Jordie Horton is just finishing up her first semester of college at Arapahoe Community College but is just about to have her seventh surgery. Why you might be asking? Well Horton has a rare disease called Crohn’s Disease in which she was diagnosed with at the age of three. Crohn’s Disease is a rare chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects the lining of the digestive tract. 

Since the age of three Horton has found herself in and out of hospitals, where she has undergone multiple surgeries for this rare condition. So, we sat down to discuss how this has impacted her life. 

Arapahoe Pinnacle: How has Crohn’s Disease impacted your life? 

Jordie Horton: Crohn’s Disease has both negatively and positively impacted my life. I’ve had it since I was very young, so I don’t know a life without it, I’ve learned how to adapt. I have had six surgeries and am about to have my seventh. It keeps me from having a lot of close relationships with people.  

What changes were made after you were diagnosed? 

After I was diagnosed, my diet was restricted, and I was prescribed a variety of medicines. I am constantly searching for new treatment options that suit me the best. I had to have my large intestine removed when I was seven years old due to the inflammation being life-threatening. 

How many surgeries have you undergone and how old were you for each one? 

I have had six surgeries and am awaiting my seventh. My first three were between the ages of seven and eight. The fourth was at the age of twelve. The fifth and sixth were done at eighteen and the seventh will be in the next month and I am nineteen now. 

Is there anything you want people to know about you and/or Crohn’s Disease? 

I often struggle with explaining my medical condition to others because of the lack of knowledge or understanding about inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, and Crohn’s Disease. I wish the people understood that it is not contagious and there is no known cause for IBD. It is an invisible illness, so I may appear healthy and happy, but the odds are that I’m having pain in my abdomen at any given time. I do not suffer because of my Crohn’s and it does not define who I am, but I strongly believe that it has made me the woman that I am today. I could not imagine my life being any differently. 

Jordie Horton will continue to be a student at ACC in the Spring of 2020. She is partaking in the Criminal Justice program offered by ACC and enjoys every moment of it. She also currently has an internship with a local law enforcement.  

If you have any questions about IBD, Crohn’s Disease, or want to know more about Jordie Horton’s journey with it, she is more than willing to sit down to discuss it more, because she just wants more people to understand it, since it is a disease not many people know about.