Carli

Diagnosed at age 21 in 2007, Carli was in the middle of her college career at Illinois State University. After months of invasive tests, the diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease came as a relief. Finally, an answer to what was happening to her body. Little did she know, the most difficult days lie ahead. Countless hospital visits, multiple medication changes, physically and mentally debilitating symptoms and side effects, and extreme weight fluctuation led to surgery in November of 2010. 

A successful surgery, for Carli, meant that she could finally get back to focusing on everything she put on hold: school, career, relationships, friendships, and fun! Feeling healthy provided the opportunity to not only move forward in life, but also to become a part of the fight to find better treatment options, and hopefully one day, a cure!

Carli is an associate board member of the Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation at the University of Chicago Medicine Digestive Diseases Center where she helps raise funds to support the science behind treatment and a cure. In addition, Carli is on the Patient-Advisory Task Force for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation where they recently created a new bathroom app called, We Can’t Wait.

While Carli continues to live with Crohn’s Disease, it no longer defines her. She attributes the support of her family and friends, the diligent doctors at U of C, and a great deal of resilience to her successful remission.

Marathon #80 – Recap