Joan

Please see Penney’s story. Joan is Penney’s mom and her story is shared with her daughters who I ran for yesterday. Often IBD doesn’t just affect one person in a family, it’s seen in others throughout a family tree.

According to the Crohn’s and colitis foundations website: recent research suggests hereditary, genetic and environmental factors contribute to Crohn’s disease development. Studies have shown that between 5% and 20% of people with IBD have a first degree relative, such as a parent, child, or sibling, who also has one of the diseases. The genetic risk with Crohn’s disease is greater than ulcerative colitis.

So, stories like Joan and Penney are not all that uncommon.

The plan was to originally run for Penney but after hearing her story and seeing all that her mom and family have been through with this disease, I felt I needed to run 26.2 for her mom as well.

Marathon #64 – Recap