Jessie’s Birthday Fundraiser

Very few of my FB friends know that I was diagnosed 4 years ago with Microscopic Colitis (MC); a rare, although an increasingly more common, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Until now I’ve never posted anything about it or the way it has profoundly negatively impacted my quality of life. My family and friends all know, but putting it out there on Facebook is a whole other thing. I thought the occasion of my birthday was a good time to share it.

Although approximately 10-12 million people in the world suffer with other IBD‘s, primarily Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) what’s different about MC is that unlike those other IBDs, the mechanism/inflammatory pathway for MC is still unknown. And, because it’s mistakenly viewed as a non-life-threatening disease, there are simply no research dollars going into figuring that out.

If you watch any TV (in the United States anyway) you see many ads for biologic medications to treat those other IBDs, but NOTHING for treatment of MC.

I’ve never done this before on my birthday, but this year I am asking people to make a donation to the Microscopic Colitis Foundation to support awareness and research efforts.

Thanks for considering!