This is Gus' personal account of his experience. Feel free to share with your teens!
"My Doctor’s Evil Orders" by Augustus VT
Have you ever been told that you are not allowed to eat any food, not even a piece of gum? Do you suppose that you could go one week, or two weeks, or even a whole month without eating a single bite of food? Imagine sitting at the dinner table, while your family cavalierly enjoyed eating your favorite dishes, but the only thing allowed to cross your lips is plain, bland, empty, boring water! This happens to me frequently because I have Crohn’s Disease. Crohn’s causes horrendous pain in my intestines. That is why I eat only small portions of food at any meal. On top of all of that, there are times when my doctor will order me to eliminate food altogether. I call this “my doctor’s evil orders.”
In February 2013, I sat in Dr. Kim’s office, pretending not to listen, while he talked about the seriously grim state of my gut. Every cell in my body froze in horror when I heard Dr. Kim’s plans.
Dr. Kim said, “Gus needs surgery. However, his intestines are too inflamed and the surgeons won’t operate until the inflammation is resolved.”
My mom asked, “Since the medications aren’t working, what are the other options?”
“We’re going to insert a P.I.C.C. line in his arm. It’s a feeding tube that goes directly into the bloodstream and will give him the nutrition that he needs, bypassing the digestive system, so that his gut will have a chance heal. He won’t be able to eat anything, during this process,” Dr. Kim replied.
My voice cracked as I asked Dr. Kim, “How long do I have to go without eating? I can have hard candies to suck on at least, right?”
Dr. Kim replied sympathetically, but firmly, “Indefinitely. You cannot eat anything. You’re only allowed to drink water. I’m sorry, hard candy and gum are out of the question.”
I sat there in stunned silence. I felt like a condemned man, being dragged into a cold, dark dungeon.
The P.I.C.C. line was inserted few days later, on February 22nd, and I stopped eating food. By the end of the second week my desire for food was overpowering. I wanted food! Every single day, I begged my mom to allow me to eat. She felt bad for me, but did not budge, not even a little. This went on through March and most of April. The light at the end of the tunnel became brighter as each day passed. April 22nd was the day I planned to ask Dr. Kim for the freedom to eat again. Oh, yeah!
I never had a chance to ask Dr. Kim to release me from his “evil orders” because I went into septic shock and was admitted to the hospital on April 17th. I was completely incoherent for two weeks and did not care about anything, especially food. The good news was that my mangled intestines were healing. I recovered from the infection and the surgeons were able to remove the significantly diseased section of intestine on May 4th. A week went by and I started to feel better. I wanted to eat! I spent the following week in the hospital pleading with my mom, every doctor, and every nurse for food. They all said NO! It was torture! I left the hospital under orders to wait three more weeks before I could taste food again. I snapped at the two week mark. I secretly stole hard candies and bits of bacon! They were like a slice of heaven in my mouth and I savored every moment. May 14th, 2013 was a joyous day for me. It was the day I was told that I could eat food again. Each bite of the meat tortellini I had for dinner that night felt like the first trickle of hot chocolate going down my throat and warming my tummy on a cold winter’s day. It was pure happiness.
It is hard to believe that I endured three months without eating any real food. The only way I survived this ordeal was by drawing closer to God. Food felt like a reward. Knowing that the Holy Spirit is in my heart, protecting me, was the true reward. I wondered if I was being punished. In truth, He revealed Himself as a truly wonderful God. I would have become depressed and gone into a dark place inside myself if I did not have faith in the Lord. His unfailing love and guidance lit my way and enabled me to endure “my doctor’s evil orders.”