Abby's Journey

“Everyone goes through different things and they're only there to make you stronger and I believe this has made me a stronger, better person.” - Abby Swiatkowski

By any objective standard, Abby Swiatkowski is the picture of perfect health during her freshman orientation at Pennsylvania State University. Like most in her incoming freshman class, the Medford, New Jersey native is vibrant, cheerful, and enthusiastic about spending the next four years in Happy Valley. What most of her future classmates do not know, however, is her ongoing fight against Celiac Disease, Acid Reflux, Gastroparesis, and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. About two weeks ago,The Students’ Tribune’s editorial board had the opportunity to talk to Abby about her recent ordeal in this exclusive interview and we hope to use her story as an inspiration for all our fellow grad of 2015 to be grateful for what we have, stay strong and positive in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and not take anything in life for granted. Like Abby eloquently told us, “I've seen better days, but I've also seen worse. My life may not be perfect, but I am blessed.”

The spring semester started fairly normally for the outgoing, socially-active senior. As she’d done in the past, she was involved in National Honor Society (NHS), went on three Habitat for Humanity trips, and participated in sports. “I love meeting new people and have a passion for helping others and giving back,” she noted. In addition, she had already been admitted to a number of prestigious colleges, which speaks volumes about her exemplary academic achievement. Unfortunately, in March, when most of us were traveling to tropical hotspots for spring break, dealing with senioritis, and looking for compatible college roommates, Abby suffered a relapse of stomach issues. And this time, it was more serious than her past episodes. She could hardly eat, for every time she tried to eat, she felt beyond sick and could not walk. It ultimately reached a point where she couldn’t even eat half a plate of food without excruciating pain and consequently lost a tremendous amount of weight. She was eventually admitted to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for a week. It was arguably the worst week of her life.

Abby with her identical twin sister during their graduation.

To understand the root cause of her ailment without overloading this article with medical jargons, we first need to explore the prevalence of acid reflux in America. It is generally accepted that up to sixty percent of our population have experienced some type of acid reflux within a 12 months period and most of them are able to live normal life. Abby Swaiatkowski was among the aforementioned millions until ninth-grade, when, after suffering from acute stomach pain, she underwent a series of test and was diagnosed with Celiac disease, a condition in which the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, leading to difficulty in digesting food. “It’s a gluten, barley, and oat allergy, which was causing me pain and making me malnourished,” she told us. Her doctors put her on a gluten-free diet and her symptom soon began to subside. This was in line with studies that show eighty-five percent of people with Celiac disease are able to live normally when on the right diet.

Unfortunately, Abby was not one of them. Two months after her Celiac diagnosis and subsequent doctor-prescribed diet, she began losing a substantial amount of weight and became full extremely quickly. Once again, she went to the hospital for stomach tests. Another round of tests was conducted and one of the tests eventually found the cause: Gastroparesis, inadequate grinding of food by stomach muscles. There is currently no cure for Gastroparesis, but treatments are available to alleviate the symptoms and keep it in check. In Abby’s case, her test showed that she had over 65% of food in her stomach four hours after consuming a meal (most people have only 10-15%). She was prescribed a wide-range of medications, all of which failed to address her condition, so she had to undergo more stomach tests. Eventually, they found that, due to Gastroparesis. she’d developed small intestinal bacterial growth. She was instructed to take daily medications in order to keep her condition under control and she continued to excel in all facets of school. “I’ll never let my health hold me back from living my life. I live every moment to the fullest,” she said.

All of this happened in ninth grade and her condition was relatively stable until this March when, as previously mentioned, her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to CHOP. A feeding tube was placed into her small intestine, so it would bypass her stomach while still supplying her with much-needed nutrition. Before placing the tube, her child life specialist showed Abby a picture of what it would look like. “It was a woman and she didn’t look too happy and I was very scared of what people would think and say when I got out,” she candidly explained. Nevertheless, she was discharged from the hospital a week later.

Abby ended up having to use the feeding tube for a total of two months. She went on her senior trip to Disney with it and competed in DECA Nationals in Orlando, Florida with it. Upon returning to school, she was surprised and heartened by the overwhelming love and support from her friends and classmates. And she soon got over her misgivings about appearing in public with the tube. “It was a long process, but worth it because I’m back to my normal weight and feeling better,” she said. She even took pictures of herself with the feeding tube and sent them to her child life specialists to show kids in similar circumstances that it is absolutely okay to look different because your health should be your number one priority.

Abby is now pretty much back to full health and enjoying the summer like the rest of us. She regularly checks in with her doctors at CHOP to make sure she’s healthy. Although she still faces challenges everyday with her stomach problems and has to drink three nutrition drinks per day and eat as much as she can to maintain her weight, she feels blessed and looks forward to the bright and exciting future she will have with the freshman class of 2019 at Penn State. Interestingly enough, her identical twin sister is going to the University of Pittsburgh. “There's going to be a huge rivalry in my house!” she joked. On a more serious note, she said her goal in college is to “make a name for myself, stand out, and be seen as an individual.”

In closing, The Students’ Tribune would like to take this opportunity to thank Abby for sharing her inspirational story with us and hope her courage will rub off on the rest of us. Our editorial board have also jointly decided to induct her to our exclusive Hall of Fame and offer her the opportunity to be the face of PSU Class of 2019. It would’ve been so easy for her to throw in the towel and wallow in a cycle of despair and self-pity, but instead Abby chooses to approach her life with perseverance and boundless optimism. She is so determined to make the best out of her situation and staunchly refuse to let her chronic condition take over her life. We are certain that her mental fortitude and positivity will enable her to tackle whatever obstacles that lie ahead and that she is well-equipped for success in college as she makes the difficult transition of moving away from home for the first time. We look forward to following up with her as she embarks on her new journey.

On Staying Grounded and Letting Go

Stephen Koziel

Dear Future Me:

This is the time you’ve been waiting for your whole life. Just do me a favor, please. Please, please, please DO NOT EVER loose your sense of who you are. The upcoming months are going to be full of new experiences, friends, and places. Keep an open mind. Do not let anyone get in the way of your life – now or ever for that matter. Enjoy college. Take some comfort in the fact that you really did make the right decision and that everyone supports you completely.

Accept your accomplishments and remember why people look up to you. You’re an awesome, kind, loving, caring individual. Stay with people who bring these qualities out of you; stay away from the people who cause you to turn into someone different. You’ve spent 18 years of your life becoming the man you are today and it would be such a shame to throw it all away.

Years from now you’ll be reflecting back on these experiences and wondering if you in fact stayed true to the person you are. Take some advice from me:

Be present in the now, before college. Remember that trip to Amsterdam? What about London? Lord only knows – that could be the last time that you had to be a child without responsibility. Enjoy all of your opportunities. 

Be nicer to your parents. You only have one set of them. Trying to push them away WILL NOT make it any EASIER for them when you’re gone. In fact, it’ll probably make them question if they did something wrong. Guess what? They didn’t.

Realize who your true friends are. These will be the people who were there for that 3 AM call, or when times got really rough. They will be the people that are there for you when you most need them. Keep them and cherish them. When going out and meeting people, remember not all of them will be your best friend or have your best interests in mind.

Trust those instincts of yours. If something doesn’t feel right – it isn’t. Have fun but be safe. See the above rule.

It’s okay to make mistakes while you’re trying to let go. It proves quite simply that you’re only human. College will be the time of your life if you let it. You’re starting off in a new place with a blank slate. Do not try to conform, rather be yourself. Always. So – jump off and dive right in. Let go of all your fears and embrace the unknown.

Sincerely, 

Stephen