Patient Advocacy

Patients Rising Legislative Advocacy Masterclass
Virtual IBD Day on The Hill
PBM Reform Work with Crohn's and Colitis Foundation
Integrative Somatic Therapy Certificate (Embody Lab)
Comprehensive Trauma-Informed Yoga Certification

Editorial: Can constituents feel heard when not speaking with their wallets?

Why do our elected officials contact constituents only when they want money for their campaigns?

This feels like a one-sided relationship, and I'm tired of it. As a constituent, I previously had more hope that the officials we voted into office truly represented us as their constituents and that our relationship was more even. >> Keep reading

Living with Ulcerative Colitis: Kristen’s Farewell Letter to her Colon

Dear Colon:

At this point, our relationship has become toxic and I cannot keep doing this. The constant merry-go-round of flares and remission has brought me to my knees. I’m conceding.

In the beginning, we had a symbiotic understanding and I respected you a great deal. In fact, you shielded me from the outside world. When I was a child, you held my fear and my repressed anger deep inside my little body. You helped me to stay silent when I needed to be unheard and unseen. >> Keep reading

Poetry is Not a Luxury, Audre Lorde: Essay Review

This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. >> Keep reading

Ask Me About My Uterus: Book Review

Come As You Are: Film Review

I’ve never understood the gravity of representation until now. Seeing elements of my own existence was monumental for me. The first time I saw the film, I sobbed. And needed a lot of tissues to wipe my tears.

In Come As You Are, each character is deeply unique and multi-dimensional. In a feature-length film, how often do you see a group of adult friends, each with different disabilities? Have you ever seen the main character of a film be quadriplegic where the plotline isn’t only about his disability but about his desire to lose his virginity? I haven’t. >> Keep reading

Girls With Guts: Mental Health Awareness Blog Post

I want people to know that my mental health is dictated by my physical health. Beyond the standardized phrase, “If you are feeling well, you’re going to be happier”, I know there is a direct cause and effect relationship between the severity of my physical symptoms and the mental health struggles that I face. Most times, it feels like my mental health goes hand in hand with how happy my colon is in that moment. When I wake up and my flare is worse, it will be because of the physical symptoms I am having ALONGSIDE the mental health symptoms. >> Keep reading

I'm Immunocompromised, But I Couldn't Get A Test for COVID-19

My virus-induced anxiety began on March 9, when my roommate came home from a trip to Seattle. I was scared, even though in Minnesota, we only had a handful of cases. I wondered if I was overreacting by spraying Lysol disinfectant on every surface in our house. I just didn't know how to protect myself from the unseeable. Because I'm immunocompromised, I'm one of the millions of Americans for whom COVID-19 could be deadly.

A few days later I felt heavy fatigue. At first, I thought it was my ulcerative colitis (UC) acting up. I've had the auto-immune condition for a decade; it flares up with debilitating, invisible symptoms like fatigue and internal pain, caused by active ulcers in my large intestine. At times, I've been in remission, where I've been able to exercise intensely and not burnout after a few hours of work. Today, I am in near-remission, with occasional flare symptoms. But when I started to lose my breath talking on the phone and going on slow walks, I knew something was different. The next day, I got my breath back and felt better. >> Keep reading