When I was still in my mommy's tummy, my intestines didn't grow any ganglion cells. These
are the cells that make your intestines squeeze the waste through your intestine and
out your bottom.

I was diagnosed with this disease when I was only 3 weeks old, on Christmas Eve.
Mommy says that I had trouble pooping and then stopped all together. We spent Christmas and New Years 2000 in the hospital.

I had to have surgery to give me a colostomy. That's where all the poopy goes into a bag
on my tummy instead of out my bottom.

After about a year, we were getting ready to reconnect my intestines to my bottom
when the doctors realized that something still wasn't right. We took a trip to California
for a special test called a Colonic Motility Study.

After two long days of testing, we found that I had the same thing my big brother has,
Intestinal Neuronal Dysplasia, or IND.
My colon wasn't working at all and it had to be taken out.

We flew back home and I had the surgery to take out the broken intestines and got an
ileostomy.... one just like my brother!

About 8 months later, we went back to California to check the rest of my intestines.
The tests came back normal!

So we went ahead and hooked up
my bottom so I could poop on the toilet like a big girl!

I'm doing really well now.
I still have some trouble getting the poopy out,
so mommy has to give me medicine everyday
so my tummy doesn't get sick.  That helps but I still have trouble sometimes! 
 Last year my brother and I got the stomach flu at the SAME TIME! 
We both had to be admitted to the hospital. It was cool though, because we got to stay in the same hospital room together! Here's a picture of us... even though we felt terrible.. we still smiled for a picture!