GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- This weekend hundreds of people will make their way to Grand Rapids for the annual Take Steps Walk Supporting the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.
The diseases that affect thousands of people in Michigan including one of our very own Candace Monacell who shared her story about living with the disease.
"It’s a daily struggle it’s a constant battle," said FOX 17 Morning Meteorologist Candace Monacelli, who knows all too well about the daily challenges that come along with Crohn's disease.
"I was diagnosed 12 years ago when I was a teenager and it was the worst day of my life," she said." You often wonder well why is this happening to me why me and the why me is the hardest question to answer but when you come to terms with it and you try to be positive and get through your everyday life as normal as you can be the why me question?"
There is no exact answer as to why people develop Crohn's and Colitis Disease but researchers continue to hopefully one day find a cure. In the meantime, there are numerous different treatment plans to keep patients as comfortable as possible.
"Everyday at work people see me on TV people see me around town but no one knows about what I deal with at home," Candace said. "I give myself a shot every week just to stay status quo and to stay healthy."
Candace keeps a positive attitude through all the ups and downs of fighting this disease but recently was unexpectedly hospitalized due to her Crohn's. sometimes these chronic diseases can have a mind of their own.
"To think I was going to the emergency room for a fever and the flu that wouldn’t go away and 6 hours later I'm in emergency surgery due to my Crohn's not knowing what was truly going on with me….there’s a lot of scary moments and that was a scary moment not only for myself but for my entire family and I'm still recovering," she said.
These diseases can be uncomfortable to talk about but its important to learn and understand what so many people go through daily. Candace says the hardest part of the whole thing is not letting the disease control you and not looking sick from the outside.
"It's an invisible disease everything is on the inside so no I don’t look like I'm sick, I don’t seem like I’m sick but some days I feel like I’m sick," she said.
The walk kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday at Millennium Park.
