Meet Carey

Carey is a 4 year sufferer of Crohn’s Disease from the Pittsburgh area. In those short 4 years, he has had 2 surgeries that have been related to his Crohn’s. He is currently on my drug of choice, Humira. Luckily, it has kept him in remission since his surgery.

Some of the challenges that he faces on a daily basis while in a flare like everyone else, is low energy, constant diarrhea, bloody stools (no other way to put it here), and low blood counts. Other things that he and like myself have experienced is low blood counts and arthritis. Looking back on my marathon with Crohn’s, low blood counts has been a challenge in the past and actually had over 25 blood infusions in one year. This is pretty common for Crohnnies. We deal with blood transfusions and Iron transfusions a lot while in a flare.

Carey, like myself, is one to get the word out about Crohn’s and bring more awareness to this incurable disease. He will actually be running the Chicago Marathon with myself with Team Challenge. He has a passion to find a cure. Carey is a documentary filmmaker and has spent the past year and a half working on a documentary titled “The Stool” about runners that have to deal with IBD on a daily basis (see trailer below). The title is so appropriate and I love it! Making films is his voice and tries to devote his craft and talents to making a better world. His wife is his partner in crime with the filming of “The Stool.” (Check out his Vimeo videos!)

One thing that he said is so true is Crohn’s will hit people so differently. There are a lot of common symptoms, but it affects us all differently. It is a very complex disease and each person has to find their path to remission.

Instead of Crohn’s holding Carey back in life, it has actually been a motivator. “Because of the limitations it has placed on me physically, I’ve worked twice as hard to overcome those limitations. Since diagnosis and surgeries, I’ve run multiple half-marathons, one full marathon, numerous other distance races and have my sights set on a Boston Qualifying marathon time, and an Ironman within the next few years. So, in a way Crohn’s has been the great enabler in my life as opposed to something that holds me back.” This is the way that all of us Crohnnies must look at life and the cards that we have been dealt in life.

I look forward to running with Carey October 7 in Chicago and we run for all of our Crohnnies.

Want to help find a cure? Please help me get to my new goal of $2500 and support me and my ‘Crohnnies’ help find a cure and run this marathon together.

You can donate here in support the CCFA.