Calgary’s Robbi Martini’s personal philosophy is – Keep going!
She explains: “One day you may feel really well – the next, horrible. But you keep going for that day when you're going to feel good. Just keep going. It's not easy, I know that, but you cannot give up.”
Robbi was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 1970 at the age of 26 while pregnant with her second daughter. The journey since then has had its share of ups and downs, including three bowel resections between 1983 and 2008.
In addition, Robbi was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2001, which is controlled today with daily chemotherapy pills. In 2008, she was hospitalized due to the leukemia and began two years of intravenous chemotherapy. While hospitalized, it became clear she needed a bowel resection, but was told that because of the chemotherapy, she possibly would not survive. She was discharged and told the resection would be scheduled at a later date. However, a week later, Robbi needed emergency surgery for a resection in the middle of the night, surprising the surgeon that she survived.
In her early years of living with Crohn’s, Robbi felt isolated. It was five years before she met another person with Crohn’s. Fortunately, as Crohn’s and Colitis Canada spread across the country after it started in 1974, she connected with others living through the same things at the monthly Calgary chapter meetings.
The best damned fruitcake you’ve ever had
One of the fundraising activities in Calgary in the early 1980s was selling fruitcakes in November and December. Robbi and her family put their heart into it for the next 20 years, selling around 1,000 cakes over the years at $10 each, with net proceeds going to Crohn’s and Colitis Canada.
Everyone got involved. Her husband was a general contractor, so he brought cakes to client meetings. Robbi had tables in malls. As for the daughters, they had to sell cakes and help at the malls as well. To this day, they laugh at the stories of everything that happened.
Robbi's generosity for the cause has meant that in addition to the fruitcake sales, Robbi is one of Crohn’s and Colitis Canada’s longstanding donors. As of 2024, she has been giving for 42 years.
Understanding the panic
While Robbi’s Crohn’s is in remission, a lasting consequence is daily diarrhea. She can no longer leave home because the diarrhea happens every day without warning. No more social gatherings, going for a meal at a restaurant, or visiting her daughter who lives in Los Angeles. It is hard on her, and on her family to see her this way.
She says: “People don't understand the urgency of the disease. Particularly, having to run for a bathroom in the middle of a meeting, in the middle of a class at school. I'd like to see an advertisement showing somebody running for a washroom. The panic. Because there is panic. It's embarrassing.”
She keeps going
Through all the ups and downs, Robbi has kept her smile, easy laughter and optimism. She definitely lives by her motto and keeps going!

Robbi with her daughters in 1972, two years after her diagnosis

Robbi volunteering to sell Remembrance Day poppies at a mall