Help Danielle raise money

Hi, my name is Danielle Austin. My story started in November of 2015 when I was diagnosed with severe Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, which can result in severe flare-ups and at times periods of remission. At the time of my diagnosis I was a member of Fanshawe Womens' Varsity soccer team and had just started my first year of the nursing program that fall. The following two weeks after my diagnosis my symptoms became unbearable, and I was up more than ten times a night and attended school exhausted and in pain. Initially, I had to choose between two biologic medications to battle my symptoms, and because of my hectic schedule I chose a medication that I would have to self-inject every week. Although my symptoms eased initially, they never went away. Despite not feeling well every day, I chose to not let it affect my school or interfere with my sports. I started playing indoor soccer on the Fanshawe team in the spring of 2016; however, it was a very difficult season as my Crohn’s disease had taken a toll on my body. Because of the medications I was taking and the nature of the disease, I had lost a lot of weight and I became very short of breath during my shifts on the field and had to be subbed off more frequently than my teammates.

After months of increasing my medication dose and my symptoms becoming worse again my specialist recommended a different biologic medication. In September of 2016, I started a medication that is infused over several hours. My infusions were scheduled for every six weeks. Within three days of my first infusion, I was relieved to notice my symptoms starting to subside. I was very excited at this time, as my outdoor season and second year of nursing were about to begin. Over the following weeks, I continued to gain strength. Although not in remission, my symptoms were diminished, and I was able to complete the entire outdoor season with little to no problems. Because of my health improving drastically I chose to return to hockey after not playing for three years. In 2017 I was the runner up for the Jeffrey Reed Courage Award, which allowed me the opportunity to attend the banquet. At this banquet I learned about Jeffrey Reed's life story and perseverance through sports. I was encouraged and inspired and decided to create my own fundraiser.

In June of 2018, I organized a run from Grand Bend to London as a fundraiser for Crohn's and Colitis. The run was called “Kicking some Guts" and was a total distance of 63km from Grand Bend to London, and took me nine and a half hours to complete. With the help of family and friends we were able to raise over $4,000 for Crohn's and Colitis Canada. In early summer of 2019, I participated on the Guts to Run team in the Mississauga Marathon; which as a team raised over $20,000 for Crohn's and Colitis Canada. In September 2021, I organized another run. This time from London to Grand Bend (63Km) raising just over $8,000 and taking just short of 10 hours to complete.

I am extremely thankful to say I am currently in remission and have been since 2016 and starting that second medication. 

Unfortunately, there has been a road block that started earlier this year as I was unofficially diagnosed with another autoimmune disease called ITP. While I am in the midst of figuring this out I have been motivated by getting back into running alongside my twin sister.

 We are so excited to announce that we will be participating in the Toronto Waterfront marathon on October 20, 2024.

We are looking forward to raising more awareness for Crohn’s and Colitis Canada in hopes to find a cure! Thank you in advance as any donations are greatly appreciated!