Sudbury Teenager Walks for Crohn's Disease Awareness

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following was submitted by Diane Parazin.)

It began with stomach aches when she was just 8 and only got worse from there, escalating into hip and back problems, loss of weight and little or no growth. 

It wasn’t until she was in fifth grade that doctors were able to pinpoint the cause of Georgia Neale’s unrelenting symptoms: Crohn’s disease, a chronic condition affecting the gastrointestinal tract.

Living with Crohn’s hasn’t been easy for Georgia. 

“It’s a condition that no one talks about,” explained her mother, Doreen.  “Because it affects the bowels, it is often a well-kept secret and hard for one so young to explain to peers just what is happening.”

Doreen, however, was determined to normalize Georgia’s life as much as possible. To Doreen, that meant augmenting Georgia’s medical regime with a holistic approach to the condition.

“We changed how we ate,” she said. Georgia and her three younger siblings all keep to a gluten- and dairy-free diet.

“I’m in remission,” Georgia says. 

These days, the 13-year-old seventh-grader from Sudbury is an active teen involved in Girl Scouts, sports and music.

And, no longer living in secret. 

Georgia is proudly walking in the Boston area Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis Walk, her second year doing so. Last year, her team, The Crohn’s Crushers, was one of the event’s largest fundraisers. 

This year her team includes Georgia’s family and her best friends, all in the know about Georgia’s Crohn’s and all more than willing to help her walk to find a cure.