>> [Music] I'm Emmanuel Williams, also known as Manny Williams.
I work in the Department of Gastroenterology and I specialize in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
I went into Inflammatory Bowel Disease because I think it fit my personality, wanting to
care for patients of all ages for a long time.
I had done a year of internal medicine and Inflammatory Bowel Disease matches some things
that appealed to me in internal medicine.
You see patients of all ages, quite a few of them are young, but I see older patients
as well, men and women equally, and I see them from the first time they're diagnosed
for the rest of their lives really.
Whether or not they have surgeries, I often follow them for a very long time and that
was the same kind of thing that appealed to me in terms of internal medicine primary care
and I found the same facets in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
I see Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients uniquely, which means that the only kinds
of patients that I see have issues related to Inflammatory Bowel Disease and that allows
me to be extremely specialized.
One of the greatest facets of care of IBD at Penn State Hersey is that we have multidisciplinary
clinics.
In the same hallway, same location, same time we see patients with our colorectal surgeons.
When there's difficult decisions made as to the timing of surgery, whether someone needs
to have surgery, how they're recovering from surgery, we're able to really work closely
together, meld our ideas together and really work together to get the best experience for
patients.
We have physicians who have a national recognition in terms of endoscopy and so when there's
difficult areas that can be very long, the small bowel is three times the length of us
as a human being, it's not easy to reach with regular scopes, we have physicians who can
do that and I'm confident that they can get to those areas.
I speak with our radiologist on a frequent basis, I know them personally.
I speak with our pediatric gastroenterologist, our surgeons, our dermatologist, our rheumatologist.
All these are a team of physicians that I've got to know personally and I think that makes
a huge difference for patients.
I've always liked hearing stories.
Every patient has a story.
It often can be a very long story, it can be a shorter story, but how this disease,
which can be aggressive and really hit people at the prime of their lives, how this disease
can affect them, is very different to different people.
Some of my patients have horrific diarrhea and they think that that's normal and yet
what bothers them is the bleeding.
Others of them have significant bleeding but what bothers them is their abdominal pain.
Every patient is different and how that disease is melded into their lives and how we can
treat them more effectively, these are details that are fascinating to me.
I know the very details that can make their life, in many ways miserable and difficult,
and I think I also can see how their lives can be changed by medical treatment and surgical
treatment.
I'm particularly aware of the patient's [inaudible] sometimes to go on medication because of the
fear of the unknown, but I know that I have patients who are kindergarten teachers who
do very well on immunosuppressive medications.
I know that I have many patients who've done superbly during their pregnancies on medications
and some of them off medications.
I've been able to really see very closely the details of patients.
I'm always amazed by patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease with how much they accomplish
in their lives.
Students who want to go into medicine, despite the fact that they've missed half of their
high school career, they're still graduating on time.
I'm amazed how people maintain their families and still have a sense of fun.
We participate in walks for fundraising for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and it's incredible
to me how many patients I've seen in clinic.
I know what their everyday struggle and how difficult things are and they're out at those
walks more enthusiastic and with more energy than anyone around them and that's why I think
I can help patients sometimes when they've first been diagnosed because there's so much
unknown, they just have hard time seeing into the future and sometimes I feel that I can
help them with that.
I think that in general in Inflammatory Bowel Disease we can do better.
There are better treatments that'll be coming around for these patients, easier surgeries,
easier recoveries.
I think that we can do so much better in medical therapy that we will get there.
From the moment an IBD patient comes to us I want them to know that Penn State is committed
to them, their care and the ultimate cure of this debilitating disease.
[Music]