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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2018)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2018 | 7A HOPE from page 1A By age 22, she had lost 30 pounds and finally decided it was time to undergo a colonos- copy. Over her Thanksgiving holiday, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the lining of the large intestine becomes inflamed. Tiny open sores, or ulcers, develop and the combination of ulceration and inflammation can cause abdom- inal discomfort and sudden urg- es to empty the colon. Because symptoms can be inconsistent, it is often difficult to tell whether treatments are working. Severe forms of the disease can be life-threatening or require surgery and there is no consensus on the cause of the disease. Upon Sneddon’s diagnosis, she was informed that there was no cure and she would have the disease for the rest of her life. The news was devastating. “I don’t think I got out of bed for three days,” she said. “I had a pity party, for sure.” Family rallied to support her, though, and doctors immediate- ly put her on prednisone, a cor- ticosteroid used to suppress the immune system and decrease inflammation. A common pre- scription for autoimmune dis- eases, the drug put her colitis in remission and Sneddon was able to get on with the next year of her life with relative normality, though mild symptoms persist- ed and burdened her social life. “That first term back I start- ed getting straight A’s because I didn’t have anything else to do,” she said. “I had friends that kind of cut me off because they didn’t really understand what was go- ing on.” The challenge of daily living inspired her to work the dis- ease into her education and she wrote a thesis on people living with invisible diseases. “It really helped me see that, ‘Okay, I’m not the only one liv- ing with something,’” she said. Over the years, however, se- vere symptoms returned and Sneddon was again put on prednisone and other medi- cations. By the time she was 24, her body was no longer responding to these relatively weaker prescriptions and doc- tors upped the ante by putting her on the biopharmaceutical Humira, a much stronger form of medication which blocks a naturally-occurring protein in the body’s immune response. As a result, the medication can lower the ability of the immune system to fight infections and Sneddon found herself catching illness after illness. “A lot of people find relief with Humira, but at that point I was so sick, I wasn’t really re- sponding to it,” she said. The medications she was taking felt more like tiny Band-Aids on a gaping wound. In 2014, Sneddon graduated college, but was unable to fully bask in the accomplishment. “I was incredibly sick,” she recalled. “At my college gradu- ation I had a huge prednisone face.” One possible side effect of the long-term use of high dosages of prednisone is “facial mooning,” or swelling of the cheeks and neck. “It was very embarrassing,” said Sneddon. By that summer her diet was still highly restricted and med- ications no longer seemed to brace against the tide of illness. Sneddon consulted her gas- troenterologist about surgery to remove her large intestine. Though he was at first resistant and suggested continuing med- ication, he soon put Sneddon in touch with a Eugene-based surgeon who, after consultation, said he could perform the first of two major surgeries within the week. The plan involved removing the large intestine and extend- ing the small intestine to create a “J-pouch,” which can serve as an internal reservoir for bowel contents. As the pouch needed time to form and heal, Sneddon would have to live temporari- ly with an external ostomy bag until the second surgery, which would finally attach the J-pouch to her system. Upon completing the first surgery, the surgeon found that Sneddon’s large intestine was so thin and perforated as a result of the ulcers that it was on the verge of rupturing. “I’m really glad I didn’t listen to my gastroenterologist,” she said. Not everything went as planned, however. Infections put Sneddon in the hospital for a solid month following the first surgery and the next year involved a series of small pro- cedures to help aid the healing process of the J-pouch. Through it all, there was the lingering risk that the surgery would not take and Sneddon would be forced to live with an ostomy bag the rest of her life. “I was thankful to not have active disease anymore, but also kind of scared the rest of it wouldn’t work out,” she said. Sneddon also experienced temporary hair loss and bald patches, a symptom connected to repeated use of anesthesia. The day before Thanksgiving 2015, at 25 years old, Sneddon had her final surgery to connect the internal J-pouch. All went well. In the end, the process in- volved 12 procedures and two major surgeries. Today, Sneddon has an im- mense amount of gratitude for the family, friends and medical professionals who dedicated so much of their time to helping her deal with her disease. The ordeal increased her ap- preciation for supportive indi- viduals like her boyfriend of six years. “At my