Column from May 29th

Not long until race day. Am I ready? Will I finish? It doesn’t matter. Of course I will finish! I’ll probably end up doing a run/walk/stop to take photos combination. That’s what one of our team mentors, Leigh, did during her very first Team Challenge event. Leigh has completed seven Team Challenge events to date. She is an inspiration to me and to the rest of the team. Then there is Jodie. She is also a mentor with 3 events under her belt. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s about 12 years ago, and then her brother was diagnosed with Crohn’s, now her 12 year old son has recently been diagnosed with Crohn’s.  And my personal mentor, Sarah, from North Carolina. A few years ago her 8 year old daughter, Grace was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. Grace has had 3 surgeries so far and she has not reached her 10^th birthday yet. She will be 10 in August. Grace’s first hospital stay lasted 49 days.  49 DAYS!   All of their stories are posted on my blog. Please take a moment to stop and read their stories. Like I’ve said before, don’t forget the Kleenex.

Since I started this journey, I’ve had numerous people come up to me to tell me they know someone with either Crohn’s or colitis. Last Saturday, May 21^st, I held a garage sale for the CCFA. During the garage sale a couple from Midland walked up and asked if this was the sale benefiting Crohn’s and colitis. Through the course of our conversation I found out that their niece has Crohn’s. We must have talked for 30 minutes. We exchanged business cards and I hope they keep in touch. I know I’ll be sending and email soon.  Shortly after the couple left a young girl walked up with a couple of friends. I approached her said hi and she asked about the Crohn’s and colitis foundation. She has ulcerative colitis and she just wanted to talk to someone that knows what she is dealing with. She told me that she has to get blood transfusions regularly because of all of the blood loss due to UC. Her doctors are talking surgery, but she wasn’t sure. I was able to tell her about my experiences with UC with my surgery, having an ostomy and life after surgery. I also told her about the foundation and the web address.  I hope that I was able to give her some hope. I was able to raise over $300 from the garage sale. But I can honestly say that even if I had sat there all day and hadn’t sold one thing, it would have all been worth it just to meet and be able to share with those three people.  Please help people like the couple’s niece and the young girl. Make a donation by visiting my fundraising page today. I have 15 days left to reach my fundraising goal. If you’ve considered making a donation but haven’t done so, I urge you to do it today. Go to the computer and visit my fundraising page: http://www.active.com/donate/kona11national/konaRKingha

If we all work together, we can make a difference in all of their lives and the lives of their families and friends. IBD doesn’t just have an effect on the patients it effects everyone around them.  Send me an email, visit my blog, make a difference, be a part of the answer.