Today marks 10 years of being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. For those who don't know, I have inflammation and bleeding ulcers in my intestine. This causes me to be fatigued, bloated, extreme weight gain or loss and extreme abdominal pain. Luckily I've been in remission for few years now thanks to my medication. But it is not easy to live with an invisible illness. There is a stigma that if there is no "clear" signs of health problems then you really aren't sick. But this is not the case, people need to understand that there is more under the surface and be not too quick to judge. It has been a struggling ten years; learning how to manage my diet, healthy lifestyle choices, stress levels and keep my social life. Luckily I had a great start with this journey thanks to @cheohospital the strong and amazing support from my family. Thank you to my brother @drake.lariviere for always standing by me and trying to keep me strong through this journey. Thank you to my father for always making sure I had a smile on my face and reminding me not to be too serious. Now my mother spent many hours away from work and sleep to take care and manage my disease and if it wasn't for her, I'd likely not be in this spot today. Thank you mom for all your amazing support and thank you for continuing to help me. Lastly, above this beautiful tattoo above reminds me everyday the struggles I've gone through between managing a diet, being "normal", changes of medication dosages, body image, and acceptance, but here I stand proud of everything I've accomplished and ready to take on the rest of my life!! 💜 #purpleribbon #getyourbellyout (at Crohn's and Colitis Canada)