Join The Cause to Fight Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Everywhere you go, at least in the upper Midwest, there are gluten free options around every corner. Sections of the grocery stores, separate menus at restaurants, even beer that is made without gluten. What I once assumed was part of a diet craze that was

sweeping the nation and would eventually fizzle out, was becoming more and more prevalent but I really didn’t understand why. Fast forward some 10 or 15 years later and I have a whole different perspective on what Inflammatory Bowel Disease is all about.

The company that I work for has been partnering with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Minnesota for a few years by the time I started with the company. I was fortunate enough to participate in a Flag Football Event that the foundation hosted to raise awareness and funds to aid in the research of the diseases. While the event was a great time, I left feeling a little empty, like I could have done more. The following spring, on a walk with Jill, that is when the idea of putting on our own 5K to benefit the foundation came to life. We have a few loved ones that are impacted by IBD and we knew that we could do more to make a difference. But I still had no idea what the true impact of was until we traveled to Nashville for a ZYIA Active conference. That is when we met Abigail.

As Abigail stepped on stage and took the mic you could tell that the nerves were setting in. Abigail was in front of 1,100 people or so and all eyes were on her. I could not imagine being in her shoes and not being nervous. The room was silent as everyone was doing their best to hear. The sound crew turned the mic all the way up as Abigail, the soft-spoken woman behind the podium began to tell her story. You could hear a pin drop in the large conference room and the hum of the mic was the only sound you could hear.

Abigail began to tell her story about how she had held off surgery for as long as her doctors would allow. This was one of 20 plus surgeries that the young woman has already endured. She knew that the recovery was going to be a long and hard road. One that she had been down many times before. A road that forced her to give up her career in teaching because of being immunocompromised. Abigail needed an Ileostomy, a surgically created opening in the abdomen in which a piece of her small intestine is brought outside the abdominal wall to collect digested food into an external pouch. Without a dry eye in the huge conference room and all 1,100 attendees on the edge of their seats, Abigail continued to talk about how this chronic disease has changed her life. From living with an ileostomy bag to finding a career that she can do from a hospital bed, Abigail never flinched as she talked about her daily life. We were all in awe of her strength and resilience. You begin to wonder how anyone could be capable of such feats and, if put in that same situation, could you even be half as strong as Abigail.

That is the moment that something changed.You could see the emotion on Abigail’s face. The strong woman was still there, but something else was taking over. Choking back tears, she thanked the group for the overwhelming support. She felt like she had purpose in life through the work that she does and is greater than a disease. Abigail closed her speech by again thanking everyone and as a nod to her spirit and the weight of the situation, she thanked God that she had an ileostomy bag because without it she would have “pooped herself.” I have had the privilege to get to know Abigail a little better since hearing her story. We discussed how Abigail’s insurance only covers half of the cost of the medication that she needs to survive. While I was heartbroken to hear that, what she told me next was even tougher to listen to. Abigail has navigated through countless numbers of surgeries and subsequent recoveries nearly entirely on her own.

Jill and I started The Crohn’s and Colitis 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk to help bring awareness and raise funds to support people in our community just like Abigail. What has blown us away is the number of people that have reached out to us with their stories of how they have been impacted by IBD. So many people are battling symptoms of IBD in silence. Imagine always assessing where the closest bathroom is in every situation just in case. One rouge ingredient in what you thought was a safe meal induces days of suffering. Vacations interrupted or closed out with only memories of suffering on the endless flight home. The strength it takes to put on that smile while inside your body is turning itself inside out. It is time to show those with such strength that they are not alone and that there is a community that is supporting them as we continue to work to find a cure so no one will ever have to battle alone again.

If you can be with us in person, do the event virtually, or if you cannot attend there is the opportunity to donate through the registration page. Help us show those who suffer from all types of Inflammatory Bowel Disease that we are all in this battle together and that no one is alone on this journey. Join us for a fun event to benefit a great cause.

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