Casey Abrams launches IBD Icons for inflammatory bowel disease awareness

Casey Abrams has launched IBD Icons, a site to promote inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) awareness. Go Casey!

I know someone with Crohn's disease and it's great that Casey is bringing awareness to this.

IBD Icons:

"When I was a little kid, my mom played the Beatles, Buddy Holly, all that good stuff," says Season 10 American Idol contestant Casey. "I would just listen to a blues record and hear all the little subtleties that made it such a good song. When I got to the jazz room in school, I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life."

When he started experiencing symptoms of ulcerative colitis during his freshman year at college, Casey at first tried to ignore them, hoping they would just go away. "I was embarrassed, and I didn't want to show weakness." When Casey finally saw a doctor and was diagnosed with UC, he thought his days of performing were over. "That was the scariest. I thought I wouldn't be able to live my life. How am I going to balance that and music at the same time?" But Casey didn't give up.

Going into the American Idol audition, Casey knew his UC could be an obstacle. Despite struggling with UC, he decided to keep going in the competition. "This was my chance to bring something different to the stage. I wanted my music heard. So I was like 'Listen UC, you're not going to bring me down.' I just thought of UC as this huge wall in front of me that I had to run through to be able to share my passion for music with the world."

When asked how his experience on American Idol has changed him, Casey has to think for a minute. "I just hope it has changed—at least a little bit—other people's lives. Like the people who now recognize me and come up to me to say 'people think it's cool that I'm a band geek now'. I'm glad if I was able to help make jazz majors cool."

His message to others with IBD: "Ask for help early on. Stay positive. You don't have to give up your dreams to this disease."

It takes guts TO LIVE BEYOND IBD

All across America, people who have ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease find ways to follow their dreams despite the challenges of IBD.

Janssen Biotech, Inc. and the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) want to raise awareness of IBD while celebrating the courage and persistence of people with UC or Crohn's disease through the IBD Icons contest. The IBD Icons finalists' stories will serve as inspiration to those struggling with IBD symptoms and motivate them to act early on to manage their disease. Through IBD Icons we hope to encourage those living with IBD to never give up or give in to their disease.