Posted by Jane Weyer on December 10, 2019
Hi, I’m Jane, “Mom” to beautiful 20-year-old Nicole. I serve as a parent representative at CCHMC for ImproveCareNow (ICN) and our local network called: IBDevoted. I am also a Board member of the local chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. In my professional career, I work for a large Catholic healthcare system handling medical malpractice cases. While I’m not technically a healthcare professional, I joke that “I play one on TV”!
Nicole was a Junior in high school, taking exams, when she started having abdominal symptoms. Within 10 days she was being prepped for her first colonoscopy - on her 17th birthday! Following that scope, we were told that Nicole has Crohn’s disease. Additional testing performed over the next several months showed that she also has Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC), a disease of the bile ducts, which can gradually cause serious liver damage.
I am honored and humbled to be a part of a group that is starting an ICN-like learning network for autoimmune liver diseases including PSC. As a parent adviser to the Center for Autoimmune Liver Disease (CALD) at Cincinnati Children’s, I have the exciting opportunity to help launch this learning network and improve outcomes for our children.
Nicole has faced both diagnoses with grace and courage. Nicole’s Crohn’s is in remission and she has no PSC symptoms! While I will always be her Mom, I am also doing my best to be her advocate and champion so she can live life as a normal college student!
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