“We’re going to take care of you”: How expert IBD care changed Anil’s life

But as the years went on, the pain became harder to ignore. 

After a colonoscopy in 2009, Anil finally had an answer: ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes long-term inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the colon and rectum. Medication helped for several years, keeping the disease under control – until late 2016, when everything changed.

“Around September or October that year, I started feeling really unwell,” Anil recalls. “I stopped going into work and worked from home for about two months. Then one day it got so bad I couldn’t get out of the bathroom. My wife and daughter called an ambulance.”

He was admitted to a local hospital, where his condition rapidly worsened. By mid-February 2017, he had lost nearly 80 pounds, was surviving on IV fluids and required major surgery: a J-pouch procedure.

In this complex, multi-stage operation – pioneered in Canada at Sinai Health by Dr. Zane Cohen, one of the Hospital’s legendary surgeons and a global leader in IBD care – doctors remove the diseased colon and later use part of the small intestine to create a new internal pouch shaped like the letter “J.” This pouch acts as a substitute for the colon, allowing waste to pass naturally without the need for a permanent ostomy bag – an external pouch that collects waste through an opening in the abdomen. For many patients, this procedure not only restores digestive function but also greatly improves comfort, confidence and quality of life.

The local hospital could only perform the initial stage of the procedure, removing his colon and creating a temporary stoma, an opening in the abdomen that allows waste to pass into an external bag. Even in the midst of this crisis, Anil knew he needed specialized care to complete the full procedure and guide him through every stage of recovery. 

A life-changing arrival at Mount Sinai Hospital

That care came when Anil’s referral to Mount Sinai Hospital finally went through – a moment that still moves him deeply when he recalls it.

“They wheeled me up to the IBD floor, and I saw this figure standing behind the desk,” Anil says. “It was Dr. Brar. He asked, ‘Are you Anil?’ I said yes. He came out from behind the desk, put his hand on my arm, and said, ‘We’re going to take care of you.’”

“From that minute, I felt like I wanted to get better. For six or seven weeks before that, I had given up on everything.”

Dr. Mantaj Brar, a colorectal surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital, had finished his shift hours earlier but stayed just to greet Anil. That simple act of compassion marked a turning point.

At the Centre for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) at Sinai Health, patients like Anil receive fully integrated care from a multidisciplinary team working together to treat not just symptoms, but the whole person. The Centre is also home to world-leading research and the largest Advanced IBD Fellowship program in the world, shaping the future of care for people with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

“From the nurses to every specialist, the care was phenomenal. Second to none,” Anil says.

Within days of arriving at Sinai Health, his surgical journey began under Dr. Brar’s expert care. 

Restoring health – and hope

Anil underwent three carefully planned procedures. The first removed his colon and created a temporary stoma to manage waste. The second used his small intestine to create the J-shaped internal pouch that would eventually replace his colon’s function.

The final procedure removed the temporary bag and connected the J-pouch to the remaining intestine, allowing Anil to return to a life that once felt out of reach.

“After surgery, it was tough,” he recalls. “I had nine or ten pints of blood transfused. It took three or four weeks before I could come home because of physiotherapy to learn how to walk again.”

Anil continues to see Dr. Brar once a year for follow-ups. He now manages primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a chronic liver disease, and pouchitis (inflammation of the J-pouch) – but he remains deeply grateful for the life Sinai Health helped him reclaim.

“It hurts to say, but I almost didn’t want to get better,” Anil admits. “I was just sitting there in a bed for two months, trying not to be in pain. I felt like a burden to my family. When Dr. Brar said, ‘We’re going to take care of you,’ it gave me a purpose again. Someone believed I could get better.”

For Anil, Sinai Health represents more than expert care, it’s a place where compassion and clinical excellence meet. 

“I meet people who have IBD, and I tell everyone to go to Mount Sinai for any issue ever. They are the best of the best out there,” he says.

Today, Anil lives with gratitude and perspective. While he still manages ongoing health challenges, he no longer lives in constant pain. He’s able to show up for his kids’ activities – enjoying the small moments that once felt out of reach.

“You know,” he says with a smile, “I’m happy to be here.” 

Help rewrite the story for people living with IBD

This Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Month, you can help advance care for patients like Anil. At Sinai Health’s Centre for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, groundbreaking research and surgical innovation are giving patients their lives back. Behind every success story is compassion – and the generosity of donors.

Your support helps us expand care, drive discovery and train the next generation of experts who will shape the future of IBD treatment.

Together, we can help more patients reclaim their health and hope. Donate today.