Taking Steps

You may or may not know that at the age of 15 I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. I was in and out of the hospital for my sophomore and junior years of high school. I also developed a life-threatening blood clot the entire length of my left leg and had two emergency surgeries on it, as well as several more surgeries, including skin grafts and scar revisions. I suffered with colitis for about 14 months, and in December of 2000 I found myself in Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, UT, with the choice to either stay on a clear liquid diet the rest of my life, or have my colon removed through major surgery. Obviously I had the surgery, which resulted in me being instantly cured of colitis, and also having an ostomy bag. After having the bag for three months I had it reversed and have since gone on to live a full, happy life! (so far!)

I still deal with the repurcussions of not having a colon every day, and also still deal with the effects of all the complications with my leg every day. (If you've ever seen me as "one sock Tonya" you know what I'm talking about!:) Colitis had a huge impact on not only me, but my family and all our dear friends and relatives as well.

I have since become very involved in the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. I really feel like I have been blessed with a second chance to do lots of good things with my life, and helping others with Crohn's and colitis to have an improved lifestyle and also raising funds for research to hopefully find a cure for these devastating diseases are both very important to me, for obvious reasons.

So . . . I'm so excited that Boise is having its first ever Take Steps for Crohn's and Colitis 5K Walk this June! I have been on the planning committee for this event since September and we have been working hard to get the event all ready and get the word out. If you live in Boise or will be able to come over for the walk that would be AWESOME!

This is Collin and I as counselors at Camp Oasis--Summer Camp for kids with Crohn's and colitis.

Please at least check out my page. If you can't walk but would like to donate, even $5 would be awesome! My team goal is to raise $500 and so far we haven't made much progress!

If you'd like to walk with us that would also be awesome! You can find out more at both of these links:

Click here for our team page

Click here for my personal page