Jamie Reddish competed in a ‘Fit to Fight’ challenge and raised funds for Crohn’s and Colitis New Zealand Charitable Trust. Find out why?

I want to start by showing a huge appreciation to the Crohn's and Colitis New Zealand Charitable Trust. Everything this organisation does goes a long way in helping individuals and their families.

Around 10 or so years ago, my wife Christina was diagnosed with Crohn's. She spent most of her late teens and early twenties suffering without knowing what was wrong. Once we found out and we met with specialists to sort out the next steps and how to manage it, things started to get a lot better. Christina would very rarely complain and never wanted to be a burden. This resulted in many days and nights in pain, waiting for the pain to pass. Finally, she was prescribed Humira, which made living with this condition day to day, manageable. Some days there are still flare ups with the odd visit to the hospital, but for the most part it is managed easily.

Some years later our family grew and we now have three children. Carter, Hayley and Leo. All two years apart. Carter and Hayley didn't breast breastfeed well, so it was no surprise when Leo was the same. Unfortunately, we quickly found out that formula was also not going to agree with him and after 6 months or so Leo was diagnosed with FPIES (Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome). While there is no direct correlation to Crohn's, it is very similar in some ways.

At the start of this year, I began a life changing challenge. This was prompted by my family and my closest friends. I have since completed 3 different challenges and dropped 30kgs and when I think about this struggle, none will compare to what Christina and Leo have gone through.

When asked to join the Boxing Alley's fit for fight challenge I wanted to show my support to both Christina and Leo, as well as many other people that have to live with such things day to day. The struggle they have is real, and some of us will never really know. Supporting trusts like Crohn's and Colitis New Zealand can make a big difference and I feel privileged to be able to contribute.

Thank you to all my friends and family that supported this and helped me raise the money for this trust. Also, a big thank you to the team at CCNZ for the support with this challenge.

Jamie raised a total of $1720.00 for CCNZ.

What is ‘Fit to Fight’?

Over the span of 8 weeks, participants from all walks of life got out of their comfort zone and trained like a boxer at Boxing Alley. During this time, they fundraised for a charity of their choice before taking part in a Fight Night.