more than this, the true value of support groups lies in empowering patients by fostering lifelong friendships through a deep understanding of…
- acceptance, advocacy, awareness, Colorectal Surgery, coping with flare, Crohn's, living with IBD, Ostomy, patient rights, stigma, Ulcerative Colitis
- acceptance, advocacy, awareness, Crohn's, living with IBD, Ostomy, patient rights, stigma, Ulcerative Colitis
Being Brown and Coming Out of the IBD Closet: The Chronic Illness Experience
***Originally published in Brown Girl Magazine on August 2nd, 2018: https://www.browngirlmagazine.com/2018/08/being-brown-coming-out-ibd-closet/*** Just as soon as he landed from India, a good friend called me, half laughing: “Tina, I know exactly what it feels like to be you now! I’ve had diarrhea for the last three weeks after eating at Elco Market in Mumbai! What do I do?” Another time when I was deathly ill, languishing from anemia, malnutrition and weight loss due to 20-30 bloody bowel movements a day, I remember the aunties ridiculing me. They would cackle behind my back as they proclaimed that I did this to myself. “She must have eaten lots of junk food and drank…
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MC Capital T Reppin’ from the BK Walk!
Thanks to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation for the opportunity to serve my fellow IBDers by sharing my experiences as well as introducing past and present Honored Heroes at the Brooklyn Take Steps Walk. Hats off to all of you for being brave enough to share how miserable these diseases are and how you are working to transcend #IBD. And a special thank you to all the doctors/surgeons and Lyfebulb for coming out to support us patients in our struggle! Even though I look well in the above photo, after the walk, I quickly deteriorated. I was dehydrated, had trouble breathing and had a partial bowel obstruction. Luckily, the Foundation…
- acceptance, advocacy, awareness, coping with flares, Crohn's, living with IBD, Ostomy, stigma, Ulcerative Colitis
12 News to Your Health IBD Segment
My TV debut with News 12 NJ! I discuss having inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and ostomy surgery alongside Rosemarie Golombos, Executive Director of the NJ Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Thank you, Prashanthi Musapet, for the special segment and for helping to create awareness and acceptance for these awful diseases!
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A Day on the Hill: Putting a Face on IBD Legislation
As I walked up the steps toward Capitol Hill, the realization finally struck: I was really doing this. I was really lobbying for better healthcare legislation for patients like myself. More than 100 volunteers and I had traveled from all over the country to Washington, D.C., as part of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Day on the Hill program (DOH). And we all shared one mission: to bring our stories forward to advocate for improvements in legislation for all of us suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). (Courtesy of Tina Aswani Omprakash) This was the first time I had lobbied for anything, let alone for IBD. I was nervous and excited…
- acceptance, advocacy, awareness, Colorectal Surgery, coping with flares, Crohn's, living with IBD, Ostomy, Ulcerative Colitis
TINA ASWANI OMPRAKASH | 2018 NYC ADULT HONORED HERO
I was at the top of my game having just graduated college with a Wall Street career all lined up and BAM, just like that, the colitis hit. At the tender age of 22, when my life was just supposed to be beginning, my life became a perpetual case of where’s the nearest bathroom and having to bolt to avoid accidents. Between wearing diapers and trying to date while popping pills and using enemas, I began to realize how tenuous life is. It was a scary proposition because my dad passed away at 39 years old from a wicked case of Crohn’s that turned into colorectal cancer, and his sister…