If you're here, you probably know that my wife Kaeli has been suffering and recovering from a severe Crohn's and Colitis relapse last fall, so to honor to her and millions more enduring these painful conditions like her, I'm running a half marathon this September with Team Challenge; a non-profit that fundraises to support IBD research and raise awareness, in hopes that someday no one will have to go through what we have these last months. If you can, any sum you could spare would significantly aid research, development, and treatments for these diseases which are currently incurable.

And the more money I raise, the faster I'll try to run I guess.

My wife Kaeli was in remission from ulcerative colitis from the day we met seven years ago until last fall. We decided in October to go to Disneyworld as one last hurrah before seriously trying our hand at being adults, but Kaeli started to struggle operating for long stretches of time at the parks. We didn't think much of it at the time, as we had only known good health, but that would soon change.

Kaeli started eating less and suffered from a loss of vitality, so we first took her to the emergency room where a charge nurse offered to just hack out her colon on the spot, but we still thought we had options. Kaeli was admitted to Good Samaritan hospital in Lafayette, where she was given heroic doses of steroids and painkillers to try and subdue the ulcers developing in her intestines. She was later released and prescribed a new experimental drug to treat her colitis, but that didn't seem to have much effect.

We went to Boulder Community Hospital next, where her health continued to diminish. She wasn't eating, and in constant pain. Weakened and out of options, doctors started to speak of surgery, but we were scared. When you live your entire life with a specific biological composition, the thought of anything else feels eerie and lesser. You're still you, but you've changed in an invisible way that steals a commonality between you and those around you.

After a day or two of contemplation, we opted into a colectomy at UC Anschutz, which is curative for ulcerative colitis. Kaeli underwent a total of 3 surgeries over the course of 6 months during which a total of 5 feet of lower intestine were removed, and some remade into a makeshift colon to aid in digestion. Kaeli, after months of suffering, was starting to eat again and for a time it seemed life could return to normal.

Unfortunately, Kaeli was still in a great deal of pain and started experiencing similar symptoms to those felt at the start of her relapse all those months ago. Imagine you get sick, undergo several surgeries to remedy it, recover from each surgery, and then you find yourself back at the beginning almost like all that time and heartache was for not.

It was during this more recent, painful period that we learned that Kaeli is also suffering from symptoms of Crohn's disease. Although this has been an extremely trying time for us, know that we're almost through. We have a treatment plan, and are in high spirits. Kaeli is responding extremely well to antibiotics, and we're optimistic a transition to a biologic medication will speed her recovery.

I'm running to honor her and everything she and others go through to fight this illness, in hope that someday no one will have to suffer what we and so many others suffer.

About Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis

Known collectively as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis affect millions of Americans. They are painful, medically incurable diseases that attack the digestive system. Crohn's disease may attack anywhere along the digestive tract, while ulcerative colitis inflames only the large intestine (colon). Many patients require numerous hospitalizations and surgery. Most people develop the diseases between the ages of 15 and 35; however the incidence is increasing in children.