Honored heroes
Take Steps Honored Heroes understand first-hand how difficult — and empowering — it can be to live with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Honored Heroes share their stories to let other patients know they are not alone on their journeys — because no one should face the challenges and uncertainty of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in isolation. Through their stories, Honorees raise awareness of these diseases, raise funds in support of the Foundation’s mission, and inspire hope in those living with IBD.
Below, you will meet each of our local Alabama/NW Florida Honored Heroes for 2023!
healthcare honored hero: dr. Kirk Russ
Dr. Kirk Russ is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham specializing in the care of adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). He serves as the IBD Clinic Director and is involved in research through ongoing clinical trials, multicenter registries, and collaborative clinical and translational research studies in IBD.
When asked why he supports to Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, he shared:
"Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are debilitating conditions that can cause immense physical and emotional suffering from those affected. However, caring for patients with IBD and supporting them in managing their illness is incredibly rewarding work and truly a privilege. My primary goal as a healthcare provider is to help my patients achieve remission so that they can live their lives with as little disruption as possible. I strive to empower my patients to lead healthy, fulfilling lives, and my involvement with the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation is an extension of this goal. The Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of IBD patients through patient support and education, research to advance our treatment of IBD, and advocacy to improve access to care. By partnering with the Foundation, I have been able to participate in these efforts and be a part of improving the lives of IBD patients on a more global scale. I am honored to be recognized by the Foundation for my efforts and will continue to work towards finding cures for IBD.
adult patient honored hero: joy busenlehner
When I was just 16-years old, Joy was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. She had no idea what that meant, and was told she would need to be on medication for the rest of her life to control it; however, medicine did not control it. Quickly, her disease got out of hand, and at 17-years old, Joy was confined to a hospital room on and off for a year. She went from being a healthy, athletic, social teenager to a sickly, uncertain patient. Joy continued on her battle taking many pills each day, but never really getting any better. Being a minor at the time of her diagnosis, Joy's parents were her biggest advocates. Joy's parents never believed that this is what her life would be, and found a renowned pediatric surgeon who believed that he could eliminate much of my suffering by removing my large intestine and creating a J-Pouch with my small intestine. As a teenager, Joy was reluctant knowing her life would change. She was terrified of the steps to get the pouch, surgery, an ileostomy and another surgery to connect the pouch, but she knew what she had to do to get her life back. After completing the surgeries, she returned to a normal life where she could run, cheer & play softball again without pain with a fully functioning J-Pouch!
Fast forward, in 2013, at the age of 41, Joy started having issues with her pouch. She knew things were not going right, but felt she could deal with it. She was prescribed medicines and kept trudging through life until she was told she would likely need a revision of her pouch by her local care team.
It was then that Joy went straight to one of the best surgeons to "fix" her pouch. Joy was told she needed a full J-Pouch reconstruction which meant nine months of her life and three surgeries. Even though she was devastated, she know that her quality of life depended on these surgeries. As she began the journey through the surgeries, she began seeking a community and information in ways she had never before. Joy was able to seek and utilize information from the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation that aided her in her continued IBD Journey. To date, Joy is happy to share, "I am on the other side of my surgeries and feeling great, really thriving! I am back to doing the things that I love most; being a wife, mother, sister, aunt, daughter and professional! I am thankful for the Foundation and what it has done for me and my peers that are journeying through IBD every day!
pediatric honored hero: Liam Hertlein
When Liam was just 6 years old, he became very sick. He was throwing up multiple times a day and started having more frequent bathroom visits with constant blood in his stool. He was hospitalized for the first time in June of 2020 for dehydration and malnutrition. During this visit, it was discovered that Liam he somehow contracted E.coli. Liam was sent home with antibiotics and he experienced a small window of improvement; however, four or five days later, he developed other worrisome symptoms. At this time Liam saw his pediatrician to follow up form his hospital visit and she knew something was still wrong. At this time, Liam was referred to Children's of Alabama to see a GI Specialist. During the waiting period, Liam lost 15 lbs. and was incredibly weak. On the same day that Liam saw the GI Specialist, he was immediately admitted back into the hospital. Liam was so dehydrated and malnourished, they gave him lots of fluids, different kinds of proteins that he had been lacking, and even a blood transfusion. The team concluded that he had C. Diff and did another round of antibiotics. When Liam's symptoms still did not improve, they ordered an upper endoscopy and colonoscopy and diagnosed him with ulcerative colitis. At this time, Liam began a year and a half long journey to understanding what his body needed and what medicines did and did not help him. During this process, he developed blood clots in his heart and his lungs from all of the inflammation in his little body. Liam even started seeing a Hematologist that put him on a blood thinner injection that he took for 2 years, two times a day. It took a few more hospital stays, iron infusions, and lots of really hard life adjustments to learn that his first infusion medication did not work for him. His GI Specialist even referred Liam to a pediatric surgeon who explained to use the ins and outs of doing a colectomy and trying to prepare us for what life would be like if we went ahead with removing his colon entirely. Thankfully, the second infusion medication, that Liam tried, gave him some relief, and he was able to come off the blood thinners. Each month, Liam travels to Children's of Alabama to hangout with his favorite nurses, and have all sorts of little adventures! Liam is happy and thriving in his diagnosis, even though his life looks a little bit different.
