Couple with life-threatening disease in daily exercise challenge for charity

A WOMAN who nearly died from Crohn’s disease is undertaking an exercise challenge to raise money for medical research.

Becky Golder, 32, from Lewknor, is doing 31 minutes of exercise a day for the duration of January to raise money for Crohn’s and Colitis UK, a charity dedicated to inflammatory bowel diseases.

Together with her partner, Nathan Boyle, she is doing a range of activities, including yoga, weight training and walking. She updates friends and followers on her progress on Facebook.

Miss Golder, a model who is studying to be a personal trainer, is taking part in a nationwide initiative started by the charity to raise awareness and money for research. Participants are given special T-shirts.

Miss Golder said: “I have Crohn’s disease and my partner has ulcerative colitis and my mum also has Crohn’s disease.

“There was a period in my life where I had a massive flare-up and nearly died. The same thing has happened to my mum and my partner. I was very lucky that they managed to save my bowel and me. My partner lost his bowel and he has a stoma.

“We are both very into fitness and when you go from a period of not being able to do anything to being able to move about it is a privilege.”

Miss Golder, who takes immunosuppressant medication to control her condition, wants to help fund a new medication with gentler side effects.

She said: “The charity is constantly researching to find better medication because the ones we have are quite brutal and come with some nasty side effects.

“The medication I’m on was originally designed for cancer and is basically a form of chemotherapy that works really great for autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s.

“I have to go to hospital every eight weeks to have it through an intravenous drip, which is not ideal. But it is what it is and I would much prefer that than have another Crohn’s flare-up.

“The only problem is that one day it will stop working as your body builds up antibodies, which is very scary.”

The money she raises will go towards supporting people with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Miss Golder said: “Once you have been diagnosed, it’s quite life-changing and I don’t think a lot of people know what Crohn’s disease is, so I want to raise awareness. When I was diagnosed, I knew what it was through my mum, who was diagnosed when I was seven. I saw her going through hell because the treatment was not so great.

“I thought I would suffer for the rest of my life but medicine has come a long way and I’m able to do a lot more than I used to be able to. Even though it is a horrible disease, it does not always have to be negative. I have met some amazing people in the community — my partner is the perfect example.

“We did not know each other when we were in our flare-ups and I met him a couple of years later and we have now been together for about two years.

“Watching him with his stoma and how well he has done with it is inspirational. I want to make others who have other inflammatory bowel diseases not feel so alone.”

So far she raised about £80 of her £125 target.

Miss Golder said: “I’m trying to do a different activity each day. I do weight training anyway but my plan is to get some more aerial hoop in and go to a trampoline park. I’m doing it with my partner. We also do regular fundraising events with the charity. It gives you that motivation after Christmas to move your body.”

To make a donation via Facebook, visit http://tinyurl.com/
2h2yxw7e

Instagram — @thatibdcouple