Emma Taylor is from Wellington and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in March 2015. Since then, she's had 3 surgeries, and now lives permanently with a J Pouch. Emma enjoys camping, fishing, exploring nature and doing the odd project around the house.

Firstly, I'd love to thank Anna for all of the hard work she's done with the Wellington Crohn's and colitis support group. She's done an amazing job and I'm very happy to be continuing this with the help of Kellsey Wallace.

Results from the recent CCNZ survey on "What You Want from Your Support Group" indicated that educational seminars are preferred and that people are interested in the following topics: Diet, Mental Health and IBD, and discussions with gastroenterologists and IBD nurses.  

I plan to speak with Sarah Elliott who is a Wellington based dietitian that specializes in IBD. We'll organize a seminar or casual meet up where members of the group can anonymously ask questions prior to and then during the discussion.

Our group meets every 2 - 3 months, usually over coffee. We like to support businesses who display the “I can't wait” sticker within the Wellington region.

We did have a few people mention that meet ups were too far from home so I will organise a poll to see where people would prefer to meet. We can aim to have more regional based catch ups, e.g., Wellington City, Upper/Lower Hutt, Porirua, Kapiti etc.

Our next meet up is on the 1st of May at 11am held at Buzz Cafe. Everyone is welcome including partners, kids, or you can bring a support person.  For more details about our next event make sure you follow our Facebook group.

We also have a meet up for the kids/teens who attend Camp Purple. We plan to continue these get togethers every few months so the kids don't have to wait a year to see each other. Usually we go bowling but, when it's warmer, we'll arrange an outdoor activity. More details can be found on our Facebook page.

Our next Camp meet up is on the 8th of May at 11am at Strike Petone.

In the meantime, you can reach Emma or Kellsey on the Wellington support group email; wellington@crohnsandcolitis.org.nz

If you want to join the Wellington Facebook group, click here.

If you want to join the Camp Purple Wellington Facebook group, click here.