Real talk about the realities of IBD, served on the rocks!
Grab your favorite beverage and join hosts, Alicia and Robin, as they explore the intricacies of life with IBD with their guests. In this space, we will celebrate the joys, face the challenges, and treasure those unexpected moments that catch us off guard. The goal is to elevate the personal experiences that resonate with you and offer steadfast support as they highlight the incredible resilience of the IBD community.
Hey, I’m
Robin
I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2000.
I had recently returned to college after having two baby girls in 2.5 years. I got very sick very fast and ended up in the hospital. It was decided that my colon needed to be removed pretty emergently and I left the hospital after 3+ weeks with no colon and an ostomy. After the pathology reports came back my diagnosis was changed to interderminant colitis and my surgeon decided against giving me a j-pouch. He asked if I would consider connecting my illeum to what was left of my rectum and giving life without the ostomy a shot. I figured why not and lived that way for 20 years. In 2018 my diagnosis changed again and I had to accept the fact that I had Crohn’s disease all along. My scope in 2020 showed the potential for colon cancer and another surgery was necessary. I ended up getting a jpouch after all. People with Crohn’s are not usually given a jpouch for a myriad of reasons, but I was thought to be a good candidate because my Crohn’s was in my stomach (RARE) and there had been no signs of Crohn’s in my small intestines ever. So now, I’m a crohnie with a jpouch and sharing it all with all of you on the podcast.
Hey, I’m
Alicia
I’m a social worker that’s been working with people living with chronic illnesses for more than 20 years (I was a fetus when I started. I promise).
My dad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when I was a teenager and that really sparked my passion for working with these communities. I started focusing on IBD about 7 years ago and I’ve absolutely loved getting to know and be part of this community! All of the people living with IBD are so resilient, passionate, and interesting and all of the healthcare providers are so smart, funny, invested, and committed. Best of all, this community is the reason that I met and had the privilege of making friends with Robin! I could not have asked for a better co-host and ride-or-die and creating and producing this podcast has been SO much fun.
