In honor of Feeding Tube Awareness Week (February 8-12, 2021), Makenna shared a little about her experience with a feeding tube and how she views it in a positive light!

June is Pride Month - a time for the LGBTQIA+ community to join together and celebrate their freedom to be exactly who they are. In honor of Pride Month, members of the Patient Advisory Council have recorded a special episode of the imPACt podcast to help bring awareness to the ways that queerness and chronic illness intersect.

Last December, @ICNPatients shared how holiday stress and eating can affect IBD and their wellbeing. We are re-sharing today, because we are coming into the summer holiday season. With more gatherings and food offerings on the horizon, we hope you'll take a PAC moment to learn how patients with IBD might experience these celebrations:

Hello everyone, it’s Hannah! In early December of 2020, I had my ostomy reversal or takedown surgery to create my J-Pouch. I knew from talking with my doctor some of what to expect: waking up with lots of tubes, feeling tired and sore. But it was through reading articles about other people’s J-pouch experiences (those who just had surgery and those who have lived with their pouch for some time) that I was able to prepare myself for what to anticipate physically after surgery. Looking back now, I realize I’ve learned a lot, that there are things I wish I had known, and that I want to share what I’ve learned so others can know what to expect.  

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 💚💙

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.

Makenna Martin is my name and I am looking forward to attending technical school in the fall of 2021. I love researching just about anything and everything when I have the time. Lately I have spent a lot of time researching the difference between TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition) and Enteral feedings. They both give you what you need, just one goes through a vein and the other straight to the stomach. 

From diagnosis, to symptoms, to treatments, to (hopefully) remission - every person living with IBD has a unique experience with it. This is Rohit's:

As a high-risk graduate student who's been remote since March, I'm no stranger to the COVID isolation fatigue that many of us have been experiencing. It’s been a challenge to work, attend classes, take care of my health, and balance daily life without the usual in-person interactions I’m used to. The days can feel like a blur when we do everything from home - setting boundaries and creating some semblance of ‘normalcy’ has been tricky, to say the least.

A few of the things I’ve noticed help me cope right now: