By Alison Feller, as told to Candy Schulman

When I was 7 years old, I was on a family vacation and living my best life. Or so I thought. He wasn’t sick…until I was. There was not symptoms That indicated that Crohn’s disease was approaching. He was losing weight, but he was a super active kid. Suddenly I started vomiting a lot. I had a fever. Back home, my dad took me to the hospital to do all kinds of tests. A specialist made a endoscopy and I saw all the inflammation in my digestive tract.

My family didn’t know how to deal with the Crohn’s diagnosis. We had never heard of Crohn’s disease and knew it would be a chronic disease we would have forever. I thought my parents would notice. The only thing that mattered to me was getting better and going back to dance classes. As long as I could dance, I was happy.

I am lucky to have two wonderful and supportive parents. We met with the doctors and they put me on oral prednisone to stop that flare. In early adulthood I had to manage my illness, learn to advocate for myself, call doctors, get clearances, and push to get what I needed in terms of treatment. Crohn’s disease would recur once a year. steroids calmed him down. When she was older, she was harder to deal with. They put me biological medicines. Over the years, I have been on a wide variety of medications, trying to find the perfect one.

Living in New York, I had a dream I work as editor-in-chief of dance spirit magazine. I was sicker than ever and had to take a medical leave that lasted 2 years. I couldn’t even leave the house. He was depressed, not me. He was in the bathroom up to 40 times a day, so he had to be near the bathroom at all times. It’s not glamorous or fun to talk about. But it’s my life. I do the best I can every day.

Crohn’s disease caused me to make a major change. I had to make the best decisions for me, my family and my health. I eliminated commuting to an office and having someone dictate how many sick days I had. I needed freedom and flexibility. Sometimes I had to do my work in the bathroom. I could do it if I worked for myself.

Sometimes when I’m on fire, I can’t run at all. I always plan to run around bathrooms, bushes, or woods. Living in a city was a challenge, so I moved to New Hampshire, surrounded by forests. One of these days I’ll run into the woods and find another person with Crohn’s in an uncomfortable situation.

My quality of life with Crohn’s disease is better here. Running is even more fun now that I don’t have to worry. People like to run with me because I can tell them where all the bathrooms are. I have learned to adapt. I will always be a runner, even on the days I can’t run. I bought a treadmill to help me when I’m sick.

Running is my favorite thing, so I made a run out of it on my podcast, “Ali On The Run.” Every week I interview runners about why they love the sport, how running makes them feel, and what they love to do when they’re not running.

My flares vary but appear at least once a year. They can last a couple of weeks or a year. There is no coherence. I run as much as I feel like running. If I see a race I want to run, I don’t register too far in advance in case I have to cancel.

My advice is to do the best you can on any given day. Only you Decide which is your best option. Lower your expectations and let yourself be pleasantly surprised. Don’t beat yourself up on difficult days because there will be some. This illness has made me much stronger. I am resilient. I can handle challenging things. The Crohn’s community is very supportive. Our conversations are really powerful. It makes us feel less alone.

Alison Feller is a podcast host, freelance writer and editor, runner, marathoner, and proud mom to Annie. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when she was 7 years old and she has written about running and Crohn’s disease to lead. physical aptitude and health magazines. Your weekly podcast, “Ali on the run”, is the number one running podcast in the country.