Severe Ulcerative Colitis at 26: Olivia’s Fight for Remission

In this deeply personal episode of Life Without Leaks, we speak with Olivia about her life-altering battle with severe ulcerative colitis.What began as worsening digestive symptoms in her mid-20s quickly escalated into relentless pain, 30+ bathroom trips a day, extreme blood loss and multiple emergency room visits. After a delayed diagnosis and ineffective treatments, Olivia faced life-threatening complications, including a hemoglobin level so low doctors told her she might not survive another day.Refusing to give up, she advocated for herself, found a new specialist and ultimately enrolled in a dual-drug clinical trial that changed everything. Today, she’s in remission, traveling freely, regaining healthy weight and living without the constant fear of urgency or accidents.Olivia shares candid advice about self-advocacy, overcoming embarrassment, finding the right care team and preparing for the unexpected. Her message is powerful: don’t lose hope. Effective treatments exist, community matters and you deserve to fight for your health — and your life.For more information about the National Association for Continence, click here, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.Music:Rainbows Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/