Friday, Jun. 27, 2008

FM Family 'Take Steps’ in Crohn’s & Colitis Fundraiser

By John English

Contributing Writer

Debra McDonald took part in the inaugural "Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis" walk for a very personal reason – her 14-year-old son, Dillon, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease three years ago.

The Flower Mound resident said the purpose of the walk in Dallas was to raise awareness about the illnesses, especially its prevalence among children.

"A lot of people think of Crohn’s as an older person’s disease," McDonald said. "There are a lot of older people affected, but there are also a lot of children who suffer from it. ... There are about 140,000 children affected by this disease."

She said symptoms of Crohn’s disease can include cramps, abdominal bleeding, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss and fatigue.

McDonald said Dillon has to stay away from spicy and fried foods to avoid a flare up.

"It’s a digestive tract disease that causes quite a bit of pain," McDonald said. "His is mostly in his small intestine, and his small intestine has just had bleeding ulcers all over it."

Dillon said a flare up is extremely painful, and can vary in duration.

"It usually starts with pretty bad diarrhea, and then you get cramps in your stomach and you’re doubled over in pain," he said. "You can’t walk or anything. It’s not constant; it’s like, you’ll have a really bad pain for while, and then it will go away, and then the next day you’ll have one again."

Dillon is on two different medications for the disease and lost 14 pounds last summer, nearly a sixth of his body weight, but tries not to let it get him down.

The incoming Flower Mound High School freshman plays basketball, soccer and actually ran the "Take Steps" event, finishing in third place overall.

McDonald said it has been adjustment to accommodate Dillon’s dietary needs, which involves a lot more fish and turkey now, but the transition has been pretty smooth.

"It affects the whole family," she said. "We would swing into McDonald’s and get burgers and fries, and now we don’t do that so much any more. We didn’t cut out all of the drive throughs. He likes Subway and Schlotzsky’s, but he needs to have foods that are easier to digest."

McDonald said Crohn’s disease can be hereditary, but nobody in their family that they know of has had the disease.

McDonald and Dillon walked as part of a team called the "Cure Crusaders" in the inaugural "Dallas Take Steps" on June 8, and raised nearly $2,500 as a team.

"’Take Steps’ turned out to be a very successful fundraiser," McDonald said. "There were 70 cities throughout the country that participated. ... It was basically to raise money for research ... and this is going to raise about $6 million nationwide."

Susan McMichael, Dillon’s eighth-grade English teacher at Forestwood Middle School, walked as part of the "Cure Crusaders" and said she admired her former student’s perseverance.

"Even with the disease and all of the things he has going on, he was still a member of the National Honor Society and involved in other school activities," McMichael said. "I think that says a lot about him."

Sandra Risk, walk manager for the North Texas Chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, said 1.4 million Americans are affected by the disease.

"It’s actually like three to four times the amount [of people afflicted] of a lot of the other diseases," Risk said. "Almost everyone you ask knows someone with it, but it’s just not as publicized as other diseases, and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish with this walk."

For more information on Crohn’s or Colitis or to make a donation to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, visit www.ccfa.org.