Nick Lucovsky from Apex and Olivia Kness from Raleigh are 7th graders who are teaming to motivate the local community to find cures by participating in the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Triangle Take Steps walk. This year’s walk takes place on Saturday, April 30 at 9am at Lake Crabtree County Park, located in Morrisville near Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The Carolinas Chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America has named Nick and Olivia as its Honored Heroes for this year’s walk. Nick and Olivia are each living with Crohn’s disease which combined with ulcerative colitis, are painful, debilitating digestive diseases affecting more than 1.6 million American adults and children, including an estimated 80,000 patients under the age of 18.

Nick was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 9 following the onset of symptoms during Christmas in 2012. The next few months involved multiple surgical procedures to address a complication that had developed. When faced with a decision to have additional surgeries and be put on a much more invasive medicine, Nick's family reached out to other families and individuals with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in the community in search of support. Through that support and teaming with the medical professionals in the Triangle area, Nick's symptoms diminished and he reached remission just 1 year after being diagnosed. Under the care of Dr. Michael Kappelman at UNC Health Care, Nick remains in remission.

Olivia was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 10. She stopped eating because she was afraid of what might upset her stomach and quickly lost 30 pounds. After her diagnosis, she quickly went through several medication changes, surgery and many missed days of school. Now age 12 and under the care of Dr. Megan Butler at Duke Health, Olivia is starting to feel like herself again.

The Triangle Take Steps walk in 2015 motivated Nick in that so many people came out for the walk to support a disease that he and others suffer from. As the 2016 Take Steps Honored Hero representing UNC Health Care, Nick hopes to raise money and build awareness in an effort to find a cure for his disease and ideally reach the point where nobody has to ever suffer from these diseases again. Nick says that having Crohn's disease has taught him "a positive attitude makes the difference and through your attitude, you can control how you let things affect you". To other kids who are just now being diagnosed, Nick's message is to "keep a positive outlook and know that it will get better!”

As the 2016 Take Steps Honored Hero representing Duke Health, Olivia said that she “wants to help others as they go through difficult times as well.” She has big plans and hopes to use this platform at the walk to make her mark on the fight against Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

The Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis Walk is the nation’s largest event dedicated to finding cures and raising awareness for digestive diseases. The walk offers an incredible day for family, friends and the community to celebrate all of the efforts that have been put forth in raising funds towards our mission. It is a day that combines high energy and fun with access to valuable information and education. More than 40,000 peopled walked for cures last year, raising more than $10 million for mission-critical research and patient support programs.

For more information on how to participate in this year’s Triangle Take Steps event, visit www.cctakesteps.org/triangle2016, contact Community Development Manager, Elizabeth Fligor, at 704-264-0587 x5 or efligor@ccfa.org, or contact Take Steps Walk Chair, Steven Lucovsky, at 919-665-7706 or steve@steveandlyn.com.