Ulcerative Colitis

"I missed a lot of school, three months in Grade 10," plus six weeks in Grade 8 and three months at the end of Grade 9, but that didn’t affect his class standing.

By January 2004, his condition had deteriorated to the point that doctors and the family decided Justin should have an ileostomy, to remove damaged sections of his intestines, and a pouch attached to his side to catch waste.

Justin was nervous and concerned but knew this would offer a better quality of life.

"Today, I can’t picture not having it," he says with a smile.

"It took me a year to adjust to it, but now I feel great, eat anything I want, in moderation, have a girlfriend, and an active life." Last summer, he spent a week at a national camp in Alberta for young people with ostomies.

He was in Japan last April, sponsored by Manulife, to represent the IWK Health Centre at Expo 2005 in Aichi and visited a children’s hospital.

He met Alanis Morrisette at the Canadian pavilion, and had tea at the Canadian ambassador’s home in Tokyo.

"I had done a lot for the IWK while I was there," he says, "including designing a thank-you card for them." Justin loves art, one of his best school subjects.

"Drawing is a passion.

I paint in oils and acrylics and do graphics on the computer." He’s also musical, playing keyboard and guitar with a band that has yet to perform in public.

He was Grade 10 class representative on student council before colitis hit him that year...

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