Hello there iHaveUCer’s!
I’m back again with another update! I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2013, and wrote a piece for this website a couple days before I went under the knife to have my Colon removed in March of 2014 (link to original piece).
Collin getting his run on!
My journey back to health was difficult. I was very weak after the surgery, and came down with an E. Coli infection that nearly cost me my spleen and pancreas in July of 2014. Since then however, I have enjoyed a tremendous turn-around with my health, and ostomy bag on my side!
As you may have read in my older posts, I ran for UC Berkeley on the Cross Country and Track and Field teams. When I re-enrolled in school for my final semester in January of 2015, I was granted eligibility to compete again. For obvious reasons, I didn’t make it back to where I had been before the illness, but with only 5 months of training after two years of agony I was able to run 4:16 in the mile for my first race without a colon. (You can check out a short video documenting that process here if you’d like! http://www.flotrack.org/article/30227-no-colon-but-cal-s-collin-jarvis-is-still-rollin)
Since then, things have continued to progress! I am now in the process of training to make the Olympic Trials this summer, which means I would need to be one of the top 30 runners in the country. I’m not there yet, but my workouts and health have indicated to me that it is a serious possibility!
another picture of big C!
Due to this chance, I’ve started a GoFundMe page to document the training that I’m doing with the hopes of showing other and future ostomates that life with a bag isn’t just a way to survive, but a means to thrive again! Obviously, I hope that each and every one of you with Crohns or Colitis that read this are able to go into remission and do not have to have surgery; but for those of you who are like me and have tried everything without success, I am here to tell you that life on the Ostomy-side can be even more fulfilling than you could imagine! All it takes is the right mindset.
If you’d like to learn more about the documentary project, you can check out my GoFundMe page here: www.gofundme.com/rwxyayft. If you have any questions for me specifically, you can find my contact information on my website UCJarvisRun.com!
And remember, keep on keepin’ on!
Collin Jarvis
Collin Jarvis
Student-Athlete at UC Berkeley
I had a full colectomy in March of 2014. I was diagnosed in July of 2013.
