Up until early in senior Laura Younan’s sophomore year at Niles West High School, she was living the typical life of a high school girl. She had a great friend group, fell in love with a sport, and got solid grades. She was healthy, happy, and everything was perfect. Unfortunately for Laura, though, things changed.

“I’ve been a part of the cross country and track team for four years. I felt really strong my freshman year; however, during my sophomore year, I started to feel different. I was always fatigued and felt sick all the time; I knew something was wrong. That’s when I found out I had Crohn’s disease,” Younan said.

Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, especially the colon and ileum, associated with ulcers and fistulae. It causes inflammation of the lining of your digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition. Inflammation caused by Crohn’s disease can involve different areas of the digestive tract in different people.

“At first, it was really hard because I had to go through so many different things to find the right treatment for me. Also, balancing cross country and track was difficult since I didn’t always feel 100%. Nonetheless, I continued to stay in these two sports because I made really strong relationships with my teammates and coaches, and I didn’t want to let that go,” she said.

The first semester of Laura’s senior year is when it really hit her that nobody should take their health for granted.

“That’s when I got admitted to the hospital for two weeks. I missed tons of school which made it easy to fall behind, I wasn’t able to run in any meets during my cross country season, and even had to miss my senior year homecoming,” Younan said. “It was one of the hardest experiences I have ever gone through.”

Even after Younan was discharged, she wasn’t able to eat any solid food for about two months because she had to be on a strict diet of supplemental drinks.

“Unfortunately, this disease is chronic so I will have to live with it forever. I know that there will be many ups and downs, but I’m strong enough to fight it,” she said. “I don’t identify myself in terms of my illness; however, it is a part of me. In fact, even though it has made me weak physically, I am thankful for the strength it has given me emotionally. My advice to anyone going through a hard time: you have to be strong, positive, and always thankful of what you are given in your life because everything will work out in the end.”

There is no known cure for Crohn’s disease, but there are therapies and such that can reduce signs and symptoms a ton- some that could even bring about a long term remission. Thankfully, with the right treatment, each individual that’s diagnosed should be able to function normally in their everyday life.