Katie Cawley V.S. Crohn's: Finding A Cure

Each year Paul Mitchell the School-Cincinnati has FUNraising season March-May where they raise money for 8 national charities and 1 local charity. This year for our local charity we selected a charity that is near and dear to my heart, the Crohn's Colitis Foundation . 

My sister, Katie Cawley, is my best friend, the funniest person I know, and my hero. She'll probably be embarrassed by this, but I'm raising money for Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Inc., in her honor. I would like to thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me and my family. 
If you were to meet my sister you would never know her struggle that she's gone through with Crohn's. She is warm, friendly, smiling, and quick witted. She is the strongest woman that I know.

Katie was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 14 and at first things were manageable. In high school  she was just like every other teenager, awkward. Standing at 6'1" she was always taller and skinnier than everyone else, but that was the only reason she ever stuck out and she never used her Crohn's as an excuse to get out of something she didn't want to do. Her senior year of high school was a big year though; she met her now husband, John Cawley, and she was accepted to Ohio University.

At OhioU she was able to have as normal of a college experience as anyone else thanks to a treatment called Remicade . However, once college ended so did the positive effects of the Remicade treatment.

Unfortunately, with Crohn's it seems all good treatments eventually come to an end. At the end of Remicade we tried diet changes, Humira, and more but she only got worse. Katie had just married the love of her life, John Cawley, when everything went downhill. John has been the true epitome of “in sickness and in health.” At this time to give her large intestine a break from the inflammation Katie received an ileostomy bag.



Despite their efforts though in 2016 they had no other option but to remove Katie's large intestines. You read that right, a whole organ. Thanks to that removal though it held her Crohn's at bay until roughly the fall of 2018.

Fall 2018 to now have been endless tests, scans, treatments, hospital visits/stayovers, and so much more. Nothing like ringing in the New Year with your husband in a hospital bed or being 31 and hitting the quota on how many CATScans someone should have in their lifetime. But that is not why I am telling you about her story because there are worse things that could happen from here on.

Now at the young age of 31, Katie has run out of options for Crohn's treatments available. She has become immune to every single one of the FDA approved treatments, so she will now have to enter clinical trials. As her sister, her husband, and her family we are now medically helpless with what we can do other than being the strongest support system around. We might not be doctors, but what we can do medically is to help raise funds for the research of  treatment options.

There are so many people out there with Crohn's and Colitis just like Katie that need our help in raising awareness about these diseases and they need help in letting others know how we can help to raise donations towards better treatment options for the ones we love.

Thank you so much for your love and support of our Katie.

Sincerely, 
The Cawley and Doyle Families  

More information about Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Inc.: For over decades, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation has been dedicated to its mission of finding a cure for Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis and improving the quality of life of children and adults affected by these diseases. The Foundation has defined itself by sponsoring the best and brightest researchers and seeding the field with groundbreaking studies and research initiative to advance the understanding and treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease ("IBD").