LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
welcome to your new Companion!
I came up with the idea of Companion while I was driving
back to my first day of work after my first surgery of the IPAA
series that I am currently in the middle of. I knew how much
it helped me to read other’s
stories and be inspired by
their bravery and their hope
for a better life, despite the
suffering and exhaustion that
inflammatory bowel disease
brings.
I wondered, “What if there
was a way I could create a
magazine, something fun for
IBD patients to turn to when
they feel lonely or confused?”
That’s when I thought, “I can.”
I suffered immensely with
ulcerative colitis for 2 years
until finally having an urgent total colectomy in July of 2013.
My attitude about my ulcerative colitis and now ostomy has
always had a connotation of loneliness. Feeling like no one
understood what I was going through. I had no one to talk
to that could understand the pain or how scary these
diseases actually can be. In my journey to create my
magazine, I met our graphic designer, Kristin, who has
changed my life forever.
Kristin has taught me that I am not alone. That I have a
friend I can turn to that understands every part of what I
am going through. Not only does she make this magazine
beautiful, she makes me a more beautiful person by
reminding me every day that we are blessed to have our
lives, with or without ostomies.
STAFF
BROOKE BOGDAN
EDITOR - IN - CHIEF
KRISTIN WILLIAMS
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
EDITOR
CONTRIBUTOR
CONTRIBUTORS
DANIEL BALYINT
KRISTY C.
TOM H.
HELEN R.
KATE M.
BRIAR L.
BROOKE A.
RASHEED C.
EMMA C.
SARAH CHOUEIRY
JODIE WALMAN
ANGELA DIMOS
GAYLYN
KRISTYN T.
SYBILLE G.
SEAFARMACY
JOHNNIE C.
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