Working Life: I know what it’s like to suffer with IBD, but I’ve turned a negative into a positive

Victoria Spillane, chief operations officer with Crohn’s and Colitis Ireland (CCI)

Chief Operations Officer with Crohn’s and Colitis Ireland, Victoria Spillane at home in East Cork. - Picture: David Creedon

“I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at age 13. It started with a pain in my left knee and lower back. The GP put it down to a basketball injury. That Christmas, I ended up in the emergency department at Cork University Hospital, with severe IBD symptoms.

“That’s where I met Prof Fergus Shanahan. He’s an absolute god in our house for how he treated me as a patient.