About

Peter Rygg, 2024 Night of Champions Patient Speaker

Peter was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis at age 5, following several years of symptoms, scopes, and treatments. Being diagnosed at such a young age made it challenging for him to not only understand why he didn’t feel well but to endure the various aspects to the disease, including difficult colonoscopy prep and especially the “moon face” side effect of prolonged steroid treatment. An emergency blood transfusion and hospital stay at age 7 required a medication change and diet restrictions that can be difficult at any age, but particularly for a young child.

The past 12 years of Peter’s disease have brought medication failures and half a dozen flares, which each time requires months of labs, diet restrictions, and additional therapies. But with the help of his incredible care team at Children’s Nebraska, Peter has found a consistent treatment that has kept him flare and pain-free for several years.

Although living with IBD is all Peter has ever known, it has brought opportunities to connect with other kids like him in the community. By attending the annual My IBD Family events and volunteering at the annual Take Steps walk, Peter has been able to create positive memories over the years that outweigh the negative ones.

Peter is 17 years old and attends Elkhorn South High School where he plays varsity soccer and loves to golf in his free time. A 4.0 honor roll student, he plans to study finance in college and pursue a career in financial planning. He has experienced first-hand how working closely with a care team and connecting with the community has helped manage his IBD and enabled him to live his healthiest life. He truly believes that a cure is possible in his lifetime, especially because of the fundraising and research efforts of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.