HAVING been plagued by ill health since being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2004, Llemar Nicholson is imploring individuals with the illness and other medical conditions to always aim for the sky, regardless.

A past student of St Jago High School and The University of the West Indies, Nicholson was diagnosed with the condition — which is an inflammatory bowel disease — after noticing symptoms in September 2003.

Crohn’s disease, according to Mayo Clinic, causes inflammation of the digestive tract which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea, fatigue, weight loss, and malnutrition.

Now a policy analyst at the Bank of Jamaica, Nicholson recounted to the Jamaica Observer how the condition has affected him over the years, and how he has not allowed it to stop him.

“I did CSEC [Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate] examinations at 14 years old, went on to sixth form and took ill straight away. At that point, I was age 15 and weighed 142 pounds.

“I lost over 10 pounds in one week and 25 pounds in six months. I spent three years in sixth form as a result [of my illness], [completing] some components of my exams from home. I taught myself economics, mathematics, management of business, and the compulsory communication studies and Caribbean studies,” he said.

He was successful in his examinations at the secondary level so it was now time to advance to the tertiary level.

“It was now time to attend university and I moved on to The University of the West Indies, [and] did a double major in economics and mathematics while [my weight] fluctuated between 95 and 120 pounds. I eventually completed that programme in 2010 and from there I did my masters in economics, which I completed in 2012,” Nicholson told the Observer.

After acquiring all these qualifications, naturally, the next step would be to land a job. However, that wasn’t how things progressed for Nicholson.

According to the 31-year-old, he was so sick that he had to remain at home for more than a year, unable to work.

However, Nicholson said one day he decided to step out into the world of work, despite the challenges of living with Crohn’s disease.

“I began working at Bank of Jamaica in January 2015,” he said. “My time there lasted for 19 months before I took up a full scholarship to pursue my Doctor of Philosophy in Economics at the University of Delaware in August 2016, but I took sick and [that] lasted only two months,” he said.

Nicholson shared that he had to return home due to the severity of his illness.

He continued working with the Bank of Jamaica and, that same year, had surgery done to remove his large intestine to help lessen the effects of the disease.

But another roadblock appeared. His one-year contract with the central bank wasn’t renewed and he ended up at home again.

However, according to Nicholson, something good came out of it — he used the time to write his book, The Limit Does Not Exist.

The book, he said, doesn’t tell a story about a disease that could have broken, killed or destroyed someone who was weaker, but instead relates a story of a young man who has survived the hand that life dealt him and dared to be better, stronger and more alive.

“My Crohn’s [disease] had never given me a day’s break in 14 years, and I would go to the bathroom between five and 15 times per day — sometimes up to 50 — every single day.

“Mine, in particular, had all the worst elements of Crohn’s [disease], including getting it at an early age, terrible joint pain, constant infections, severe inflammation, and bleeding — but, I triumphed,” he said.

Now on his “third stint” at the Jamaica’s central bank, Nicholson is also invested in creating awareness about Crohn’s disease.

“I created a website, lrnicholson.com that provides awareness as to what the illness is, and gives pointers on what foods to eat and supplements to buy to bolster what your doctor may advise. The site also contains a blog and advice for overall digestive health for just about anybody,” Nicholson shared.