Kristen's Chronicles

As the nights become cooler and hints of fall are in the air, the four-year anniversary of my total colectomy has come and passed again....

On Wednesday, October 3rd, I began my next big adventure 2,400 miles from home. If you have been following along with my journey, you...

Wednesday, a little over 2 weeks after my 5th and 6th surgeries, I sat in the sterile white examination room within the Johns Hopkins...

Having to write this update breaks my heart. On Friday, August 10th, I sat in the pre-op waiting area at The Johns Hopkins Hospital...

Tuesday, July 31st: I walked back to my car after work, carefully acknowledging each step on the concrete. When I reached my car I tossed...

I have always heard that life will present you with jobs, relationships, and opportunities when the time is right. But sometimes, the...

Almost 2 years ago, I laid in a hospital bed facing major surgery to remove my diseased colon. I was only 72 pounds and could no longer...

Ying and Yang. Hot and cold. Sweet and spicy. Life is about balance and without balance, things can become very.. well, unbalanced....

Exactly a year ago, we were on our way to Johns Hopkins Hospital for my pre-op evaluation before my second surgery. While a lot (a LOT)...

It is August 22, 2016. Cramped into a tiny room with barely enough room for a bed, my parents sit on the side of my bed while I lay,...

Full-time student, full-time chronic illness warrior. As I approach 5 months post-operative, I continue to be amazed by the way in which...

In my very first YouTube video on my new channel, Kristen's Chronicles, I have answered the questions you asked. From living with an...

Isn't it amazing how sounds and smells can bring back memories? Unknowingly, we associate memories with the sounds and smells that were...

I may not know where life is going to take me next, but what I do know is that it is going to be one heck of a ride.

The other day someone asked me, “how do you stay so positive all of the time despite what you are going through?” My answer: “I don’t.”...

Is it Crohn's? Is it Ulcerative Colitis? One of the first questions that arises when you are first diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel...

Often times we throw around the words "forever" and "permanent," applying them to things that actually are not either. Permanent markers...

Time flies when you are having fun, right? The past month has been a whirlwind of appointments and graduate classes and holidays- oh my!...