More than 1.4 million Americans suffer from a disease of the digestive system.

There is no known cause or cure for Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative Colitis.

One Platteville family knows first-hand the effects of these diseases and is taking steps to find a cure.

Ashley Snyder was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis while a student at Platteville High School.
“I had been having ‘bathroom issues’ for some time,” she said. “It took doctors a while to come up with a diagnosis. It started to eat away at my life until all I could do was deal with my illness.”

Medication, including anabolic steroids, helped some but the disease progressed to the point where Snyder had to have her entire colon removed at the UW Hospital in July 2010.

“After that, I missed the next 2½ years of university, recovering. I was finally able to attend school part time this semester,” says Snyder, a Media Studies major at UW–Platteville. “It took a lot to get back to being able to function in daily life again. I’m so excited to have been able to do just a few classes this past semester.”

Snyder worked on the City of Platteville’s All-America City video for her internship.

The Snyder family participated in the Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis event in Green Bay June 23. Take Steps is CCFA’s national evening walk and celebration. It is the nation’s largest event dedicated to finding cures for digestive diseases. In the event, 82 cents of every dollar raised goes toward research and patient programs.

One of the largest Take Steps events is the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas half-marathon, which attracted over 30,000 participants last December and was recently featured in Sports Illustrated.  The Green Bay Packers are one of the corporate sponsors of the Green Bay event.

Those interested in supporting the Snyder family may log on to ccfa.org then search “Take Steps Ashley Snyder.”