My Ulcerative Colitis Nightmare: Working as a Waitress

Ulcerative colitis has led to many nightmares for me. I found myself in horrible situations because of my ulcerative colitis, the most occurring when I was a waitress. Because of the nature of the job and the expectations placed on waiters and waitresses, it is often close to impossible to meet the expectations and deal with ulcerative colitis.

There were many times at work when I was the only waitress and I was sure that I would have an accident. It seems like every time I would try to make it to the bathroom, a customer would need something.

In the case of servers, you cannot simply just tell your customers to wait a minute while you go the bathroom. You have to either risk an accident or risk making a customer mad.

My first night as a server at one restaurant was truly a nightmare. I had trained on a different shift so while the managers on the other shift knew about my problem, the managers on my new shift did not know. It was busy when my shift started so I did not get a chance to talk to them about it.

Anyway, let's fast forward to later in the shift. Business slowed down some. The manager let the other servers go home and left just me and her to take care of waiting tables, seating customers and running the cash register.

All of a sudden, a huge crowd of girls walked into the lobby. One of the local sororities was having a big sister little sister breakfast. There were 140 girls in all. I was the only server in the restaurant. The manager had to go to the kitchen to help our only cook.

I successfully got everyone a drink. Just as I started to take orders, I felt that urgent need to go to the bathroom. I was clear across the restaurant and I could not leave the dining room unattended.

To make a long story short, my manager came to check on me just in the nick of time so things did not turn out as bad as I thought. I made it to the bathroom with only a small accident that was cleaned up easily with the baby wipes I keep in my purse and a change of panties that I also keep there.

I have since quit working outside of my home because of my difficulties. I am now a freelance writer and webmaster. I am not saying that everyone with ulcerative colitis should quit their jobs, I am simply saying that the nightmares that I experienced because of my ulcerative colitis led me to make that life changing decision. Take the time to fully consider the pros and cons of making a major life change because of a nightmare caused by your ulcerative colitis.