Brigid’s Story

 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in May 2018. I love to read, do art, be outside and explore. I love to travel and see new things. I love animals and my pets. When I get older, I want to be a writer, and write fictional stories. I want to visit Kitty Hawk to see where the Wright Brothers flew their first plane, and I want to see the cherry blossom trees in Japan. This past year and a half has been very scary and tiring, but also very interesting to learn about the human body and how it reacts to this disease. I have been lucky to not have any problems outside my gut, but it’s kinda scary to think about how this could affect my eyes, joints and other things. The medications can also cause problems – I had an anaphylactic reaction to a medication that worked really well to control my Crohn’s symptoms, but since it made me stop breathing, I can’t take it anymore. My medication options are limited since I’m a kid. I’m on a new biologic medication that I have to get injected every two weeks, but we’re not sure if it’s working yet.

 Something that scares me about Crohn’s is that I will have it my whole life. I will have to have these medications forever to control the flare ups. Even though I have this disease, I am still the same Brigid, and I don’t want people to forget that. This disease won’t spread to other people. It’s awful, but my doctors, parents and I are trying to keep it under control. I decided to fight back by joining Take Steps and help raise money to find cures. I also think it’s pretty cool that the Foundation has Camp Oasis. This was my first year going to camp and I loved it.