Crohn's and Colitis Foundation TN Chapter Junior Board

08/27/2018

Now recruiting in Tennessee for our study of diet & IBD! We are currently recruiting participants at Vanderbilt Health to help us understand the role of diet in the management of Crohn’s disease symptoms and inflammation. If you are 18 or older and have mild to moderate Crohn’s, you may be eligible to participate. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2Nm3gmM

06/19/2018

Meet Chris Vogel, our new Junior Board President. We are excited to have Chris as our new leader! Learn more about Chris’ journey with Crohn’s disease below.
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My name is Chris and I have been a Crohn's patient for nearly 20 years. I was diagnosed in 1999 back in my home town of Pittsburgh. It was a tiring process as I went 2 years being continually misdiagnosed and feeling horribly sick the entire time. No one in my family has ever had a history of IBD issues, so it was somewhat unexpected and my family and I didn't really know how to deal with it at the time.

I bounced around between various medications for the first couple years after being diagnosed. Everything from Pentasa, Remicade, Prednisone, Humira, 6MP... all the usual players. They kept me going for a little while but eventually in 2007 I would need an intestinal resection. The surgery turned my life around and for the first time in many years I felt truly healthy.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, not long after moving to Nashville, my problems resurfaced in dramatic fashion. I became so sick I struggled to put socks on my feet on the rare occasion that I could leave the house. Fortunately, after nearly 2 years of illness, I decided to take another drastic approach and changed doctors which finally led me to the surgery I needed. Two surgeries and 6 months with an ileostomy finally resulted in the renewal of my health - all due to the brilliance of my doctors GI Dr. Jonathan Schneider and Colorectal Surgeon Dr. Jason Aston.

On August 1, 2018 I will celebrate 1 year of being in complete remission - a state in which I hope to remain in perpetuity.

06/14/2018

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention estimates that 50 percent of all adults in the U.S. live with at least one pre-existing condition. Our patients live with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and many live with additional chronic diseases that place enormous physical, emotional, and financial burden on their lives. We oppose the courts taking away their right to access the high quality, meaningful coverage they need to live. How has insurance helped your life with a chronic illness? Share your story and help us !

05/19/2018

We had a great time celebrating at the Take Steps Nashville Walk! Don’t forget to tag your photos from this morning with to enter our photo contest 📸

05/01/2018

Take Steps Nashville 2018 is looking for volunteers! Click below to learn more about how to get involved with this great event.

Volunteers are needed to help set-up, staff, and break-down our Nashville Take Steps for Crohn's & Colitis Event. Take Steps is the largest fundraising event dedicated to raising funds for a...

04/05/2018

Meet our Vice President Caitlin McGinnis! In addition to serving as our Vice President, Caitlin leads a monthly support group at the Green Hills Library. We are thankful for all she does for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation - Tennessee Chapter! Learn more about Caitlin's journey with Ulcerative Colitis below.
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My name is Caitlin and I’m 30 years old. I’ve lived in Nashville for 3 years and I’m originally from Connecticut.

I was diagnosed with UC when I was 22 years old. I was finishing up my senior year of college when the symptoms started. My diagnosis was quick and easy because my (very) strong mother also has UC. I was immediately started on medications. Over the next few months, my doctors changed medications and started/stopped Prednisone multiple times.

My symptoms worsened by the end of 2010 and none of my medications including prednisone were managing my symptoms. In the beginning of 2011, my health was so bad that I went to the ER one day with my parents in excruciating stomach pain. Who knew that I would spend the next few weeks in the hospital. I went home a month later 30lbs less, without my colon, and a new j-pouch and temporary ileostomy.

Fast forward to today. I’ve had 8 surgeries from February 2011-July 2012. Unfortunately, I was never able to use my j-pouch and my ileostomy is now permanent.

This journey has brought me a lot of pain, tears, fear, anger and frustration but I also have my life back. I didn’t realize how precious my life was until I almost lost it. I am a big advocate for people living with UC/Crohn’s and with Ostomy’s. I publish articles for companies to bring awareness on living with these diseases and living with an ostomy.

My goal is to let people know they are not alone. I don’t want people to be ashamed or embarrassed or scared ALONE. I understand and together we can work to find a cure one day.

03/31/2018

Work hard, play hard 🏌️‍♂️

03/22/2018

Thanks to everyone that came out and supported Cuts For Guts last night! We hope you enjoyed this great night of music as much as we did 🎶🎶

03/21/2018

Even Jimmy Kimmel Live gets colonoscopies! What a great way to raise awareness about the importance of screenings.

Jimmy turned 50 recently so Katie Couric asked if she could accompany him for his first colonoscopy. While that seemed to be a very unusual request Jimmy kno...

03/20/2018

Thank you for purchasing your tickets early and making tomorrow night's Cuts For Guts a SOLD OUT event!

Wrapping up our songwriter highlights, Hillary Lindsey moved to Nashville to enroll in Belmont University's Music Business school in 1994. After fostering relationships within the musical community, Hillary was quickly signed to Famous Music Publishing. In her first year as a writer she had eight cuts. Hillary has had her songs recorded by Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, Lindsay Lohan, Sara Evans and Jessica Andrews. In 2002, Hillary enjoyed her first #1 song 'Blessed', recorded by Martina McBride. In 2007, she was awarded a Grammy for the song "Jesus Take The Wheel"

03/15/2018

Lori McKenna has become one of Nashville’s most in-demand country songwriters. Her songs have been cut by artists such as Alison Krauss, Reba, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban, with chart hits like Hunter Hayes’ “I Want Crazy,” Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” “Your Side of the Bed” and “Sober.” Her credits have landed her five Boston Music Awards, BMI awards and featured performances at the Sundance Film Festival and the Newport Folk Festival. Along with her successes as a songwriter, McKenna has released eight critically acclaimed studio albums: Paper Wings and Halo, Pieces of Me, The Kitchen Tapes, Bittertown, Unglamourous, Lorraine and Massachusetts. Her latest album, Numbered Doors was named by Rolling Stone as one of the 40 Best Country Albums of 2014.

Don’t miss your chance to see Lori McKenna at Cuts For Guts. Act fast because there are only 15 tickets left before we are SOLD OUT!

03/14/2018

With multiple GRAMMYs under her belt, a 2007 SESAC Nashville Songwriter of the Year title, as well as her own publishing company, Liz Rose is undeniably a songwriting powerhouse. She has penned 16 songs with Taylor Swift, including the No. 1 crossover hits “Tim McGraw”, “Teardrops On My Guitar”, “You Belong With Me”, GRAMMY Award winning Best Country Song “White Horse”, and ACM Song of the Year “Crazy Girl”. More recently, she co-wrote Little Big Town’s double platinum smash hit, “Girl Crush”, which earned the GRAMMY for Best Country Song in 2016, and the Country Music Association’s Award for Song Of The Year in 2015. Rose has also written songs for many other artists including Alison Krauss, Blake Shelton, Bonnie Raitt, Carrie Underwood, Chris Young, Gary Allan, LeeAnn Womack, Miranda Lambert and Tim McGraw.

See Liz Rose along with Lori McKenna and Hilary Lindsey in just ONE WEEK at Cuts for Guts: Songwriter Night Benefit for Crohn’s and Colitis. Get your tickets now!