Krystyna's story

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My husband has supported me throughout my journey and we have made mirror wills and it just seemed the right thing to do to include Crohn’s & Colitis UK.

Krystyna was diagnosed with Crohn's in 1973 when she was 18 years old. She had multiple hospital admissions resulting in a permanent ileostomy in 1976 just a year after she got married.

I found little information on the illness during my hospital stays, but met lots of other patients who had questions about living with Crohn’s so, with the help of family and friends, I started the Leeds & District branch of what was then the National Association for Colitis & Crohn’s Disease in 1983.

Crohn’s has affected every aspect of my life. I was too ill to have children and I feel my career would have taken a different path had I not been so ill. If only the treatments that are available now were around in the 1970s! Within two months of starting on infliximab, I felt like a different person. I was later moved onto adalimumab and have been on that for years. Although the scarring from my surgery causes me issues, my Crohn’s is now pretty much under control.

I decided to take early retirement on health grounds and we moved from Leeds to a village close to Selby. I’m in my 60s now. I feel extremely privileged to have been there at the beginning and to see how far the charity has developed, grown and how much it has achieved.

My husband, Zyggy, has supported me throughout my journey and we have made mirror Wills. It just seemed the right thing to do to include Crohn’s & Colitis UK. It’s been a big part of my life.

Read more stories of supporters who have generously left a gift in their Will.

Krystyna's story

My husband, Zyggy, has supported me throughout my journey and we have made mirror Wills. It just seemed the right thing to do to include Crohn’s & Colitis UK. It’s been a big part of my life.

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