From Nicaragua to North Carolina: My Journey Through Crohn’s, Coma, and Life with an Ileostomy

37-year-old Javier Munoz Mena escaped a brutal political regime in his native Nicaragua, fleeing first to Costa Rica and then onto the United States where he was granted refugee status. Such life events would be challenge enough for anyone. Yet Javier lived through these turbulent times while his health was dealt a series of devastating blows, ultimately leaving him with an unplanned ileostomy.…