Tag Archives: sharing your story

About IBD - The Power In Your IBD Story

The Power In Your IBD Story

When I asked Rosanne Mottola to come on About IBD and discuss her recent vaccination against COVID-19, I was excited that we could share her story with other people who live with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It has been a difficult year for everyone, but people who live with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis have also weathered a significant amount of uncertainty in regards to their health.

I also asked her to come back to briefly update me after her second dose and I thought I’d add it on as a segment of a longer episode. My intention was to understand how she felt physically and emotionally after the second shot, which wouldn’t take long. But it turns out we had more business to discuss and instead, we created another full-length episode together.

It became clear to me that Rosanne’s experience through the process of agreeing to tell her ulcerative colitis story and in creating Episode 87 with me brought up some salient issues that I’ve probably been long remiss in addressing.

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Summer of Activism: Navigating Your First Day on the Hill Meeting

Patient advocacy groups often take part in “Day on the Hill” events. This is when an organization sends a group of people to Washington DC to meet with the offices of federal representatives. I’ve attended several hill day events over the past several years with different patient advocacy groups. At this point, I’m ready to let you know some of my tips and tricks so that when you’re ready to get started and do this work, you’ll be prepared.

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10 Ways to Get Your Kids Involved in Activism

Summer of Activism: 10 Ways to Get Your Kids Involved in Advocacy

We tend to think of politics as being for adults. But how do adults become engaged citizens who take part in their community? They start as children, learning from parents about the importance and benefit of volunteering, voting, and understanding the challenges and opportunities in their community. There’s so much that parents can do to raise children to be active community members. In addition, some of the many skills that are learned along the way, include public speaking, networking, teamwork, strategy, and communication. Continue reading

Episode 47 - Attending a Town Hall Meeting

About IBD Podcast Episode 47 – Attending a Town Hall Meeting

Working with our local elected officials is important to having our voices heard. But attending local town hall meetings held by state or federal congressional representatives is daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before. Shawntel Bethea of Chronically Strong describes her journey from sending an email to asking for support from her Congresswoman at a meeting in her district. She gives her tips on how you can make an impact in your community for people living with IBD.

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Attending Medical Meetings as a Patient

About IBD Podcast Episode 46 – Attending Medical Meetings as a Patient

For this first episode of my limited series, Summer of Activism, I’m answering a question that I hear regularly: how it is that I go to medical meetings such as Digestive Disease Week, Advances in IBD, or Crohn’s and Colitis Congress. I give you the answer as well as tips on how patients, bloggers, podcasters, and vloggers can work towards attending these, and other, scientific meetings. Here’s a spoiler: it takes dedication to improving the lives of people with IBD, commitment to doing the work consistently, and some professional networking.

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Princesses Poop Too

About IBD Podcast 44 – Princesses Poop Too

Does having IBD make you feel like a princess? Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are not only painful, serious conditions, but they also carry stigma which leads to patients feeling isolated. Sophia Vicari, the founder of The Princess Promise, is creating a community that challenges the perception society has about digestive disease. Diagnosed with ulcerative colitis while in college, it didn’t take long before Sophia decided she needed to work to help others in the IBD community become more comfortable talking about poop. Hear Sophia’s disease journey, what it was like for her to be Miss Camden County, NJ, while living with ulcerative colitis, and how she plans to help women with IBD find their inner princess.

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IBD Day On the Hill 2019

IBD Day on the Hill

This year I attended the annual “Day on the Hill” with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (the Foundation) in Washington, DC. It’s a two-day advocacy event where people who have been touched by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), either as patients, caregivers, or healthcare professionals, meet with legislators and/or their staff.

That’s the postcard version: but let’s break this down so it makes more sense.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 40 - What Are People Going to Think_

About IBD Podcast 40 – What Are People Going to Think?

People who live with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis experience stigma because of their inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The taboo topic of bowel disease can permeate all aspects of a person’s life, especially when there are cultural influences also at play. Tina Aswani Omprakash, who lives with Crohn’s disease and a permanent ileostomy, shares her story of personal empowerment and how she is working to help other people with IBD live their lives with confidence. Tina describes how IBD has profoundly affected her family as well as why she decided to become an outspoken advocate for the IBD and ostomy communities and start her blog, Own Your Crohn’s.

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Coping With Unwanted Advice About IBD

How To Handle Unwanted Advice About IBD

Every person that lives with a chronic illness has been on the receiving end of advice related to managing their disease. People living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are especially vulnerable to the influx opinions, perhaps because the disease is not well understood by the general public (let alone by the medial profession outside of IBD experts). Some people are quick to suggest anything from a change in diet to alternative and complementary therapies, especially when the disease appears to be affecting daily life. It can be a struggle to deflect these comments with grace, especially when the suggestions have been tried already and didn’t offer any relief.

When people who don’t live with IBD offer their “advice,” how can you cope with it? Continue reading

Creating Your IBD Elevator Speech

How to Create Your IBD Elevator Speech

An elevator speech or elevator pitch is a quick summary of a topic that can be given in about under a minute: just enough time to take an elevator ride. It’s usually thought of in a business sense, like a sales pitch or an idea you have that you present to someone in management upon a chance meeting (such as in the elevator). The use has been expanded to mean any prepared and rehearsed speech that you can give quickly on a moment’s notice. The purpose of this article is to guide you on crafting your elevator speech about your inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

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