For more than a decade, Jesse Pitogo, 27, has lived with Crohn’s disease, enduring symptoms, hospitalizations, medical tests, medications and constant changes to his diet and daily routine.
On August 11, he faced what he describes as one of the biggest battles of his life: an 11-hour surgery.
Today, Jesse looks back on the experience not with fear, but with gratitude and a deep sense of surrender.
“I remained at peace and in complete surrender before surgery; therefore, I shall remain at peace and in complete surrender after,” he said.
A morning of prayer
Jesse woke around 3 a.m., about two hours before he was taken to the operating room. While waiting in his hospital room, he turned to prayer, entrusting himself to Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St. Charbel Makhlouf.
He also prayed for his colorectal surgeon, Dr. Estrada, and the entire surgical team, asking God to guide their hands and give them wisdom and strength.
His attending nurse, Gelo, later told him he would be taken to the operating room between 5:30 and 6 a.m. Jesse immediately informed his parents, Resti and Ces, hoping they could arrive before the procedure.
They did.
About 20 minutes before he was taken downstairs, his parents arrived. Together with Jesse’s uncle, Bebong, an experienced dialysis nurse, they prayed as a family.
Afterward, Jesse turned to his uncle.
“Tito Bebong, thank you. We wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”
At about 5:30 a.m., Jesse was taken to the operating room. He waved to his parents and uncle with a confident smile.
Around 7 a.m., he was placed under general anesthesia. When he woke, the surgical team was finishing its work and Dr. Estrada had already left. Jesse was taken to the recovery room, where he slept as the effects of the anesthesia gradually wore off.
When he returned to his room, his mother was waiting with two colleagues and Jesse’s former college professors, Rogie and Gian. Their presence brought him joy.
After photographs and brief conversations, Jesse became groggy again. For him, the day ended as a victory.
Trusting God and his doctors
Jesse said he was not surprised to learn that the surgery had gone well. He had placed his confidence in Dr. Estrada.
“I believe that he could give me a second chance to live a better quality of life,” he said.
In the days leading up to the operation, Jesse prayed each night for God’s grace to guide his doctors and help them perform the procedure successfully.
When he finally realized the surgery was over, he said he had no particular thought beyond gratitude.
“I’m just happy that the surgery was a success,” he said.
His parents, relatives, friends and supporters shared his joy. For Jesse, the successful operation was a significant milestone for his entire family.
“It’s a huge step for us as a family for me to finally achieve remission through surgery,” he said.
When surgery became the only option
Jesse’s family had spent years trying to manage his Crohn’s disease through conservative treatment. The journey included repeated consultations, hospitalizations, blood tests, scans, MRIs, X-rays, medications and dietary changes.
They had hoped to avoid surgery.
Eventually, however, surgery became the only way forward.
“As much as we want to have a conservative way of treatment all throughout, surgery was the only way for me to get my life back,” Jesse said.
The operation also included removal of his gallbladder, where surgeons found three pigment gallstones. Jesse said his surgeon had explained beforehand that the procedure was necessary because of his alpha-thalassemia, a blood disorder that can contribute to the formation of pigment gallstones.
Learning to live with an ileostomy
Another major change following the operation is Jesse’s ileostomy. His ileum was brought through an opening in his abdomen and connected to an ileostomy pouch.
For Jesse, adjusting to the change is both physical and emotional.
“I’m honestly still intimidated by the looks of it,” he said.
Seeing part of his intestine outside his body can be difficult psychologically, he acknowledged. Yet he said the tissue itself does not cause pain because it has no nerve endings.
For now, he is taking recovery one day at a time.
“I’m still adjusting and recovering,” he said.
A second chance
Jesse’s story is more than that of a difficult medical procedure. It is also a story of faith, surrender and hope.
His journey has been sustained by medical care, family, friends and supporters, but also by a faith that helped him entrust what he could not control to God.
Before surgery, he prayed for his doctors. On the morning of the operation, he prayed with his family. Afterward, he continued to hold on to the same peace and surrender that carried him into the operating room.
For Jesse, the successful surgery marks the beginning of a hoped-for new chapter, one in which remission may allow him to regain strength, rebuild his health and reclaim the quality of life that Crohn’s disease had taken from him.
Recovery is still ongoing, and adjusting to life with an ileostomy and the effects of major surgery will take time.
But Jesse is looking ahead with gratitude for the doctors who cared for him, the family who stood beside him and the prayers that sustained him.
For him, the surgery has opened the door to what he calls a second chance at life and the courage to live it fully.
