I was diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 29, 2021. I was hospitalized with a blood clot in my lungs. It took me a few months to recover but my iron level kept dropping. I received iron infusions but nothing was helping. So the next step was a colonoscopy to see if they could figure out where the bleeding was coming from.
When I woke up from my colonoscopy the doctor told me that he couldn’t do it because of the mass that he encountered. Two days later I was having a CT scan and then two days after that I was meeting with a surgeon to remove the mass as quickly as possible. I had my colon resection surgery on December 7, 2021.
I want to share my story because I have no family history of colon cancer and also had no symptoms leading up to my diagnosis so it was really a whirlwind experience.
I now have blood draws and scans every three and six months and I have a colonoscopy every six months. This will continue for five years. With my faith and family beside me, I know I will beat this. Coming to terms with a life-changing event can take time but once the dust had settled, I realized, as with all of life’s challenges; I was at a crossroads. One way leads to opportunity and the other leads to despair. I choose life.
