In August 2015, my wife Rachel and I received a call from the summer camp nurse: our younger son, Liam, was ill and required medical care. We took him home a week early, took him for testing at the pediatrician’s office, and upgraded to a full endoscopy, etc. Our new specialist confirmed that he had Crohn’s. He’d probably had symptoms for a while, but he’s a pretty stoic 14-year old and hadn’t reported any discomfort before. His weight gain and growth had slowed down, and we were suddenly faced with finding a regimen that would bring back his appetite and avoid more debiltating episodes.
So far, we’ve been lucky: he’s responding well to intravenous meds, but he’s got a lifetime of medication and adaptation ahead of him. The relatively good news is that a cure might be found for Crohn’s in the coming decades.
In November, I plan to run the New York City Marathon in honor of Liam by raising donations for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Please join me in making this race meaningful and contributing to a great cause.
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Team Challenge is a fundraising program to help find cures for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. CCFA sponsors basic and clinical research of the highest quality. They also offer a wide range of educational programs for patients and health care professionals, while providing support services to help people cope with these chronic intestinal diseases. CCFA has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for three consecutive years and also has the highest rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Here’s the link to the funding page: https://www.crowdrise.com/crohnscolitisnyc2015/fundraiser/markkaufman1
Your donation would be deeply appreciated. Thank you!
-Mark