John Aitken | Mothers

Like everything else, Mother’s Day has become commercialized beyond recognition. It has moved from being a celebration of the gift of life, to an event that involves little spontaneity, some money, and a lot of preparation. At the core is love.

A year ago I was preparing for the meeting in Chicago. At that event, I came face to face with the people I had carried out testing for and saw the changes that AMAT had made to their lives. It was a humbling time for me. More than anything else I was struck by the children, and how brave they all were. It still chokes me up now. And behind each child was a parent, fighting for their children.

Since that time I have been continually struck by the disproportionate number of mothers who find their way to our laboratory for testing (and that is not an easy task!) These women all have remarkable stories about how they have battled to get the best treatment for their child. Every single one of them is fueled by love, and is unstoppable. I once said to a colleague, “You know, if I had a platoon of Crohn’s mothers I could rule the world.”

And for these mothers, Crohn’s disease is their battle. They are so used to this battle that they know little else. What sustains them is love, a shared bond with other Crohn’s mothers, and a wish to help their child to enjoy a normal life.

The photo is that of a group of white cells in the blood of a Crohn’s patient. It is literally “One from the heart.”

From all of us to all of you,
Happy Mother’s Day, and thank you so much for all that you do.