Robbie’s Rainbow

Robbie is a nine year-old boy living with Crohn’s disease. This can be a destructive disease that eats away sections of the intestinal lining of the digestive tract. Crohn’s can cause severe pain, malnutrition and diarrhea, along with many other symptoms. Robbie has been battling Crohn’s disease since he was six year’s old and he has undergone numerous drug treatments. Unfortunately Robbie did not respond to traditional drugs used to treat this disease and in August 2009, Robbie began a new class of drug called Remicade. Remicade is a new class of drug, given intravenously and designed to attack Crohn's and put the disease into remission. This drug is expensive , it is not covered by OHIP and many drug plans do not cover the cost of this treatment.

The unfortunate reality is, not every family can afford this drug treatment. We have seen children turned away at the hospital because their families couldn’t provide the necessary funds. For a boy like Robbie, this drug costs $20,000 a year and as the child grows so does the cost. For Robbie, this class of drug has been his little miracle and he believes every child has the right to feel healthy. It is Robbie’s mission to help children struggling with severe Crohn’s disease receive the Biologic drug treatments they desperately need and can’t afford. Robbie’s Rainbow is fighting Crohn’s disease one child at a time.

Crohn’s is a long-term and persistent disease that causes inflammation in any part of the digestive tract (mouth to anus). Common symptoms of Crohn’s include: chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, weight loss, abscesses, and fatigue. Crohn’s disease is characterized by periods of active inflammation, called “flare-ups” and periods of absent symptoms called “remission”. In the last 25 years, it has become clear that Crohn’s disease affects large numbers of children. There are over 5,000 children living with Crohn’s disease in Canada, and 70% of children with Crohn’s have the disease within their small intestine. We do not know what causes Crohn’s disease.

There is no cure for Crohn’s disease and there is no way to prevent getting it. Diet and stress DO NOT cause Crohn’s disease. They can worsen it’s symptoms, but they are not the cause. One of the biggest hurdles facing children with Crohn’s is nutritional deficiency, as the disease can prevent the body from properly absorbing the nutrients needed, plus eating can be quite painful and food avoidance is quite common. There is no special diet required for children with Crohn’s disease. The only rule is to avoid any food that makes the symptoms worse.

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Together we will raise awareness for these two debilitating diseases
To meet Robbie, please visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUadUUVe2e4