Jill Theisen and Jamie Mendelsohn

Jill and I are 33 year old twins born and raised in Central Florida. We are U of F graduates living and working in the Orlando area. I was diagnosed with UC at 22 when I was entering grad school, and Jill was diagnosed 2 years later while working in consulting. I didn’t realize at diagnosis how greatly my life would change.

Our lives and families’ lives have been greatly impacted by the disease, but the care of our doctors, the love of our families, and our ability to cope with this chronic illness have allowed us to survive, endure and Live with this disease. We have suffered through weeks of not being able to eat, incontinence, multiple hospital stays and surgeries, medications, infusion therapies, and other treatments every year of having this disease. We have both made adjustments to our lives both professionally and personally because of the impacts of this disease. It affects people of all ages, from children to seniors.

We are passionate about creating awareness and raising money for research so that others will not have to battle with the symptoms of UC on a daily basis.

When in the middle of a flare up, we have lived with the motto: "what does not kill you makes you stronger", and that a person is not given a challenge they can’t overcome. However, we look forward to a future where a 10 year old child does not miss a school outing, an 18 year old boy can play sports with his friends, a 33 year old female can go for a run, and a 60 year old male can play golf with his friends. This disease impacts all aspects of daily living, and Jill and I have made it our focus to find a cure.

Please join us in our fight to Eliminate these diseases. Thank you for your support of Take Steps and joining the cause to Find a Cure and better Treatments.