Our Stories

I was diagnosed with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease when I was 12. Unfortunately, nearly all FDA approved medications have proved unsuccessful for me over the last 20 years, and I’ve required four surgeries involving resections of my colon and small bowel due to the aggressive nature of my case. I’ve experienced symptoms all over my digestive tract, from mouth to anus, and have suffered complications involving skin issues, anemia, weight loss and weight gain, as well as others that many Crohn’s suffers are all too familiar with.

Beginning in my college years, I struggled with occasional GI symptoms. I always brushed it off as stress or something I ate. It wasn’t until several years after I graduated and was in my professional career that my symptoms worsened so much that I could no longer ignore it or brush it off. My husband encouraged me to finally see a doctor so we both could see that this was not normal. But, the first GI I went to only saw a healthy looking, young woman, smiling and happy – how could she possibly be sick? He put it off to stress and heartburn, gave me medication for it, and sent me on my way.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when I was 17 years old. I began experiencing symptoms during my junior year of high school. Three months later, two-and-a-half weeks of school missed, and two surgeries to resolve fistulas, I was diagnosed. My care team and I began two years of exploring and tweaking my medication regimen until we finally found a treatment that worked. Fast forward seven years, I began developing antibodies against this medication and was placed on a different biologic which I have been on ever since.

In 2014, I was on NBC’s The Biggest Loser. I was completely healthy before going to the show, but I was extremely obese. I was unhappy and had zero self-worth, but by the time our season finale aired in January 2015, I shed almost 100 pounds and felt amazing! My self-confidence was through the roof and for the first time in over 20 years, I was completely happy and healthy. I couldn’t ask for a more supportive husband, son, and family. After the show, I continued to work out six days a week and ate extremely healthy food. In June 2015, I completed my first triathlon and felt on top of the world. I kept my weight off for over a year—not an easy task! But life came crashing down in May of 2016.

While many patients enroll in clinical trials as a last resort, my clinical trial participation began early on in my journey with Crohn’s.  After several visits to the emergency room for abdominal pain and various tests with no definitive answers, I finally received my Crohn’s diagnosis in the fall of 2017. It came as a result of a capsule endoscopy used to record pictures of my digestive tract. 

If you want to get healthy, you must believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel no matter how dark, cold, and damp that tunnel gets. I am uncertain if my disease will ever resurface; however, if it does…I AM READY!

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 1993 at the age of 13. A common steroid let me carry on and go to school but every time I tried to switch to a new medication, the results were less promising. I spent three years yo-yoing up and down on this steroid. We lived in the mountains of Colorado and had to travel about 4 hours to the nearest gastroenterologist. This made each medication change a huge ordeal for me and for my family.

When I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis as a twenty-year old, I never thought I would go so far as enrolling in a clinical trial to manage my disease. I was actually very resistant to most medications in the beginning. It’s hard to come to terms with being dependent on medication for the rest of your life when you are supposed to be in your prime. I felt like my body was betraying me.

From a young age, I knew that I wanted to be a mother. But, when I began experiencing symptoms of Crohn’s disease at age 21, I became worried about how my future may look. Knowing instinctively that I wanted to be well to have a child, I set out on a mission to heal the angry disease that was taking over my intestines.

Jennifer A., a Clinical Trials Ambassador shares her son, Christopher's story.