According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 3.1 million Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases, with more and more cases every year.<\/p>\n
This weekend, the Crohn\u2019s and Colitis Foundation is honoring three heroes who are helping raise awareness and make a difference in combating this autoimmune disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like really a hard process because from one day to the next, my days were kind of full of like doctor’s appointments and I didn’t really know what was wrong,\u201d 13-year-old Lennox Gordon said.<\/p>\n
Last year, Gordon was diagnosed with Crohn\u2019s disease,<\/a> an inflammatory bowel disease. She got tested after noticing a lack of appetite and growth, which is something Dr. Lina Felipez, the Director of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research at Nicklaus Children\u2019s Hospital, says is one of the first signs of the disease in children.<\/p>\n \u201cInflammatory bowel disease is like the big umbrella,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we divide that into Crohn\u2019s disease and also ulcerative colitis. Crohn’s disease being an inflammation of your gastrointestinal tract that can affect anywhere from your mouth to your anus. And ulcerative colitis, it’s more the colon involvement. So usually starts in the rectum and goes all the way in the colon.\u201d<\/p>\n The disease causes patients to experience blood or mucus in their stools or an inability to control bowel movements. Other symptoms include weight loss, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, and more. \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s something 43-year-old Marlene Llamas Leon has spent years trying to combat.<\/p>\n \u201cI would get better, but then I would flare badly, and they would have to increase the prednisone again,” she said. “So, my teenage years, I always had the swollen face and I was very tired.\u201d<\/p>\n Diagnosed at 12, by age 14, Llamas Leon had removed 2 feet of intestines and was in remission for a few years. However, she then spent the next decade in and out of remission.<\/p>\n \u201cI have genuinely been on every single treatment that has been available on the market for Crohn\u2019s disease at one point or another in my life. I’m blessed, I guess, to say that I\u2019ve been in remission for I can say now almost five years,” she said.<\/p>\n This year, Llamas Leon, Gordon and Dr. Felipez are being honored by the Crohn\u2019s and Colitis Foundation Miami chapter as the “Honored Heroes.” The recognition brings attention to their resilience, advocacy and support in helping those newly diagnosed or veteran patients find community in a disease that largely goes unspoken about.<\/p>\n \u201cI do this every day, and I take care of my kids. I say my kids because I feel they’re like a family. And I take care of them every day with all my heart and all my love,” Dr. Felipez said “And I really, really what I try to do, is for them to live normal, healthy, fulfilled life in all sense of it.”<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, that’s like a huge honor,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cLike I’m really, really happy. I have such an amazing support team between my family and my friends. And honestly, that just means to me that overall, I see how far I\u2019ve come even with this chronic illness.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI get watery just thinking that I’m going to be on that stage on April 18th and have the opportunity to share my story, and my testimony with so many that are struggling with this and haven’t found their place yet on what works for them and what treatment can help them get into remission,\u201d Llamas Leon said.<\/p>\n If you would like to participate in this year\u2019s Crohn’s and Colitis Walk<\/a> at Regatta Park on Saturday morning, you can join one of the honored heroes teams or make your own.<\/p>\n