Hi! My name is Laurel and I am a 20-year-old college student, majoring in Human Biology. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2012 and have been on biologic infusions ever since. One thing many people don't know about me is I absolutely love insects and am minoring in entomology!

My name is Benjamin and I am a rising senior in high school. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when I was 10 and a half. Since then, I have found joy in art, Boy Scouts, numerous sports, and theatre.

I'm Lucy and I'm 19. I just finished my freshman year of college, and I have Crohn's disease. I love dancing, especially tap dance, and I enjoy the outdoors.

My name is Leela, I’m in high school. My diagnosis with ulcerative colitis was a little chaotic. I didn't tell anyone that I was bleeding for about six months, so by the time the issue was brought up, I was severely anemic. I was officially diagnosed with UC the fall of my sophomore year (a little over a year ago). After having no success with medications, I went through surgery for an ostomy April 8, 2019, with the plan of ultimately getting a j-pouch. I lived with an ostomy bag for seven months, and have since undergone two more surgeries, my final one in November 2019, to have my ostomy reversed.

My name is Jake and I’m a senior in high school. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in the fall of my junior year. One interesting thing about me is that one day I decided to take up running, so I signed up for the Atlanta marathon. After only a month of training I completed the marathon - this made me really fall in love with the sport!

Hello, my name is Allison. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at the age of seven. Currently, I’m a first-year college student. Something interesting about me is that I have two older sisters and two brothers-in-law.

LOOP is making impressions in the IBD community!

So far, in 2019, 50 stories have been posted to the blog by 40 ICN community members, including clinicians, researchers, coordinators, parents, patients, psychosocial professionals, and ICN staff & leaders. While the perspectives and the topics vary – as you can see in the tag cloud below – one of the common threads is that they are written by real people, talking about real life with IBD.

We are thankful for each and every one of these stories and hope that by sharing them we continue to do our part to raise awareness of these often-invisible illnesses and help encourage more people to get connected and talk about IBD.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 most read posts of 2019!

My name is Talia; I am a high school student. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) in May of 2016. Many people don't know that I have a creative side, and that I draw and paint for fun.  

Hello! My name is Mahalakshmi (Maha for short!), and I am 18 years old. I have Crohn's disease, which was diagnosed two and a half years ago, but I've definitely had it way longer than that. I am attending college in California in the fall as a biology major and I'm excited for what the future holds! My hobbies include singing, acting, spending time with friends and family, and playing board games. One interesting thing about me is that I love languages. I've been bilingual since I was a child and started learning another language in high school that I hope to stick with in the future!

My name is Rohit and I am 20 years old. Right now, I am a rising junior majoring in Genetics with a Certificate Program in Computational Genetics at an Honors College in New Jersey. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2016. One interesting thing about me is that I'm the only one above 6 feet (actual height: 6' 2") in my entire immediate family!