For those of you who didn’t know, last week (Dec. 1-7) was Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week. All week long, I found myself thinking about and reflecting on my health more than I usually do. Part of that is because I started this blog, but part of that is because I’ve noticed what seems like an outpouring of support for the Crohn’s community. People have been talking about it in major media outlets, which is inspiring to someone like me who is just speaking up about it for the first time.
Here are some of the coolest things I’ve noticed during the past week:
- Last weekend, thousands of runners raised almost $4 million for CCFA by participating in the Rock & Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas. I’m so in awe not only of that amount of money, but also by shirts like these:
Credit: @CCFA
- CCFA launched an app called GI Buddy, which helps you track your disease. I just downloaded it a couple days ago and can’t wait to start using it! I’ll post a review of the app once I’ve been using it for a few weeks.
Screenshot of the new app. Credit: Apple
- A ton of celebrities have been speaking up about living with Crohn’s: Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready wrote this beautiful post for the Huffington Post, actor Ken Baumann (“Secret Life of the American Teenager”) tweeted about it, and tonight, former NFL player Matt Light is going to be honored during halftime of the Patriots game for his battle with Crohn’s. You can read a great interview with him in Men’s Health here.
Matt Light
In short, it’s been really cool to feel part of such a supportive community. But those feelings of inclusion, encouragement and optimism shouldn’t last for just one week. Crohn’s is, at least for now, a lifelong companion of ours, so we need to be raising awareness for it 365 days a year. Nevertheless, this week has made me feel great and I hope it was encouraging for you too!
College Crohnie 