Characters

NOTE: Production is still in progress. More interviews will be conducted which means the final list of characters appearing in the film is subject to change. Already in early production we’ve got a great set of interviews and stories.

Jay Baluk

Jay knew he had Crohn’s Colitis disease even before he was diagnosed. Keenly attuned to his body, he felt he had to ignore his doctor’s prescription for medication and find his own path to healing himself. He searched the internet, spoke with others who became his mentors and modeled their approaches. Today he considers himself disease free and is on a mission to help others overcome their Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis.

Daniel Durrant

Daniel was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2007. Conventional medical treatments have given him some relief, but as symptoms persist he turns to diet and other alternatives for help.

Daniel helped inspire this documentary with a website that he created after being rushed into the hospital due to a ruptured intestine. From his hospital bed he began sharing his story of recovery using blog entries, photos, and videos. This website was called “Crohn’s End”.

After seeing Daniel’s hardships online, Reid Kimball decided to turn his dream of producing a Crohn’s and Colitis documentary into a reality. Daniel recognized Reid’s courage and passion so together they agreed to transform the website into something far greater, a project that now promises to bring the Crohn’s and Colitis community greater health and hope.

Reid Bryant Kimball

When diagnosed as a 17 year old, Reid accepted the idea he’d live in pain with Crohn’s for the rest of his life. He never sought to improve his condition with more powerful drugs than Pentasa.

When his new Gastroenterologist prescribed the antibiotic Flagyl, he experienced gut pain so bad it was impossible to drive. A week later, out of desperation he started on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and within twenty-four hours saw dramatic improvements in his health.

This started his journey to heal himself with natural alternatives instead of conventional medicine. While making this documentary he discovers a medical system that is not well suited to treat people with Crohn’s and Colitis and is surprised to find out just how much he is willing to sacrifice to end his Crohn’s.

Luke Stokes

The diagnosis of Crohn’s disease threw Luke’s plans of being a missionary off course. He struggled with medications and grew concerned of their side effects. After doing research he and his wife Nicky decided to try Helminthic Therapy. Within several months he felt well enough to taper off his medications, including Prednisone.

After experiencing excruciating pain one day and having a fluoroscopy checkup, it was discovered he was suffering from a stricture that had closed up an 11 in long section of his intestines to 1/8 its normal size. In pain daily, he is now considering surgery, the very thing he had hoped to avoid with the help of Helminthic therapy.

Michael A. Weiss

Michael calls himself a professional hospital patient because he has been hospitalized over one-hundred times and has had at least fifteen major surgeries, most for his Crohn’s disease. Despite the disease preventing him from being as athletic as he’d like, he has found purpose in writing about his experiences, doing Health Radio and TV interviews (NBC’s “Today Show”) and video blogging.

In 2001, he published his first book, “Confessions of a Professional Hospital Patient” and has since become a Crohn’s disease patient advocate for children and their parents, making himself available to those who need help.