When Laura and Pascal first met, they quickly learned they both live with Crohn's disease. They knew they could understand and support each other in a way that no one else could. They were married within two years and were thrilled to learn Laura was expecting, despite her doctors' concerns about her ability to get pregnant living with Crohn's.
But then Laura became critically ill and went into labour at just 30 weeks. Their son Julien was born weighing only 3 pounds and was rushed to the NICU, while her condition worsened. She suffered severe liver failure due to a complication from one of her medications, and she also broke her hip during delivery, as years of taking steroids for flare-ups had led to osteoarthritis.
Laura and Pascal even wrote their wills that night, as they didn’t know if she’d survive.
It was a tough start, but exactly one month later, they took Julien home. They later had two more healthy children, Sophie and Marc-Olivier.
But their family's struggles weren't over.
Laura navigated devastating flares for many years, trying numerous medications and ending up in the hospital at least once a year, until her last pregnancy put her into remission.
Pascal also became very sick in 2020 and had to have 30 cm of his colon removed. He received IV medication for three months at home, forcing him to take time off work, and Laura became his caregiver while also looking after a baby and two toddlers.
Fortunately, today they're both in remission and doing well.
But the worries will always be there. They both worry about their kids and hope they never have to deal with the pain and challenges that Crohn’s brings. They worry about when the disease will come back and if they'll run out of treatment options.
Stories like theirs are why research is so critical: knowing there are targeted therapies that will work the first time, instead of trying multiple medications with possible devastating side effects, would be game changing. It would give people like Laura and Pascal hope for a better future, so families like theirs don’t have to worry about the next generation having to deal with the scary realities that life with these diseases can bring.
People living with Crohn's or colitis are running out of options. They need new treatments, targeted therapies that work the first time, and medications that have fewer side effects. They also need earlier detection and prevention.
You can help make these advances possible. Donate today to help fund targeted research, improve lives now, and bring us all closer to finding the cures in the future.
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