This week I learned again just how dangerous IBD can be.   This week we lost another warrior in the battle against Crohn’s Disease.  Karrie Jacobs, mother of 2 little kids and a wife to a loving husband, died from complications of the disease.  I don’t know the whole story but it is being said that she had some issues with strictures and was having trouble breathing.  She called 9-1-1 and by the time the paramedics got there, she had stopped breathing and had pasted on.

I got to know Karrie from a IBD group on Facebook.  She was very kind to others and had a great heart.  I wasn’t aware she had some issues go on so this was a big shock to me as well as everyone else.  But is also shows just how deadly these invisible illnesses can be.

This isn’t the first time I have seen IBD take away someone.  As many of you know, my Father in Law passes away because of complication due to Ulcerative Colitis.  I never knew before him how IBD can be deadly.  Now that I have learned more about both CD and UC I am seeing that they can be as deadly as any other disease.  What makes this worse is that many people don’t know this.

When someone gets Cancer, they get Chemo.  If you have clogged arteries, there are medicines that you can take to lower cholesterol.  But when it comes to IBD, there is still tons of guess work going on and the meds we take don’t always help.  A lot of the times the doctor “tries out” the medicine to see if it will help.

This all frustrates me so much.  Because of the lack of education and funding for IBD, more people will pass away from the diseases.  People that shouldn’t have to if more money was given into finding cures.  Because so many people have no clue what IBD is, the government doesn’t focus on it.  Instead it is left to smaller charities like CCFA to fund the research.

Recently, I joined up with IIF (Intense Intestines Foundation).  They are a smaller charity that raises money and awareness for IBD.  I decided to join because I would be working on something that is near and dear to my heart….education.  I will be working on helping to educate both patients and medical professionals.  I have wanted to do this for so long now and finally my chance is here.

My personal goal is to help bring IBD into the foreground so that we are finally recognized as a serious illness.  I don’t want anymore people to die from these disease because, reality is, they shouldn’t be.  We need a cure and we need it now.  This won’t come until people get educated and help fund the research.

Karrie, you will be missed by so many people.  Just know, you will be remembered.  You were definitely loved and I want to make sure that no one has to go through what your family is going through now.  A cure will be found….I want to make sure of that.