Angela C.

Coincidentally, Angela's line of work led indirectly to her being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) five years ago. "The public relations agency I was working for [at the time] had the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) as a client and I was working on the account, so I recognized the symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)."

Angela was in her early 20s and a physical-fitness devotee who balanced aerobic activities with non-aerobic activities. She felt understandably angry when she was told she had an incurable, lifelong illness. "At that age, I never expected to have a serious health problem, so it was a rude awakening."

"The downside of having knowledge [about IBD and UC specifically] was that I had spoken to many people who were really suffering... so I was afraid of what my quality of life would be." But her familiarity had an upside as well. "The good thing about having the knowledge I had, was that I knew medication could help me... plus, I knew there was plenty of support out there."

Support on More than One Level

She reached out to CCFA right away, which led to her to get involved with the organization on both a national and local-chapter level. Her profession, often demanding with its travel requirements and amount of personal contact, also gave her the opportunity to provide the foundation with media exposure for numerous special events. This has helped increase awareness of IBD in her local area.

Angela's husband Chris has been steadfast over the years. "We had just started dating when I was diagnosed, but it didn't seem to faze him at all. I was surprised at how well he took it all in stride... even when I had a bad flare-up right in the beginning of our relationship, he didn't flinch." Now, Chris continues to help Angela stay positive and cope with the challenges of UC every day, accompanying her on doctor visits and reminding her to take her medication as prescribed.

Perhaps the most positive development in their strong partnership is the fact that Angela and Chris had a baby boy in early 2003. Throughout this first part of her pregnancy, Angela's OB/GYN practice was a great source of care and support. Knowing her situation, "they referred me to an excellent perinatologist (a doctor that monitors the baby's development until time of delivery) who helped to make sure my UC was under control."