Nine months ago my world was turned upside down. I was prescribed an antibiotic for a wisdom tooth procedure. Five days later I woke up to the worst pain of my life. After two days of pure misery crying on my bathroom floor, I went into urgent care. The doctor examined me and told me to go to the nearest ER, as she suspected “C. diff,” an infection I had never heard of. My heart rate was elevated (134 bpm), I had a fever, and was severely dehydrated. After countless tests and lab work, I was told I tested positive for C. diff.

I took antibiotics for the entire course yet I did not feel that I had recovered. Five months later I woke up in the middle of the night to the same exact pain. I knew deep down what it was. The following morning I went into the ER and tested positive for C. diff again–my second infection of it. Again I took the entire course of antibiotics but did not feel as if I recovered. Three months later the pain returned in the middle of the night again. I went to the ER the next day again. I had tested positive for the third time.

I could not physically or mentally take this anymore. My GI doctor discussed an FMT procedure. One week later, I was in the hospital receiving this FMT. Unfortunately, it failed, and this is where I’m stuck now. I am a 21-year-old college student living in Montana, a place where I have learned health care is a joke. I am waiting to be seen by a hospital in another state now, on a 3-month-long waitlist. The physical pain is something I cannot describe. The mental pain is draining. I feel as if I’m at my lowest point. My life revolves around this sickness. I have no appetite, no energy, and I feel beyond drained. I am a college student who should be living life to the fullest, but I am stuck in what feels like an endless cycle of C. diff. I am hopeful that there is a solution out there, one that allows me to return to my normal life.