Charity Smith
WALK IT 2019
Fundraising for Crohn’s & Colitis UK
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Firstly! Thank you to everyone who contributed last year. We raised £675.000. That's enough to fund 4 days of research with funds still left over to contribute elsewhere.
As I'm sure a lot of you know, I suffer from a disease called Crohn's Disease which is a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. IBD affects over 300,000 people in the UK, children & adults. There is no known cure for IBD yet. Contributions big or small will make all the difference. Research is a crucial part to finding a cure. The more we know about IBD the better chance we have to improve diagnosis and treatments, fund research into finding a cure, and raise awareness of these invisible diseases.
This year I am taking part in the 10K walk around Bristol with my super cool dad, my loving partner Ben, superstar James L & his wonderful parents Jackie & Graham. If you wish to support us any contributions big or small are extremely appreciated.
I was diagnosed when I was 16. My first symptoms of Crohn's disease were multiple ulcers around my mouth and down my throat. I thought they would naturally just go away but more kept appearing each day. I was no longer able to eat or drink. I lost my appetite almost instantly and it became really painful to talk or swallow. Later on I started getting intense stomach cramps and I was extremely tired all the time. I would only do half a day at school or I would end up sleeping in the nurses office. I figured that eating caused the pain, so I stopped eating, but then drinking caused pain too so I stopped drinking. Although I wasn't eating or drinking I was still going to the bathroom and my toilet trips increased rapidly. I started passing a lot of blood at this point. Something that sticks out in my mind was when I couldn't move from my bed or talk because I was too exhausted just from walking to the bathroom and my dad said we're going to the doctor's. I didn't move or say anything so he picked me up and put me in the car. After that I was in hospital for over 2 weeks. I was on IV fluids pretty much the whole time and they put me on IV steroids to try and control the inflammation. They also had to try & get me to eat which I didn't co-operate with. I was going to have modulen but I refused because it gave me cramps and I was going to have an NG tube which my dad was against. So they decided to put me on a liquid diet. I drank nothing but supplement milkshakes.
Fast forward to now. I've been in an ongoing flare for way over a year now, I went back to a liquid diet for 6 weeks, was on a 24 week course of prednisolone, dropped to 6.5 stone, and this had an effect on my mental health. Recently, I've started Methotrexate, have iron infusions, am up to 8 stone, self inject adaludimab and have lots and lots of blood tests.
Crohn's disease and Ulcerative colitis are debilitating diseases. We are easily misunderstood because our symptoms are hidden. So here's a big walk to raise awareness for everyone who suffers with these diseases.
Please spread the word by sharing this JustGiving page.
Firstly! Thank you to everyone who contributed last year. We raised £675.000. That's enough to fund 4 days of research with funds still left over to contribute elsewhere.
As I'm sure a lot of you know, I suffer from a disease called Crohn's Disease which is a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. IBD affects over 300,000 people in the UK, children & adults. There is no known cure for IBD yet. Contributions big or small will make all the difference. Research is a crucial part to finding a cure. The more we know about IBD the better chance we have to improve diagnosis and treatments, fund research into finding a cure, and raise awareness of these invisible diseases.
This year I am taking part in the 10K walk around Bristol with my super cool dad, my loving partner Ben, superstar James L & his wonderful parents Jackie & Graham. If you wish to support us any contributions big or small are extremely appreciated.
I was diagnosed when I was 16. My first symptoms of Crohn's disease were multiple ulcers around my mouth and down my throat. I thought they would naturally just go away but more kept appearing each day. I was no longer able to eat or drink. I lost my appetite almost instantly and it became really painful to talk or swallow. Later on I started getting intense stomach cramps and I was extremely tired all the time. I would only do half a day at school or I would end up sleeping in the nurses office. I figured that eating caused the pain, so I stopped eating, but then drinking caused pain too so I stopped drinking. Although I wasn't eating or drinking I was still going to the bathroom and my toilet trips increased rapidly. I started passing a lot of blood at this point. Something that sticks out in my mind was when I couldn't move from my bed or talk because I was too exhausted just from walking to the bathroom and my dad said we're going to the doctor's. I didn't move or say anything so he picked me up and put me in the car. After that I was in hospital for over 2 weeks. I was on IV fluids pretty much the whole time and they put me on IV steroids to try and control the inflammation. They also had to try & get me to eat which I didn't co-operate with. I was going to have modulen but I refused because it gave me cramps and I was going to have an NG tube which my dad was against. So they decided to put me on a liquid diet. I drank nothing but supplement milkshakes.
Fast forward to now. I've been in an ongoing flare for way over a year now, I went back to a liquid diet for 6 weeks, was on a 24 week course of prednisolone, dropped to 6.5 stone, and this had an effect on my mental health. Recently, I've started Methotrexate, have iron infusions, am up to 8 stone, self inject adaludimab and have lots and lots of blood tests.
Crohn's disease and Ulcerative colitis are debilitating diseases. We are easily misunderstood because our symptoms are hidden. So here's a big walk to raise awareness for everyone who suffers with these diseases.
Please spread the word by sharing this JustGiving page.