Katie’s Crohn’s Journey & Surgery in December

Alyssa Supplee is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Katherine Novack.

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Hi my name is Alyssa, and I’m raising funds for Katie Novack. Katie is very near and dear to my heart and although we are not officially family, she is absolutely a sister to me.

Katie is a hardworking Occupational

Therapist who resides in Livonia, MI. She spends her days with her husband Bryan and their dog Winnie, the cutest Corgi there is! They like to go hiking together, explore National Parks and adventure with their dog. She’s a lover of music, photography and family!

The short story: Katie needs surgery… again! This surgery is one that we knew was inevitable, but we’re now being told it shouldn’t wait any longer in order to prevent further inflammation, recurrence of infection and prevent any possibility of cancer developing in her J-pouch.

The long story: Katie was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease when she was just 16 years old. And not just any version of Crohn’s, she got the worst of the worst. We’re talking her whole GI tract with both fistulizing and stricturing Crohns. She ended up having multiple surgeries including the removal of her entire colon by the age of 17 which left her with a J-pouch (go check Google if you’re feeling confused by now) and an irreversible ileostomy 5 years ago at the age of 27. As you might imagine this hasn’t been an easy journey or lifestyle for her.

Last year around this time Katie had ongoing symptoms resulting in significant weight loss. Her GI specialists had recommended the surgery to remove her J-pouch but there were concerns about her overall health and her ability to heal properly while being on and off of steroids and antibiotics, as well as trialing and failing quite literally every biologic medication.

Fast forward to now, after numerous hospitalizations and the diagnosis of Gastroparesis, Katie has successfully been off of steroids for 6 months and has been feeling better with less nausea and is better prepared for surgery. Surgery will consist of a J-pouch removal, protectomy, ileal revision, new ostomy placement, and G-tube placement.

While there is no good time financially to have surgery, now is an especially difficult time for Katie and Bryan due to her inability to work regularly over the last several years, but more so over these past 12 months. This is where you all come in!

Together with her family and friends I wanted to start a GoFundMe to help support her until she gets back on her feet. Any funds raised will go directly towards the cost of her medical bills, as well as any other household expenses, while she’s unable to work for several more weeks.

The surgery will be taking place in December at the Cleveland Clinic so that leaves Bryan without work during that time as well, creating more expenses while staying out of town to help her as she recuperates.

If you made it to the end of this story, thank you for your time and interest in learning about Katie. She is so much more than her diagnosis and is loved by so many!