About

My first experience of healthcare was at the age of 21, when I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). After nine nights in hospital I was sent home. I had been given hardly any information, no-one really explained to me what my diagnosis meant, no-one told me it would all be ok - even if it didn’t feel that way at the time. Instead I had a pack of pills and a follow-up appointment for a few months’ time. I was left to deal with the enormity of coming to terms with an incurable, chronic condition by myself. At the time I didn’t know how challenging this would be. It was just the way it was.

After a few years managing difficult symptoms, I decided there had to be more I could do to help myself. Since then, I’ve worked to better educate myself both about my condition, and how to look after my health in general.

Understanding more about how to live well with IBD empowered me to feel more in control of my own health and be more positive about what the future holds. It also was the start of a mission - to help better educate patients with IBD about their condition, improving health outcomes and quality of life.

In 2015 I set up IBDrelief, a patient-centric digital health agency for IBD. Since it was launched the website has been visited by over 1.8m people from 211 different countries, and we have worked on many of our own and collaborative projects to help improve the lives of people with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Alongside IBDrelief,  I run a web design and marketing agency (Brightsite) which I set up in 2006. During this time I’ve been lucky enough to help hundreds of business owners, across a huge range of industries, improve and grow their online presence.

Having IBD has also given me opportunities I never thought I would get. I’ve spoken at various events and health conferences, mentored some of the UK’s up-and-coming medical entrepreneurs and inputted into IBD-related research.

Want to find out more or work with me? Get in touch.