This week's imPACt podcast episode is all about the upcoming Fall 2021 ImproveCareNow Live Online Community Conference!

Listen in as I (Vanessa) join PAC members Elise, Leela and Madeline for a chat about heading back to school with IBD.

PAC members weigh in on how friends and family can best support them when they share about their IBD or are having a hard time. Here's what they say:

World IBD Day is May 19. It happens every year and is a time for #TalkingAboutIBD. It's important to share our lived experiences with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis (also known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD), to raise awareness of these often invisible illnesses and to build momentum and advocacy for positive changes to IBD care and outcomes. Join us for a special episode of the imPACt podcast this #worldIBDday 💚💙

I'm Vanessa - one of the PAC communications team leads - I am currently a HS junior and on tennis team. I've had to learn how to talk to my teachers, coach, teammates and friends about Crohn's and tell them when I feel sick or have an infusion. Being open has helped me build trusting relationships with them. Managing IBD, school and sports is definitely a challenge, but having a strong support system and being able to communicate with them openly has made it a lot easier to succeed. I'll be talking more about it on the podcast today - join me!

IBD treatment plans are as varied as the patients who live with and follow them. Vanessa shares her experience with IBD and how her treatments impact her daily life:

Here #InTheLOOP we have been honored to share hundreds of stories from people across our community. We believe strongly in the power of #TalkingAboutIBD and of stories to highlight the real voices, experiences, joys, frustrations, triumphs and struggles of patients who live with IBD every single day. Today, we are very excited to be able to share a whole new way for you to engage with the patient voice - to really hear their stories - by tuning into a brand new podcast by the Patient Advisory Council (PAC) called imPACt! In this podcast PAC members will be talking openly about IBD with a goal of raising awareness and inclusivity, and connecting with listeners, each other and podcast guests.

Dietary interventions, nutritional drinks, tube feeding, TPN, special or therapeutic diets – there are many ways to address nutrition as part of an IBD care plan. This is Maddie’s experience:

So far, in 2020, 50 stories have been shared #InTheLOOP. Thirty-four community members have written about IBD from their perspectives as patients, parents, researchers, clinicians, improvers and friends. They have covered topics ranging from COVID-19 and telehealth, to IBD research and innovation projects, to their struggles, triumphs and hopes for the future. 

LOOP continues to make an impact in the IBD community, as a place where people can share their experiences and perspectives, to help others understand the realities of life with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis more clearly, and to keep us all #TalkingAboutIBD. Without further ado, here are the stories you read the most in 2020!

Hi, I am a 16-year-old high school student diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I am a part of the varsity tennis team, Model UN, French Club, National French Honors Society, and High Pride. The most interesting thing people don't know about me is that I was the champion child of the year for the Children’s Miracle Network at my local hospital.