My world changed forever yesterday.

[Ms. Toad]

59. Over the years we learned to live with the ulcerative colitis

but a colonoscopy at age 4 is an eye opener. And just when we had gotten settled into thinking it wasn't so bad, she started some extra-GI manifestations that looked like cellulitis (which can be a life threatening bacterial infection - when you take your child to the ER with a hot pink spot on her ankle, and they run you back immediately ahead of people clearly in significant distress in the waiting room you know something bad is up - think MRSA). That settled - we got to be complacent again for a while and then her first year in college PSC hit. We're nowhere near settled yet (4 years out) - I'm not sure you reach equilibrium with a disease like this one.

For now, her health has stabilized and lets her do perhaps 2/3 of what a healthy 22 year old would be able to do. The biggest current worry is that Romney will win and she'll have no means to pay her medical bills (approximately $30,000 so far this year - and this is a good year).

It is criminal to be forced to worry about getting access to health care on top of all of the emotional trauma of the illness itself.

Thanks!