first surgery, we hadn’t been together very long. And all of a sudden he’s sleeping next to my hospital bed. That pretty much ensures that somebody’s in it for the long haul,” she laughed. “We became so much closer.” Because Sneddon’s early 20s were largely shaped by dealing with an illness that heavily im- pacted every aspect of her life, she had to refocus her values. “I really realized how materi- al items are not important,” she said. “I didn’t get my hair done. I didn’t buy make-up. I didn’t do the things that typical wom- en in their early 20s are doing … And you realize those things are nice, but that’s not what life is about.” The experience has been an inspirational ingredient to Sneddon’s desire to help people. “I learned that people are dealing with things that you can’t even realize,” she said. “So you need compassion for peo- ple.” Now the 28-year-old high school library media specialist is not only outspoken about her condition, but actively working to raise funding for curative re- search. Sneddon became involved in the Crohn’s & Colitis Foun- dation, a volunteer-driven nonprofit dedicated to finding cures for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Through the foundation, she has pledged to raise $3,400 by Feb. 7, 2019, the remainder of which she must pay out of her own pocket if she falls short. As part of the pledge, she is running her first half marathon on Feb. 17 in Austin, Tex. As well as accepting dona- tions for each mile run in the half marathon, Sneddon is also holding a raffle during the month of January. Tickets will be $10 each. “You can win a gift card to Nosh Eatery, a gift card to Green Salmon in Yachats, a bot- tle of wine and a local pottery artist is donating some pottery items,” she said. Other prizes are expected to be included as well. Money raised will be donated to the foundation’s curative re- search and a camp for children with Crohn’s and colitis. The drawing for the raffle will be held Feb. 1, and donations are also accepted through her fundraising website at online. ccfa.org/goto/hopesneddon. Waste-free holiday guide to recycling Before we know it, the winter holidays will be over, and it will be time to pack up the reusable items and pack out the recycla- ble ones. The Lane County Master Re- cycler Program has collected some handy tips to help you take care of the most common items generated during the holi- days. For a list of additional hol- iday recycling tips go to www. lanecounty.org/wastefreeholi- days. Electronics Recycling Recycling and reusing elec- tronics saves the energy used in mining and processing of raw materials, conserves natural re- sources, and reduces environ- mental degradation, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agen- cy (EPA), for every 1 million cell phones we recycle, 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered. Donating unwanted electron- ics not only helps to protect the environment, it can also provide technical job skills and ensure access to contemporary techno- logical tools for others, regard- less of income. Locally, residents can recycle electronics at NextStep Recy- cling in Eugene — and residen- tial drop-off is free. To find out more about the items NextStep accepts, visit www.nextstepre- cycling.org/residential-recy- cling.html or call 541-686-2366. The EPA also provides a list of companies that offer electronic recycling options. The list can be viewed at www.www.epa. gov/recycle/electronics-dona- tion-and-recycling. cling. All proceeds from the re- cycled lights go to Rich Schwab Kidsports Scholarship Fund through Jan. 31, 2019. Recycle Christmas Trees Siuslaw Valley Firefighters Association is again picking up old Christmas trees as a fund- raiser. Pick up days are Satur- days, Dec. 29 and Jan. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 541-997- 3212 for more information and to schedule pickup. Recycle Block Styrofoam St. Vincent de Paul is Lane County’s source for recycling white block #6 polystyrene (commonly known by the brand name Styrofoam) and Styro- foam packing peanuts. It shreds block Styrofoam and compress- es it into logs, making it more cost-effective to transport it to recyclers. Styrofoam peanuts are used at Aurora Glass or re- sold in thrift stores. Households can recycle small quantities of Styrofoam at no charge at any St. Vincent de Paul store location. Keep packing peanuts and block foam separate. No food con- tainers, cups, etc. St. Vincent de Paul charges a modest fee for businesses. Reuse Packaging Materials Many area businesses re- use clean packing peanuts and bubble wrap, but especially the pack-and-ship outlets. Check with a business you usually fre- quent to find out if they want your excess, clean packing ma- terials. Lane County Master Recy- clers invite community mem- bers to celebrate the season of giving by reducing, reusing, and recycling waste that is typically generated at the holidays. Visit Recycle Christmas Lights www.lanecounty.org/waste- NextStep Recycling accepts freeholidays to view tips and functioning and non-function- resources to help create a truly ing Christmas lights for recy- enjoyable season.
