Take Steps!

I forgot to add this to my last post...  At age 9 I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease (I think I've mentioned this previously so forgive me if I have).  For anyone new to the disease basically, Crohn's can affect any part of your digestive system and causes immense pain and other more serious complications (I won't go into the details now).  I've been very lucky with it and haven't had to go through any serious serious treatment (like surgery to remove part of my digestive track, or some of the harsher medications) but I've never quite got it totally under control.  Honestly, it sucks, but it's all that I've really known so you learn how to deal with it.  I know I could have it so much worse than I do so I'm very lucky.

The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America started putting together walks to raise money for research and to work towards finding a cure for these diseases called Take Steps for Crohn's and Colitis. Since I'm not doing much else, I was given the chance to be a chair on the planning committee for this year's walk.  I am so excited to be involved at this level this year.  Anyone can participate in the walk either as part a team or as an individual.  I'm a team captain this year so on top of the planning, I have a personal (team) fundraising goal to work towards myself.  The walk is scheduled for June 18, 2011 at Wade Oval (University Circle).  I know we have a ton of work to do and some of it seems pretty daunting at this point but I'm so excited to get the ball rolling.  I'll post updates on the planning and of my team's progress.

The biggest thing about Crohn's and Colitis is that there is very little public knowledge about either disease.  You don't really hear about them until you know someone affected by one or the other.  One of the biggest things about the walk other than the obvious fund raising is the ability it has to raise awareness.  People will join the Susan G. Koman walk or the March of Dimes or another big walk just to be a little more philanthropic, even if they aren't personally affected by the cause.  With Take Steps, just about everyone either has one of the diseases or knows someone who does.  By doing these walks, hopefully we can raise funds as well as awareness.

I will be posting more about CCFA and Take Steps as we move forward with the planning, but if you'd like to know any more, or would like to get involved, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Alli