Tahlia Thrush

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$50

Helps provide vital resources to those newly diagnosed with IBD

$150

Contributes to a nurse consultation for a person living with IBD.

$300

Can support essential research into the prevalence and impact of IBD

$500

Provides programs to empower children and teens to live fearlessly with IBD

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My Activity Tracking

110
kms

My target 150kms

Total activity 110kms

I'm living fearlessly this September by participating in the Live Fearless Challenge 2024

Crohn's has affected my life in almost every way... it's a debilitating disease that never gives up. Every time I eat I am reminded that something isn't quite right inside me... living in constant pain is hard. It's a silent and mostly invisible battle that almost 750,000 Australia's fight daily.

I'm not here looking for sympathy and I don't need or want people to feel sorry for me. There's nothing anyone can do about it and it's just a part of my daily life.

I'm sharing my story to help raise awareness and much needed funds for Australians living with Crohn's disease or Ulcerative Colitis.

I was diagnosed in November 2022 with severe Crohn's after my body shut down and I stopped breathing due to the level of pain it was in.

After like 900 different tests and scans (not quite but just about) and 13 hours in ED I was disconnected from IV and all the tubes and monitors I collected on my travels between each scan room. I was discharged as having kidney stones and a referral to a gastroenterologist due to a rather significant abnormality in my bowel.

To cut a very long and tiring story short... they discovered a 10cm section of my bowel to be the thickness of a pin hole... side note... it's meant to be the thickness of your little finger.

Since then, I've been on about 8 different medications... strong steroids to try reduce inflammation, immunosuppressants to try stop my body from attacking itself and now biologics injections which help stop or reduce inflammation by blocking the chemicals involved in triggering inflammation.

Inflammation is the body’s normal response to things like injury, infection (e.g., bacteria, viruses), stress, and pain. For reasons not yet understood, sometimes the immune system does not function properly and causes damage to healthy tissue.

Biologics stop or reduce inflammation by blocking key cells or chemicals involved in triggering inflammation. In IBD patients, use of biologics blocks inflammation in the gut and allows it to heal.

Unfortunately my body doesn't like cooperating or accepting help very much... while the 4 weekly biologics injections have helped and I have experienced some improvement... nothing is going to fix the physical narrowing of my bowel besides from surgery...

All proceeds go towards Crohn's & Colitis Australia's support services, research initiatives, education and advocacy programs for the Crohn's and colitis community.