Meet a Girl with Guts- Alyssa Zeldenrust

Hi Girls With Guts my name is Alyssa Zeldenrust. I am 23 years old. I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 2003 and I got my permanent ileostomy surgery in 2010. I found Girls With Guts because Jackie and Karis were two of the original bloggers who inspired me to start my own blog and to open up more publicly about my health issues. Um, the reason I started my own blog was because I read a few others and I met friends of friends that are in this community and I realized that I can make a difference even when I feel broken and I don't feel perfect or where I want to be in my life. I can still make a difference. And, I think we all can and it just takes a while sometimes to realize that. And, that is why I support this community because this community is what helps people realize that we don't have to be ashamed of our health conditions and we need to all help each other cope with this. Um, it's tough to go through anything like this on your own and so I just feel so blessed to be a part of this community. Um, My message to the commun-, to the whole community is to go out and get yourself a nice little Girls With Guts bracelet, or hoodie because it starts great conversations. I used my bracelet to start conversations at a fancy cocktail party. Um, it was for the CCFA so, everyone appreciates toilet humor. Um, and that's how I made some friends was using my bracelet as an ice breaker.