Victoria’s UC journey
UC Awareness
I was diagnosed in 2020 at 16 years old.
When everything started shutting down because of COVID, I began feeling extremely sick. At the time, doctors were only doing Zoom appointments, and I had to wait 3 months to be seen in person. For months, I was confused, scared, and didn’t understand what was happening to my body. I was 16, the world felt like it was shutting down, and at the same time, my body felt like it was too.
What started as proctitis eventually progressed into ulcerative colitis in 2024. I’ve been living with this for 6 years now.
When I was first diagnosed at 16, I didn’t fully understand how serious this disease was. I was so young and had never even really heard of it before. I don’t think I truly grasped that this was something I would be living with for the rest of my life.
2024 was the first time I was ever hospitalized — twice — because my flare was so severe. I was put on IV steroids, then prednisone for 6 months while waiting to start a biologic. I was on that for about a year before my body flared again in December 2025. I recently switched biologics and am now receiving infusions… and I’m still fighting this flare.
Living with UC isn’t just “stomach problems.”
It’s:
• Constant bleeding
• Pain 24/7
• Nausea & exhaustion
• Body aches
• Moon face from steroids
• Weight changes
• Getting woken up all night to run to the bathroom
• Cancelled plans
• No social battery
• Feeling isolated even when you’re not alone
It’s being in school for the past 8 months and pushing through the hardest, most draining season of your life while your body feels like it’s fighting against you.
It’s waking up exhausted because you barely slept — and still having to show up.
This is an invisible illness. Most people don’t see it. Most people don’t understand it. And most people assume it’s something they can relate to — but they can’t.
There is no cure. Just lifelong medication and learning how to navigate a body that doesn’t always cooperate.
For a long time I was embarrassed. I didn’t want anyone to know.
But I’m not embarrassed anymore.
If sharing my story helps even one person feel less alone, it’s worth it.
To anyone else living with UC or any chronic illness — I see you.