Ashley Johnson

Let's Do This!!!

I'm Ash, I'm 31 and I've lived with Crohn's Disease, a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, for half my life. I’ve had an emergency resection after bowel perforation, I’ve collected my badge for 70+ rectal surgeries for fistulising Crohn’s, my body has been blessed with different types of arthritis, I’ve needed feeding tubes and TPN and continue to struggle with malabsorption issues, I’m failing a bunch of medications and symptoms not managed. And still, after everything, I continue to have an enormous amount hope for the future and how we manage IBD in Australia!

Here's the thing: Australia leads the western world in the growth rate of new IBD diagnoses, AND we also have one of the highest rates of the disease globally! Yet IBD still gets nowhere near the funding, awareness, research and support it deserves. It’s why fundraising and awareness campaigns like The Live Fearless Challenge matter so much. The funds raised go: IBD nurse hotline, patient info and resources, connect with a peer program, IBD camps and support groups (like the one I used to run). These things genuinely change lives and provide hope. Things I didn’t really have access to growing up and would have immensely changed my life. Things that help me at 31 continue to hold onto hope!

So here is where you come in and how you can help. For the whole of September, I'm doing The Live Fearless Challenge. 30 minutes of movement every single day to raise awareness, raise funds, and use my voice to help create a better quality of life for people living with IBD. And since we all know I love a random hobby, expect a month of chaos and fun: tap classes, gardening, workout classes, hikes, paddle boarding, dance parties, ocean swims and more. 

If you've got a couple of bucks to spare (anything helps!!) they'd be put to great use! And if you want to help without spending a cent, please share my fundraising link around. Hope grows when we share it. Every frolic, every dollar, every share brings us one step closer to a future where no one living with IBD has to face it alone.