Meet Sara H.- How A Crohn’s Diagnosis Sparked A Bucket List Life

Send us Fan MailSara Herring lived with stomach pain so long she thought it was just life, then at 21 she finally got the word that changed everything: Crohn’s disease. Sara joins us for a raw, funny, and unexpectedly tender conversation about what it’s like to be dismissed as a kid, spend months chasing negative tests, and reach the point where you’re writing goodbye letters because you’re not sure you’ll make it. Sara walks us through the turning points of her IBD journey, from the relief of being believed to years of medication trial and error that end in a surgery she never expected. We talk about how chronic abdominal pain can become so “normal” you don’t even notice the ways you’re bending, bracing, and shrinking your life around it, and why learning to describe pain can be a powerful tool for self-advocacy with doctors. Then we shift into the practice that helped her reclaim her life: a bucket list book that’s part scrapbook, part journal, part proof that small moments matter. We dig into presence over perfection, creativity, therapy, boundaries with social media, and the complicated truth about remission, including the guilt that can come with feeling better while others are still in the fight. If you’re searching for Crohn’s disease support, IBD mental health tools, or hope that doesn’t ignore reality, this one’s for you. Subscribe for more real talk, share this with someone who needs it, and please leave a rating and review so more people in the IBD community can find us.Let's get social!!Follow us on Instagram!Follow us on Facebook!Follow us on Twitter!