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For many, college life is something new and exciting to look forward to. Some want the glamorized “college experience,” some go to pursue their passion in sports or a particular major and others go for all three. For Grand View University student Cassidy Booher, college life isn’t that simple.   

Booher lives with Crohn’s Disease, a bowel disease that causes inflammation of the digestive tract. The inflammation can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition. There are some treatments for Crohn’s Disease, but it cannot be cured. 

Booher was diagnosed in the spring of her junior year of high school. Booher would go to track practice and find herself gasping for air. During one practice she collapsed due to severe stomach pains. She blamed it on being out of shape.  

“Basically, it’s period cramps times 1,000,” she said. “It’s like someone is just taking the muscles in my stomach and twisting and pulling them.”  

Booher’s mom consistently asked if she wanted to go to the ER, but she always said no.  

“My biggest fear was getting to the ER and just having nothing wrong with me,” Booher said.  

She lived her life with recurring stomach pains and excessive sleeping until one night the pain became unbearable.  

Booher finally asked to go to the ER. They traveled from Des Moines to Newton Skiff Medical Center. Three hours of testing later, the doctors saw holes in Booher’s intestine. The condition is called gastrointestinal perforation, also known as ruptured bowel.   

Doctors told Booher that if she hadn’t gone to the ER that night, she probably would have died.  

Booher spent 18 days in the hospital to have a surgery that removed 18 inches of her intestines. This required taking out her ileum, which filters out bacteria. Bacteria builds up in Booher’s body until her body cannot handle it anymore, which results in a Crohn’s attack. During an attack, her body shuts down in order to get out the bacteria that has built up. Attacks usually last up to one day, and then she needs two to three days to recuperate.  

Booher’s senior year of high school and freshman year of college consisted of regular Crohn’s attacks. Booher would have an attack about two to three times a month.  

Along with Crohn’s attacks, Booher’s junior year of high school brought weight challenges. Booher said she lost 15 pounds in the hospital when diagnosed with Crohn’s and then ended up gaining 70 pounds within three months because her body was so malnourished before being diagnosed.  

When Booher’s freshman year of college came around, she was able to lose weight by staying active on the dance team and watching her diet. Booher follows a FODMAP diet, which helps her avoid Crohn’s attacks and stay healthy. A FODMAP diet avoids certain types of vegetables, fruits, wheat, dairy products with lactose, beans, lentils, high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners.

A specific diet wasn’t the only thing holding Booher back from a typical college lifestyle. Booher had a hard time finding friends because she does not live on campus. 

Booher made the choice to live at home because of her disease. Booher doesn’t feel comfortable having a roommate that doesn’t know how to deal with her disease and likes the comfort of her own home and family when she is going through an attack.  

She said another factor that held her back from living on campus is her medication. Booher takes 13.5 pills a day and gives herself a shot every other Saturday that gets delivered to her house. Receiving medication through mail to a college campus that Booher relies on could be a bit tricky and unpredictable. 

Booher said that dance team has helped her create some friendships, but she often finds herself too tired to keep up with the social nightlife that college students tend to have. Her boyfriend, Chase Mclaughlin, has also helped her manage her energy level.

“Before we started dating she would come to my house and sleep on my futon all of the time because she was constantly tired,” said Mclaughlin. “It’s hard to watch because it does affect her so much.” 

Booher’s sophomore year of college brought on new challenges. Booher started to get sick every time her heartbeat was elevated. Workouts and practice often meant running to the bathroom to vomit.

“That was a huge challenge because I don’t want the coach to see me as a weakling,” Booher said. “I push through a lot in dance, and I feel like it’s made me become more of a hard worker because I do have that extra barrier that sets me back, and so I continue to push myself.” 

Currently, Booher is on a new medication that works for her body and so far has helped her body balance out an active lifestyle. However, her immune system has been put to the test lately. She has been working with elementary students and is struggling to stay healthy with all of the illnesses that tends to spread among children.  

Teachers at GV are very understanding of her disease. Booher has an accommodation plan, which states that when she is gone due to an attack or related illness, she has an option to receive a few extra days to finish assignments.  

Crohn’s is not a visible disease. Booher said only she knows how she is feeling; no one seems to understand the pain that she encounters besides her grandmother,  who is also diagnosed with the disease.  

“She’s been my rock,” she said. “I can talk to her and she understands. She understands the fatigue, she understands having to go to the bathroom constantly, having to worry about people being sick around you.”  

Booher said having Crohn’s has opened her eyes to being more open-minded and accepting because her disease is not visible.  

“The saying you never know what people are going through in their personal life really hits home for me,” Booher said.