Charity Bash is a series of events every year at LZ that fundraises for charities that demand attention and hit close to home. The same rules apply to this year’s cause, which almost took the life of one of LZ’s very own.
“I almost died because of this disease,” Laura Fonte, history teacher, explained. “It is really important to raise awareness for this.”
The disease Fonte is referring to is called Colitis, a disease very closely related to Crohn’s disease. The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation was chosen this year from a group of notable causes such as The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, the SANGO Association, which provides financial aid to deserving and underprivileged students, and SuperSibs, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to recognizing, comforting, and supporting the siblings of cancer patients. The unawareness of the dangers and severity of Crohn’s and Colitis is why it was chosen for this year’s charity.
“A confused digestive and immune system is basically what Crohn’s and Colitis is,” Fonte said. “The immune system of people who have this disease will attack healthy cells in the gastrointestinal tract. Immune suppressants stop your immune system from doing this, but then you also have the risk of not getting rid of your unhealthy cells.”
Last December, Elizebeth Berton, Student Council vice president, along with other Student Council Charity Bash chairs and officers, went on a field trip to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) office in Des Plaines to get some background on the disease. Student Council sponsors, Chris Bennett and Susan McBride, also joined the students as they met with CCFA representatives to learn more about the cause.
“I learned that Crohn’s disease is a chronic disorder of the digestive tract that occurs mainly in your small intestine and Colitis is a chronic disease and inflammation of the large intestine,” Berton said. “The trip really opened up my eyes. This is a great cause for Charity Bash because these diseases don’t have a cure yet, and there are a lot of people in Lake Zurich who have them.”
LZHS’ own history teacher, Fonte, is unfortunately a perfect example.
“These diseases are life threatening and dangerous,” Fonte said. “The reason why they are so deadly is because you don’t know you have the disease until you actually have it and then have yourself checked out by a doctor. These diseases are not something that a doctor looks for.”
Crohn’s and Colitis are diseases that doctors will not check for during a regular physical or check up because they require either a colonoscopy, an examination of the colon through the rectum, or an endoscopy. A colonoscopy helped diagnose Fonte with the most dangerous form of Colitis, ulcerative Colitis, in May of 2010. Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis that affects the mucosa (inner lining) of the large intestine. Because of this disease, Fonte has had to make some important life changes.
“I have had to change what I eat drastically,” Fonte said. “I cannot eat anything with Vitamin K or anything that is hard to digest, and when I have flare ups, I have to instantly change my diet.”
During October of this year, Fonte had a related medical scare. A blood clot had formed, a common life threatening problem that comes with Colitis, and it suffocated her small intestine. About one foot of her small intestine died and had to be surgically removed. Fonte will now forever be on a blood thinner and goes to the hospital once a week to check for blood clots. Fonte also goes to the hospital every eight weeks for three hours to get an immune suppressant to help stop her immune system from attacking itself.
Crohn’s and Colitis can affect a person of any gender, any age, or any race. The CCFA states on their website that further research is needed because there is no known cause, cure, way to detect these diseases, or way to prevent further complications of these diseases.
“There is so much to this disease,” Fonte said. “It affects you physically and emotionally. A lot of students and faculty members have these diseases that we don’t know about because it’s not something that’s always comfortable to talk about.”
Charity Bash 2010 raised $41,243 for Cystic Fibrosis, and the goal for this year’s Charity Bash will be to exceed that accomplishment, bring attention to this cause, and take one more step towards finding a cure.
“These diseases are not recognized enough, and those who have it often feel undermined,” Berton said. “Fundraising for this cause really helps patients know that there are people who care.”
Statistics on Crohn’s and Colitis (source: ccfa.org)
30% of Crohn’s patients develop ulcers (tiny open sores) or fistulas (a tunnel from one loop of the intestine to another)
10% of Crohn’s and Colitis patients are unable to be specifically diagnosed between the two diseases
10% of Crohn’s patients are under 18 years old
25% of Crohn’s and Colitis patients have close relatives who also have the disease