Doctors misdiagnosed me for a decade - now I've had an organ removed and life will never be the same

Bridget Oyen is the ultimate foodie who had dreamed of culinary school since she was a teen. were never interested in looking deeper into anything.’ But after nearly 10 years of searching, Ms Oyen was finally diagnosed with the rare disease achalasia, which prevents the esophagus from passing food properly. Bridget Oyen had her esophagus removed during a nine-hour surgery after being diagnosed with the rare disease achalasia During her nine-hour surgery, doctors cut out her esophagus and reconstructed it using part of her stomach Because of the delay in treatment, though, her organ had already deteriorated beyond repair and at 30 years old, Ms Oyen decided to have her esophagus removed. It felt like I was being stabbed, and it‘s because I never had heartburn.’ In 2018, Ms Oyen went to a surgeon in San Francisco, where she had a Heller myotomy, a minimally invasive procedure in which doctors cut open the valve where her stomach and esophagus meet. Ms Oyen began experiencing symptoms at 15 years old and would have chest pain and pain in her throat when she ate The 31-year-old said she found comfort in her dog, Canada, during her trying ordeal ‘Essentially my stomach now acted like a big slide,' My Oyen explained.