2023-05-09 11:45:57
May 9, 2023 at 11:45 am
Local Share your news
At the end of June 2023, Marleen van der Meer-Pierik (43) from Bennekom will climb the Grossglockner (3798 meters), Austria’s highest mountain, together with 13 other people who, like them, have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Climbing this mountain is already a big job for people without these chronic diseases, also called IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease). With IBD, it’s even more challenging because of the unpredictability of IBD, and symptoms like fatigue, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Marleen: ‘I want to experience and show that you can do more than you sometimes think.’
Benefits of a healthy lifestyle
Marleen was immediately enthusiastic when she read the call for Expedition IBD in the magazine of patient organization Crohn & Colitis NL a year ago. She was chosen from over 80 applicants and now sports two to three times a week at Anytime fitness, and she walks a lot. ‘The purpose of the trip is to promote a healthy lifestyle. I feel more comfortable in my own skin now. Learning to manage ulcerative colitis has been a bumpy road for the past twelve years. I found it hard to accept that some things didn’t work anymore. With this journey I want to experience that I have arrived at the point where I can handle both physical and mental challenges again. By adjusting my lifestyle, I have regained control of my body.’
Achieve goals
Gastroenterologist Vincent de Jonge of the Albert Schweitzer hospital approached patient organization Crohn & Colitis NL last year with his idea to climb the Grossglockner with a group of patients. Menne Scherpenzeel, director of Crohn & Colitis NL, was immediately enthusiastic and, like De Jonge, also climbs along. ‘People with IBD are just people who can achieve their goals despite the disease. With this expedition we want to show that they can take back control of their lives.’ Research shows that sufficient exercise improves the quality of life. It also has a positive effect on mood, self-confidence, sleep and energy.
Lifestyle events
The participants of Expedition IBD collect money with their climb. Crohn & Colitis NL organizes three lifestyle events with the money raised. These events are for anyone with IBD who wants to learn more about a healthy lifestyle. Scherpenzeel: ‘We want as many people as possible with IBD to enjoy themselves and become acquainted with the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.’
Support Expedition IBD (https://crohn-colitis.digicollect.nl/crohn-colitis-nl-expeditie-ibd)
Over IBD
Thursday, May 19, 2023 is World IBD Day. On this day, worldwide attention is drawn to the chronic inflammatory bowel diseases ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. In the Netherlands, about 90,000 people suffer from this, or 1 in 200 people. These diseases, which you usually get at a young age, are very drastic. Symptoms such as severe abdominal pain, fatigue, and diarrhea present all kinds of challenges for people with IBD throughout their lives.
#Expedition #IBD #Climbing #Grossglockner #chronic #bowel #disease