'Don't be embarrassed to ask for help'

Crohn's disease, first identified in 1932 by Dr Crohn, most commonly affects the small intestine and is described as being like a recurring bout of gastric flu. At present there is no cure for the disease.

Miss Frank, a dental nurse at Chesham's Red Lion surgery, has decided to talk openly about her condition in the hope that other sufferers will recognise the symptoms and seek treatment.

It's a brave step and she admits that when her condition flares up, it is hard for both her and mother Elaine, 63, who share a house in Milton Road.

The 27-year-old said: "Life goes on hold when I'm really ill.

"We both get really depressed and sometimes I think, how much more can you take?

"Foods such as nuts, chocolate, sweet-corn and fizzy drinks can trigger a crisis. It can take me 20 minutes to get downstairs to the toilet because I'm afraid that any step forward will increase my pain. I can't eat or drink, I can't concentrate on books or the TV and if I manage to fall asleep for an hour, the pain can wake me up."

Miss Frank was studying art and design at Chesham Community College when her first symptoms occurred. In the space of five months, she went from a size 14 to a size six and had 27 mouth ulcers. Her mother had to wrap her in a sleeping-bag during her profuse sweats, during which Miss Frank recalls feeling absolutely freezing and wanting to die.

A battery of tests followed until finally, the 18-year-old had part of her small bowel removed in an operation at Wycombe Hospital.

Fortunately, a five-year remission period followed, during which time she met her fiancé, Dan.

She said: "He is protective of me when I'm ill and keeps an eye on me when I'm well."

The couple had hoped to marry this summer, but their plans were scuppered in December 2007, when Miss Frank was admitted to Stoke Mandeville Hospital for surgery to remove adhesions to her colon, an operation which took nearly eight hours.

She said: "I broke down crying when they told me I needed another op.

"I lost weight again, got blood clots on my lungs and lost hair."

Now on warfarin to thin her 'sticky' blood and looking the picture of health, Miss Frank is training to take part in a sponsored walk in aid of the National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease. She bears an enormous scar on her midriff and still suffers bouts of either constipation or diarrhoea and pain in her abdomen and joints.

She knows that Crohn's makes her a candidate for osteoporosis and that if she were to have children, pregnancy would put pressure on her bowel.

Yet she remains optimistic about her future.

Miss Frank added: "My consultant and surgeon are fantastic and my boss has been very understanding when I've been off work. My friends are really good to me; they always came to see me."

Her message to other young people who are diagnosed with Crohn's is not to be embarrassed.

She said: "If you've got decent friends, they'll support you all the way, but do look for the signs." [25a0] The National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease (NACC) has launched a new Parent to Parent telephone helpline to support parents who have a child with one of these conditions. Call 0845 130 2233.

NACC also provides information on www.nacc.org.uk/parentline.