Crohn’s disease doesn’t discriminate against age.
Henry Walsh was 60, Rebecca DeCoste was nine and Phillip Hollis was in college when they were diagnosed with the illness.
The three from Pictou County have all had different experiences but a common struggle with the disease which impacts the gut.
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are both forms of inflammatory bowel disease, which inflames the lining of the gastro-intestinal tract and disrupts a person’s ability to digest food, absorb nutrition and eliminate waste. Symptoms include abdominal pain, cramping, gas, bloating, fatigue, diarrhea and loss of appetite.
Walsh had some other health issues prior to being diagnosed with Crohn’s which he believes may have been partly responsible.
“I had a lot of antibiotics and antibiotics tend to sometimes throw off your gut,” he said. “It kills the good bacteria and then the bad stuff takes over.”
He has tried medication and had numerous surgeries to try to address the problem, but there is no cure for the disease and he finds it’s often hard to plan around.
“It’s really hard to travel and that sort of thing. You don’t really have control. You get up in the morning and hopefully you have a good day.”
That’s why he believes events like the Gutsy Walk coming up in New Glasgow on Sunday, June 3, is important because it helps provide money for researchers looking for a permanent cure or alternative medicines to treat it.
DeCoste has also been a strong supporter of the Crohn’s and colitis walk for the last three years since being diagnosed around the age of nine.
The reason she believes it’s important is “to make people aware of Crohn’s and fundraise money for research.”
She raises funds by going door-to-door and with the help of her mom and other employees at Lawtons drugs holds a barbecue and a bake sale.
Hollis has been involved with the walk ever since it was started in Pictou County by his parents, Michael and Nancy Hollis.
What he enjoys about it is it brings together people of all ages for a common cause of raising funds and awareness.
He said his brother was diagnosed earlier, and for a while he hid his symptoms.
It was while he was at university that his symptoms got particularly bad.
With the help of medication he’s been able to keep those symptoms under control for the most part, but like most Crohn’s sufferers he never knows when it may flare up again. That's why finding a cure is so important to him.
“It’s one of those little things that not a lot of people realize that a lot of people have to deal with. It may not be immediately life threatening but it definitely has a lot of impact on people, especially young people and kids when they get diagnosed. It’s good to bring awareness to it.”
Want to go?
The Gutsy Walk will be held Sunday, June 3, at Carmichael Park in New Glasgow. Registration is at 1 p.m. and the walk starts at 1:30 p.m. For more information visit www.gutsywalk.ca
Crohn’s and Colitis Facts
1 in 150 Canadians live with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
Canada has among the highest rates of the disease in the world
Families new to Canada are developing Crohn’s and colitis for the first time – often within the first generation
The incidence of Crohn’s disease in children under 10 in Canada has almost doubled since 1995
SOURCE: Crohn’s and Colitis Canada
