Paige’s Story

Paige Furstenau was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 10 while she was in fifth grade.  Like many, she has been through a lot on her road to remission. She missed multiple days of school and school activities due to doctor appointments, procedures, and just not feeling 100%. She has also had two inpatient hospital admissions, the most recently in April for an entire week. She has had about 13 scopes, three different biologic medication changes, and countless labs draws and other pokes. 

Like many on this journey, she has had so many people supporting her and cheering her on, from family and friends to teachers and coaches. Her family has always worked hard to make sure she was healthy and getting the care needed.  Dr. Huang has been another person who has really supported and advocated for her throughout the journey.  “He has always provided me with the best care, and he has helped me get into remission, I am so thankful that he is my doctor.”

High school sports can be challenging for anyone, but it was a challenge for Paige as she fought through her Crohn’s disease.  Paige said, “It (flares) always happened during basketball season and basketball is my favorite sport. I think my body was just very tired and it got over worked.” One of Paige’s main goals for her basketball career was to score 1,000 points. “I was getting very close to that goal my senior basketball season when I began to get very sick due to Crohn’s. I was losing a lot of weight, I had a lot of pain, and fatigue. My doctor advised me to take a few games off, but I loved basketball and was so determined to reach my goal that I refused to skip any games. I kept pushing through all the pain and fatigue. I would have to go and get IV fluids before a lot of games just to have adequate energy. I kept pushing and never gave up and I finally reached my goal of scoring 1,000 points.” Paige feels that was one of her biggest accomplishments, Crohn’s would not get in the way, she was determined to not let the disease stop her from accomplishing her goals. 

Paige attended Nebraska Wesleyan University her freshman year of college to play basketball.  She is now at UNL where she is majoring in Biology/PreMed with a minor in Biochemistry.  After her undergraduate degree is complete she is planning to attend medical school and one day hopes to become a pediatric Gastroenterologist. Paige says, “I have learned so much on my journey and one day I want to be able to help children like me, and I feel that I will really be able to relate to what they are going through.”

“A future free of this disease would be amazing, but I am also thankful for being diagnosed with Crohn’s. I have met so many amazing people throughout this journey and I think it has made me the strong person I am today. However, I don’t let Crohn’s define me and I will continue to be an advocate in the fight against Crohn’s disease.”  The Foundation’s mission to find a cure for these diseases gives hope for that future.