Stories of IBD Awareness, Empowerment, and Inspiration
“I was walking through Midway, feeling frantic because our flight had been delayed, and then our gate changed. Naturally, I was in the bathroom when this happened. As I was darting to another terminal across the airport, a woman walked by and eyed my shirt. As we passed, she made eye contact and just quietly said, “Thank you.”
It reminded me that in choosing to speak out for ourselves, we’re also speaking out for all of those who — like me for the first 6 years — are not ready yet. It’s okay that they aren’t ready. I am happy to be a voice until they are. If they ever are. I hope they are, someday.”
“My first experience wearing my GBM t-shirt was at the movie theater. I was standing waiting for someone to come out of the bathroom (appropriate I guess) when a mother and her young daughter came up to me. She smiled and said that she liked my shirt, and then told her daughter that I had Crohn’s Disease. It turned out her daughter has Crohn’s as well. The little girl said, “I don’t like Crohn’s.” I told her that I didn’t like it either, but we were going to make sure everyone knew about it, so somebody would come up with some better medicine and we could get rid of Crohn’s. She smiled and gave me a high five before going into her movie.”
“When I picked up my mom the other day this is what she was wearing! She told me how the TSA agent at the security check point asked about her shirt. The agent told her, her sister was just diagnosed with UC and that she wasn’t taking it seriously. After talking with my mom she said she was going to urge her sister to go to a doctor and start treatment.”
“My experience was in the checkout at the grocery store. While the cashier was ringing up my groceries I noticed him looking at my shirt a couple of times. I said, “You can ask.” He said that he knew what it was because his mom had been diagnosed with Crohn’s many years ago. He said that she hadn’t been to a doctor about it since before he was born because they could never do anything about it. I told him that there had been several advancements in medication in recent years, and that she should definitely give treatment another chance. He said he would try to talk her into going to see a GI. All because I was wearing the t-shirt.”
“I ride with this bike jersey every Sunday for over 50 miles through Suffolk County Long Island. I had to stop and use the bathroom on this isolated road when I came across a deli. I went in and asked to use there rest room and when I came out the girl behind the counter said “I’m sorry”. I asked for what? She said you’re riding with IBD. I said nothing, I was speechless. We spoke for around a half hour and I road the rest of my ride home smiling. The jersey did the thing. Thank you for putting it out there.”
“I had someone stop me at the mall and tell me he liked my shirt, then he saw me again and told me that he had Crohn’s also, we talked for a few minutes about meds. Also had a clerk in a convenient store ask me about it, because she thought she had it, but hadn’t been diagnosed yet.”