Alex’s Journey: Resilience with Ulcerative Colitis

Key Takeaways

• Alex’s autoimmune journey began during her time as a professional basketball player; early symptoms of ulcerative colitis clouded the high-performance environment with confusion and fear.
• The diagnosis was initially scary, but it encouraged Alex to listen to her body and advocate for her health, a turning point that reshaped both her athletic future and personal identity.
• Her willingness to adapt and commitment to building a strong community have helped Alex transform her challenges into a sense of purpose and empower other women.
• One of the biggest highlights of Alex’s autoimmune journey was founding the Group of Grit, which offers community, resources, and uplifting merchandise to women of all ages working through adversity, including diagnoses.

From Athlete to Autoimmune Diagnosis

Imagine being at the height of your athletic career, only to receive news about your body that makes everything feel uncertain. Unfortunately, Alex was forced to grapple with something like this firsthand during her time as a professional basketball player.

Right before she started experiencing ulcers and inflammation, Alex felt as if her whole life revolved around performance and discipline. She felt deeply reliant on a body that she could no longer trust or even understand, for that matter, forcing her into a new and uncertain chapter of her life.

Her eventual diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (UC) brought both clarity and fear. It took time to process and recalibrate, but Alex was eventually able to tune in to her body, speak up about her health, and create a platform that has helped countless young women in a similar situation.

Learning to Live with Ulcerative Colitis

One of the reasons the Autoimmune Association believes autoimmune awareness matters is that many of these diseases are invisible from the outside, including ulcerative colitis. 

To most people, Alex still looked like a high-performing athlete, but internally, she was learning to navigate symptoms and uncertainty. This added unnecessary pressure to an already competitive environment. However, that pressure translated to power.

Accordingly, the period following her diagnosis became one of her earliest lessons in self-advocacy. She began paying closer attention to her body and learning its signals. As a result, she realized that performance wasn’t solely about pushing harder; it was about listening carefully and making thoughtful adjustments.

Redefining Life and Purpose

At first, it was easy to feel like everything she had built in sport was slipping away. Even though UC was bouncing her life in a different direction, she was able to secure the rebound and take more shots at what life had to offer. 

Once she shifted her mindset to accept that her life in sport wasn’t over but simply evolving, she opened the door to new opportunities, including a thrilling transition from basketball to bobsleighing. In no time, she earned a spot as an alternate for Team Canada bobsleigh. By switching up her athletic pursuit, she was able to continue competing at a high level in a new way.

Leading with Grit

Transitioning to bobsleighing was only the beginning of Alex’s transformation. As she began connecting with girls and young women who were also navigating various autoimmune conditions, something clicked. Their stories mirrored how she had felt, reflecting the same confusion, isolation, and uncertainty she battled through after her diagnosis.

Those conversations ultimately inspired her to create Group of Grit, a community for girls and women built around connection, support, and shared resilience. 

With this creative leap, Alex was able to turn her personal journey into something collective. It gave her a new kind of purpose; she had the opportunity to manage something that could help others feel seen, understood, and supported.

Managing Challenges and Adaptation

Much like a bobsleigh track, Alex’s journey has never followed a straight path. There have been many hard-to-predict twists and turns that have led to temporary setbacks. However, she has rebuilt herself and her brand time and again. Each of her experiences taught her something important about resilience and adaptation.

One of her biggest challenges has been learning how to perform at a high level while managing something invisible. In elite sports, the focus is often on results, meaning much of the work Alex was doing behind the scenes went unnoticed, including managing energy, monitoring symptoms, and navigating uncertainty.

Staying Gritty and Grounded

Living with a GI condition, Alex had to find ways to stay grounded within a demanding environment. She began building routines that supported both her health and performance. Some of her focuses included:

• Prioritizing rest and recovery
• Maintaining balanced nutrition
• Managing stress intentionally
• Creating structure around training and daily life

In addition to the list above, having people in her corner was crucial. Even if they didn’t fully understand her condition, having individuals who listened and supported her made a meaningful difference. That sense of trust allowed her to keep moving forward with greater confidence.

Still, one of the most powerful shifts was internal. Alex had to permit herself to adapt and accept that not every day would look the same. Adjusting her routines or expectations didn’t mean she was falling behind; it simply meant she was taking care of herself in a way that allowed her to keep showing up over the long term.

Community and Advocacy

The power of connection is a theme that is woven throughout every aspect of Alex’s story. By offering community through Group of Grit, Alex has created a space where girls and women dealing with autoimmune conditions or other adversities can come together, share their experiences, and support one another.

Living with an autoimmune disease can feel isolating, especially when symptoms aren’t visible or easily understood. But when people come together, something shifts, as shared experiences can create understanding, validate challenges, and help build resilience.

Alex also strongly believes in the importance of autoimmune advocacy and raising awareness, not just of individual conditions, but of autoimmune diseases as a whole. While each condition is unique, there are common threads that connect them, such as:

• Navigating symptoms
• Accessing care
• Managing the emotional weight
• Learning to advocate for yourself

So, by uniting experiences, Alex has strengthened the community of people with autoimmune conditions and encouraged change in the broader system of care and support.

Advice for Others Navigating Autoimmune Conditions

Through her journey, Alex has developed a perspective she now shares with others who are navigating similar challenges. She offers grounded, practical, and deeply empathetic advice that can be broken down into the three points below

1. Be Patient with Yourself

There is no one-size-fits-all way to navigate an autoimmune condition. It takes time to understand your body and its patterns. As you discover what makes you feel steady, you should embrace the learning process as part of the journey.

2. Prioritize Self-Care without Guilt

Always remember that you don’t have to earn rest. Additionally, taking care of yourself is not a setback. Adjusting your routines or expectations is actually a reflection of strength, awareness, and long-term thinking.

3. Find Your Support System

You don’t need a large network to feel supported. Even one person who listens without judgment can make a difference. It can be especially beneficial to connect with someone who shares a similar experience, but what matters most is that they care.

The Role of Medical Partnerships

Alongside having a community of peers, Alex emphasizes the importance of building strong relationships with healthcare providers. To find a doctor or specialist that you can trust long-term, consider both their expertise and trustworthiness. 

You deserve medical providers who listen, take your concerns seriously, and are willing to collaborate on decisions. To ensure this, Alex believes it’s essential for patients to advocate for themselves. Some noteworthy aspects of self-advocacy are:

• Asking questions
• Seeking second opinions
• Choosing providers who respect and validate your experience

Alex wants others to trust their instincts, while also leaning on knowledgeable professionals, as this approach has helped her navigate her condition with greater confidence. You can follow in her footsteps to create a partnership that blends specialized knowledge and lived experience to create a balanced treatment plan.

Moving Forward with Purpose

Arguably, the most defining part of Alex’s journey has been her decision to share it. What began as a personal challenge has become a platform for advocacy, connection, and empowerment.

Alex continues to support girls and women who are navigating their own invisible battles. Her story is a reminder that purpose doesn’t always come from where you expect it; sometimes it grows out of the very challenges you never asked for.

For those looking for additional support, education, or ways to get involved, check out the resource center and advocacy opportunities offered by the Autoimmune Association. With the right tools and the path that Alex has laid, autoimmune patients around the world can have faith that they’ll be able to manage their condition while still pursuing their passions.