Fighting against all evil
I’m tackling the Crohn’s stigma with my superhero challenge T here are currently at least 115,000 people living with the condition in the UK. The exact cause is unknown but it’s thought to be an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks health
It was an ongoing battle. Diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fatigue…
I was 8 when the symptoms started.
And after years of going back and forth to doctors, I finally got answers at 14.
‘It’s Crohn’s disease,’ I was told after tests.
It’s a long-term condition that causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive system. There’s no known cause or cure.
I was given various meds to help ease my symptoms. But as I got older, I struggled to control my flare-ups.
Some days I’d spend hours on the toilet, doubled over in pain.
It was an embarrassing condition to live with. I couldn’t go out without worrying where the nearest loo was.
Over the years, my condition got worse. Aged 24, I needed surgery to remove an inflamed part of my bowel.
After, I began a type of infusion therapy to help with my symptoms. It seemed to do the trick and I stopped having big flare-ups.
Then, in January last year, I joined a Facebook support group called IBD Superheroes.
It was great talking to people who understood what I was going through. And it got me thinking… ‘I shouldn’t be embarrassed speaking about Crohn’s,’ I said to my boyfriend Shane, 33.
For years I’d hidden it, like a shameful secret. So I set myself a challenge. I wanted to complete a 10k run every month for a
For years I’d hidden it, like a shameful secret
year. And I’d raise money for IBD Superheroes by getting people to sponsor me. ‘Even better, I’ll dress up as a superhero!’ I told Shane. So I bought myself a Wonder Woman costume, SpiderMan, Slash, The Incredible Hulk…
For my first run, I was Wonder Woman.
With my cape billowing in the breeze, I ran 10k.
Friends and family cheered me on. Even strangers in cars hooted their support.
Each month I donned a different costume and took to the streets in my fight against Crohn’s.
‘A superhero’s work is never done,’ I laughed to Shane.
He even ran with me a few times, dressed as Spider-man.
Then, last summer, I had another idea…
‘I want to compete on
Ninja Warrior UK,’
I decided. The ITV show was one of my favourites. And it seemed like the ultimate challenge for a superhero. So I applied, and was invited for an audition. Wearing my lucky Wonder
Woman costume, I told the producers about my challenge.
And, out of 30,000 applicants, I made it onto the show!
That August, I went to a studio for filming. Dressed to do battle as always, my heart was pounding.
But when I heard the signal to start, it was like I’d been given a surge of power.
Tearing across the first hurdle, I climbed, jumped and leapt my way to the fourth obstacle. But my superhero powers ran out when I fell on my way to the fifth.
My attempt to be a Ninja Warrior had failed. But so what? ‘I had so much fun!’ I beamed. It didn’t matter that I’d not succeeded. I’d achieved something far greater…
When the show aired in January this year, I was flooded with messages from strangers.
Fellow Crohn’s sufferers told me how brave I was.
Since then, I’ve completed my 10k run challenge, raised £1,500. All the money IBD Superhereos gets goes straight to the charity Crohn's and Colitis UK.
This superhero isn’t ready to give up her mission just yet.
I’m hoping to take on the London Marathon next year.
And I’m still battling my nemesis – the big bad Crohn’s!
It’s one heck of a fight, but one I’ll never let defeat me.
Dressed to do battle as always, my heart was pounding