"I saw what life was like for Mum, so I want to give something back." - Kerry's Story

My mum Katherine was my absolute hero growing up. She was a larger-than-life character and very forthright. She was into Girl Power long before the Spice Girls and had a real zest for life. That’s the best way to describe her.

But then, she started getting very ill. You know - tummy pain, going to the toilet, being sick. And the weight just dropped off her. She had a variety of tests and she thought it was cancer because the symptoms just seemed to fit, really. So when she finally got a diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease it was a bit of a relief in some respects. But then we thought: “Well, what’s Crohn’s?!” We had never really heard of it before.

My mum was diagnosed back in 1975. She was only 29 and I was just five years old. Back then, very few people knew about Crohn’s, what it involves and what the treatment options were. So you can imagine, Mum was just really worried.

She had to have a portion of her intestines removed and a stoma made. In those days it was a case of: “Well, we’ve saved your life, what are you moaning about?!” But it’s so much more than that – it was the little things. Mum had just learned to swim and she felt she could no longer wear bikinis. It really did knock her for six in a lot of ways because she lost that element of feeling feminine. Things were different back then.

We actually named her stoma because he was part of the family. The name was Fred-Henry. No idea why! We would say: “Has Fred-Henry been playing up today?” And she would say: “Yes, he’s been a pain!” We would have these conversations like he was a real person in the house.

Mum’s life was hugely impacted by her Crohn’s. She was still my mum and she still had that sense of herself, though. She lived with it for 30 years – until she died from an unrelated condition in 2005. I spent a lot of my childhood and adult life in hospital visiting her.

I saw what life was like for Mum, so I want to give something back to make sure that there’s more understanding and knowledge of Crohn’s and Colitis now and in the future. That’s why I decided to take part in Big Winter Workout to raise money for Crohn’s & Colitis UK now, and have also remembered Crohn’s & Colitis UK with a gift in my Will.

I haven’t been married and I have no children, so everyone else around me will be absolutely fine financially. I would prefer what I have left to go to a cause where it’ll really have some impact and make a difference. I make small donations to Crohn’s & Colitis UK now, but the charity will be my main beneficiary.

Even if just one person gets something useful out of it, then that’s good. I think there’s still a stigma and embarrassment around Inflammatory Bowel Disease and it’s important to get the word out there. If we can get people to talk about it without embarrassment, then we’ve achieved something, haven’t we?

I’d urge anyone who can to consider giving a legacy gift. Every little bit helps.