Zoe Renshaw raising awareness of Crohn’s disease

Zoe Renshaw

Littleborough resident Zoe Renshaw, a sufferer of Crohn’s disease, is on a mission to raise awareness of the disease at a local and national level.

Zoe, who was diagnosed with the disease at 22, found life difficult before her diagnosis. She said: “It was really difficult at the time because no one knew what was wrong and no doctor had an answer so you start to think that it is all in your head.”

After her diagnosis, Zoe still struggled to find the help and support she needed. She added: “I was kind of just left to it and left on my own and
there wasn’t any real support from the doctors.”

Zoe was put on medication to help her with the disease but after a while the medication weakened her immune system and gave her drug induced hepatitis – a serious liver condition.

“Even though the medication helped me for some time it damaged my liver and wasn’t good for me. After that I spent 12 months without any medication and was back to square one,” said Zoe.

But twelve months ago, Zoe was given a new medication and is finding that the new drug is really helping.

Zoe now wants to raise awareness of the disease to help people gain advice and support if they need it and is on a mission to do it at a local and national level.

“I think it can be an embarrassing disease which people don’t want to talk about but I think we need to talk about it to let people know more. It isn’t something many people know a lot about,” said Zoe.

Zoe recently featured in Pick Me Up magazine talking about her diagnosis and the things she has done to raise awareness of Crohn’s. She said: “I think it is something we need to keep talking about and I was approached to do the magazine and thought it would be a really good way to raise awareness.”

After Zoe featured in Pick Me Up magazine, the magazine donated £100 to Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

Zoe has also started a social media page called Crohnies in Need which has attracted almost 400 members as a way for people to find support and advice. She regularly takes part in fundraising events to raise money for Crohn’s and Colitis UK and recently raised over £4,000 for the charity after completing the London Marathon.

Zoe is actively fundraising for and raising awareness of Crohn’s disease and she is also very active within the Littleborough area. A member of the Littleborough Lions, she can often be seen raising funds for less fortunate people by street collecting, creating hampers and organising fun runs. She is also involved with Ellenroad Engine House and recently took over the organisation of events.

She added: “I am very busy but by doing the things that I do I can raise the awareness that is needed and can prompt people to ask questions. It is not something that you can stop once you start but it is certainly a good thing.”