Crohn’s: ‘I don’t have a problem talking about it’

A Cork woman living with Crohn’s disease has shared her personal journey in a bid to raise awareness ahead of World Inflammatory Bowel Disease Day.

Suzanne Gurhy (51) from Glanmire was diagnosed with perianal Crohn’s disease in July 2011 after months of unexplained illness, hospital stays, and misdiagnoses.

Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects the gastrointestinal tract. It is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 people in Ireland living with IBD today.

For years, Suzanne struggled in silence, juggling flare-ups, work, and the emotional toll of living with a chronic condition.

In December 2023, she made the difficult decision to leave a job she loved due to her declining health.

In September 2024, Suzanne underwent surgery to have a temporary stoma fitted, something she had long resisted.

“They had said it to me about a stoma a few times, and I was like, 'No, I'm not!',” she told the Cork Independent.

“Before I got the stoma I was like, 'If you think that's coming near me – not a hope!’.

“Sometimes we blame ourselves. We say, okay, if I ate better now, if I exercised more, if I did this, if I did that. Of course, they can help the symptoms, but they don't cause it, so there's no point in blaming yourself.”

She added: “I ended up in hospital three or four times that year and I was like, no, just go and do it,” she added.

After being fitted with a stoma, a surgical opening in the abdomen through which waste passes before being collected in a bag, Suzanne said she immediately started to feel better.

With World Inflammatory Bowel Disease Day coming this Monday, Suzanne is eager to banish misconceptions and to encourage people to talk openly about the often stigmatised condition.

As part of this effort, Suzanne set up a support group in January for people in Cork living with IBD.

“When people do talk about it, they're like, ‘Oh you've Crohn's? Oh God, you poor thing, you're always running to the bathroom’. That's a part of it but it's not the whole of it, there's so much more to it,” explained Suzanne.

“For the first number of years, I didn't even talk about it to people. It was quite isolating. Now I see people come to the support group and I swear to God, every week somebody opens up with their story, and these are people that are newly diagnosed.

“The big thing is to not be afraid to just go to the doctor and say it.

“I told everybody before I went in that I was getting it (the stoma) done and the support from family and friends... I was overwhelmed.

“I don't have a problem talking about it now,” added Suzanne.

To mark World Inflammatory Bowel Disease Day, national charity Crohn’s and Colitis Ireland will publish ‘Gut to Know’, a new conversation guide on talking to people with IBD about their condition.

The guide aims to help people to be more understanding, better informed, and ultimately more empathetic when speaking to someone who has IBD. The subject will also form part of a webinar, IBD 101, taking place on Monday 19 May 6.30-8.30pm.

Among those contributing to the discussion will be psychologist Dr Jennifer Wilson O’Raghallaigh.

Dr O’Raghallaigh said: “I often talk about the myth that some of us have that we can control our bodies. Not only does the myth shatter for people when pure bad luck leads to a diagnosis of a chronic disease, but they also need to find a way to communicate about their health with their loved ones, who may still want to believe that control is possible. That’s a hard line to walk. The person diagnosed has to change the way that they are living which, by extension, means that the lives of those around them also change.”

For more information and to sign up for the webinar, visit crohnscolitis.ie.