Chair's column
With the approaching holidays I was reflecting on the many successes we had over the past year. Pharmac funded two new biologic medications. Starship Hospital hired a paediatric IBD nurse. In Wellington we have a new Children’s Hospital, staffed with its own full-time paediatric gastroenterologist and IBD nurse. We had a successful caregiver's seminar in July, and, this past January, Camp Purple hosted almost a hundred children and teens.
Our good news, however, is always tempered by what we all know: There is still no cure and many in our community are really struggling. There still not enough IBD nurses and gastroenterologists. Many people are being diagnosed way too late. Even though we have new medications, they do not always work. We still need to advocate in a bureaucratic, underfunded medical system for basic standard-of-care treatment.
In May, we celebrated World IBD Day. The evening focused, not on the challenges and pain of living with Crohn’s and colitis, but on the occasional “gifts” that come from living with a chronic illness. While most people would be hard-pressed to say anything positive about living with IBD, I was in awe to hear people talk about the occasional silver linings of having IBD: how friendships grew, how families and partners pulled together out of love, and how people found strength and courage they never knew they had.
I sincerely hope that 2024 will be a good year for everyone and the upcoming holiday season will be a happy one. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are struggling, need information, want to become more involved, or if we can help in any way.
0800 ASK IBD (0800 275 423)