Hello, I'm Charlene. When I was 13 (I'm almost 50 now) I developed Ulcerative Colitis. I misdiagnosed for years because back then kids my age apparently didn't get such diseases. In late 1996, when I was 23, we found a wonderful doctor that did a few tests and knew exactly what was going on. He told me my diagnosis and told me that because it went so long without treatment that if he didn't operate I wasn't going to live much longer due to blood loss. So in 1997 I had to have my colon removed as well as many meters of my bowel and because I was so anemic they had to use 4 units of blood to keep me alive. If I didn't have those units I wouldn't be here today. I wouldn't have a beautiful daughter. So I am incredibly thankful to those that donate. I wish I could donate myself however because of health issues I'm unable. Please if you can, donate....you can save a life, it saved mine.
