Happily, Boldly, Confidently: Kagan’s Story - Nemours Blog

At the age of 17, Kagan’s life took an unexpected turn when the symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis manifested, leading her to the care of Nemours Children’s Health. Kagan’s diagnosis unfolded in early October 2021, just two months into her senior year of high school. Suffering from months of severe abdominal pain, bloody stools, rapid weight loss, vomiting, and more, Kagan’s health was severely affected. She was scheduled for a colonoscopy to address her symptoms, but upon having labs done in the preparation room, it was discovered that she was too iron deficient anemic to have the procedure. Kagan was then hospitalized at Wolfson Children’s Hospital. There, her care team from Nemours Children’s Health, Jacksonville diagnosed her with Ulcerative Pancolitis and she was scheduled to receive blood transfusions, later have a colonoscopy, and develop a treatment plan once. Overall, this resulted in a 9-day hospital stay. Before making that long trip […]