Meet Julia —Professional Women’s Soccer Player Living with IBD 

Julia was just 4 years old when she learned to play soccer. She fell in love with the sport and had the athletic ability to be a team player while attending the East Longmeadow school system in MA. She received a full soccer scholarship to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst! Although soccer took up a lot of her time, this “go-getter” graduated with a Bachelors in Kinesiology. After college, she moved to Rome, Italy where she had family with connections to people in the European soccer world. This gave Julia the opportunity to get called up for “trials.” Julia clarifies, “This is when you’re invited to play with a team for 2 weeks, and they give you free housing during that time. At the end, they decide if they want you to play for them or not.”

Julia started playing professional soccer abroad in 2017 at age 22. In her 5^th year of playing overseas was when her IBD story began. It was 2021. She was a Defender on a soccer team in Italy. Things were going well. Julia was looking forward to flying home for Christmas. Unfortunately, a teammate got COVID-19. Julia tested positive too. She had to quarantine in Italy during the holidays. In addition to having cold-like symptoms, she had terrible diarrhea and weight loss. She thought it odd that the non-respiratory symptoms continued after she was well over COVID-19.

She often had to sprint to the bathroom so she wouldn’t have an accident. After soccer games, Julia was so exhausted, she just slept. After one game while in the bathroom, she noticed blood in the toilet bowl. Julia went to urgent care. Not finding anything obvious, they sent her home. But Julia returned to urgent care the next morning because her symptoms were just as bad. She was told to see a GI doctor and get a colonoscopy. Julia came back home for summer break. She saw a local GI doctor who performed a limited sigmoidoscopy. This doctor thought it was ulcerative colitis, but the pathology confirmed it was Crohn’s disease.

Over the next couple of months, Julia struggled to find a treatment option that worked for her until her doctor perscribed her a biologic. But because Julia was moving to Ireland to play Defender for the Athlone Town team, it wasn’t possible to start the prior authorization process in Italy as it would take too long. In February 2023 Julia signed on to the team, making her debut for the “club” in the women's President's Cup final on February 25^th. And she found a GI doctor in Ireland.

Julia continued to deal with her Crohn’s flare-ups. Besides intense fatigue, Julia was always trying to figure out when she should eat. She began ingesting bland, plain food several hours before she had to play. This helped ease her bowel urgency and bathroom runs. On another IBD note, Julia admits she felt pressure during “social team time” after games because she couldn’t drink any alcohol like her teammates. Julia is currently in a Crohn’s flare up. Her GI doctor is starting her on a biologic. In the meantime, this IBD warrior lives her life the best she can with a positive attitude!

When Julia heard about the Foundation from a GI doctor, she was impressed with the website and learned a lot. She joined the Foundation’s social media groups too. Julia plans to get involved on soccer breaks.

As an athlete, Julia needs to put in the work to play her best. She says, “I believe IBD is especially difficult for athletes physically and mentally because you have to train so hard. Crohn’s has challenged me, but I refuse to let it defeat me!”

Julia said that after confiding in her soccer roommate about her Crohn’s, she felt less embarrassed about it. She realized hiding her disease was not doing her any favors. Communicating with her soccer coaches about the Crohn’s has also helped a lot. Although they are tough on the field, Julia’s coaches understand her medical situation and try to make accommodations when they can. In her IBD journey, Julia has realized it’s okay if she can’t participate in everything all the time. She knows her limits and accepts them instead of fighting back. She has also learned to handle stress in a more productive way. In the past, she was hesitant sharing what was stressing her out. Now she openly communicates about her stressors to help resolve them quicker.

Julia says, “I want other young athletes to know they are not alone. Try not to make assumptions that your IBD will permanently limit your life. I’ve found that you can learn to live with your disease and make the best of it!”

Some of Julia’s proudest accomplishments so far are having played soccer in 4 countries (including the United States), learning the Italian language and becoming fluent in it, and earning her Master’s Degree in Business Management from Durham University, England, in 2020. She loves to travel and enjoys living in Europe. Not surprisingly, she likes watching professional soccer on TV. But she’s also fond of all sports. Julia likes reading books, trying new food at restaurants, experiencing various cultural lifestyles, and meeting new people.