Reach for the stars!

September 22, 2021

Meet John Smythe, the Olympic field hockey athlete who represented Canada in the 2020 Olympic Games! Despite being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of 18, having three major surgeries, including a full colon removal, and falling out of the National program for 4 years, he took advantage of the opportunities presented to him and have now been competing on the world stage for 9 years. John has played professionally in both Hamburg, Germany and Paris, France and has represented Canada at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2018 World Cup and 2019 Pan American Games (silver medal), and most recently fulfilling a life-long dream of playing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Moderator:

Peter Dobranowski was 15 when he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, which was later rediagnosed as ulcerative colitis. A severe flare-up caused him to withdraw from his first year of university, and left him with hardships no one else shared - at least that he knew of. Luckily, Peter achieved remission, completed a BSc in Nutrition and MSc in Experimental Medicine, and he's currently completing a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, studying new treatments for IBD. Peter thinks Crohn's and Colitis Canada gave him a way to fight back against IBD, connecting him with researchers and volunteers with a united goal. He feels great pleasure helping facilitate the Young Adult Series because he went through the transition stage alone, and he doesn't want you to have to.

Quick FactFaits en bref

Canada has among the highest incidence rates of Crohn's and colitis in the world.
1 in 140 Canadians lives with Crohn’s or colitis.
Families new to Canada are developing these diseases for the first time.
Incidence of Crohn’s in Canadian kids under 10 has doubled since 1995.
People are most commonly diagnosed before age 30.

Young Adult Series