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Hello! My name is Henry, and I am a 14 year old freshman in high school. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when I was nine. Most people don't know  that I was born in NYC but moved to Charlotte, NC when I was six months old.

At the Spring ICN Community Conference, PAC members led breakout sessions on the important topics of self-advocacy and pediatric-to-adult transition. In this episode of the imPACt podcast we continue the conversation about these topics with special guest, and PAC alumna, Sami Kennedy. 

PAC members weigh in on how they like to manage stress and take care of themselves leading up to school exams or the end of a semester. Here is what they said:

My name is Nikhil and I am 17 years old. I am currently a junior in high school, and I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in September 2016, when I was 12. One thing most of my friends don't know about me is that I absolutely love going to school. There is just something about learning new information that makes me feel great. 

I had the pleasure of presenting at the Spring 2021 Live Online Community Conference last week on the topic of “Recovering from Flares”. Myself and other PAC members discussed things like: what a flare looks like, how a patient can anticipate a flare and what steps they can take in communicating with their providers and family to avoid serious health repercussions. Our goal was to really emphasize proactivity and empower patients to take charge of their health. 

I'm really excited about this topic and have shared a bit more about it below, including how you can listen as we continue the conversation in Episode 3 of the imPACt podcast this Friday.

Hello! My name is Jennifer and I am a 16 year old high school student who also works part time at a pizza restaurant. I love meeting new people and enjoy engaging in activities outside of my comfort zone.

Hi, I’m Makenna and I’m here to talk to you about Feeding Tubes. In my experience, they are something not a lot of people know about and I want to change that.

Hi, I’m Maha, one of the PAC members you’ll hear talking about IBD in the second episode of our imPACt podcast! 

On Thursday, March 25 and Friday, March 26, ImproveCareNow will host their third LIVE Online Community Conference (LOCC). Sessions begin on March 25 at 9:30 AM ET (8:30 AM CT, 7:30 AM MT, 6:30 AM PT) and continue through 5:00 PM ET when a causal Engagement and Social Hour begins. Sessions resume again on March 26 at 10:00 AM ET and continue through the first half of the day, with a wrap up scheduled at 1:20 PM ET. 

All are welcome to join us for this interactive, online event where we plan to all teach and all learn about topics including advocacy for patients, families, and the community; managing mental health and IBD during the COVID-19 pandemic; recovering from flares; and food insecurity.