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Everyone has a story but this is Katie's, my sister. At age 17, Katie - in the first year of her AS Level exams with the hope of making it to university - was, out of the blue, diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. Even though she was on a cocktail of heavy drugs to manage frequent and increasingly painful flare-ups, she passed her exams and went to Edinburgh University. Halfway through her second term, she was rushed to hospital for an emergency operation and had her colon removed leaving her with an ileostomy.If this was left any later, she wouldn't have survived. Recovery was not as close as anticipated and she had further challenges ahead. Peritonitis, collapsed lung, blood clot and a week on ketamine (morphine did not even touch the pain), a ventilator and feeding tubes in Intensive Care where the prognosis looked bleak followed, but thanks to the amazing care and attention by the staff at the Western General in Edinburgh, 10 weeks later my brave sister was discharged and allowed home to Surrey. The next four years were interspersed with more complications requiring further surgery including being 're-plumbed' but a fantastic surgical team at St. Marys Hospital in North London, were there to see her through some dark times. After six years, my sister is free from Colitis and graduated from Durham University. 

I was 13 when my sister was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis of which we had no prior knowledge and the impact on her life and that of the family has been huge. Talking bowels should not be a taboo subject - it's something we all have in common.

Around 260,000 people in the UK are affected by IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) with the most common being Crohn's (115,000) and Ulcerative Colitis (146,000). It's estimated that Ulcerative Colitis alone, affects one in every 420,000 people in the UK, often appearing for the first time between the ages of 15 and 25. Although in many cases, they can be managed through medication, diet and in some cases surgery, there is currently no cure for these conditions, which can have some awkward, painful and distressing symptoms. But for those with those conditions, this becomes central to their lives, toilets and their whereabouts assume top priority and lack of awareness and understanding by others, can make the individual feel isolated and miserable. 

Lewis Moody, a former England rugby union player explains "It's a pain in the arse, because if it strikes when you're young and fit, you're too embarrassed to talk about it; you just don't know what's hit you". He says sports people "are used to coping with all sorts of injuries, but the pain, feeling knackered all the time, and the humiliation of not always being able to control your bowels is terrible. Until it hit me, I'd have probably been one of the guys making toilet jokes about it... but it's no joke."

This story is why I have wanted to swim the channel for a long time. It's a big challenge which means more awareness and money for the cause. No matter how little or big your donation may be, we can help put a stop to these diseases or at least make people more aware of them.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity. 

Thank you for reading this lengthy story, but hopefully you can see why I've set myself this challenge.