Hi everyone!

My name is Tanya, and I am your new support group coordinator for the Manawatu-Whanganui region.

After being diagnosed with Crohn's disease I felt very lost and lonely, even with being fortunate enough to know a couple of lovely people locally (Whanganui) that also have Crohn's. It very quickly hit me how much worse it would be if I knew of nobody else with IBD!

That was my motivation behind getting involved with CCNZ and having a go at starting up some local meetings for those of us affected by IBD, both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

We successfully hosted our first in-person meeting on May 25th, where we were privileged to have Emma Verhoek, NZ Registered Dietitian, as our guest speaker. It was an enlightening session filled with valuable insights. My aim is to vary meeting locations (Bulls, Palmerston North, and Whanganui) to give everyone a chance at being able to attend. Please join our Facebook group, so you can stay updated with the latest information regarding our next meeting.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/819394818888616/

Aside from managing my IBD, I am a mum to 3 young kids, a part-time vet, and love to get outside and be active! (Pictures represent the days when things are going well - we all know things don't look like this during flares!)

Looking forward to meeting you all soon!

Tanya

Tanya participated as a speaker at our World IBD Day celebrations this year, please click the link below to watch her speech: https://fb.watch/kLNgV2HKW4/