MOUNT TRASHMORE, Va. –
"The hardest thing is the pain in my joints. There are times when I can't even move in the morning."
Jim Taccogno, a Joint Base Langley-Eustis spouse who suffers from Ulcerative Colitis, shook his head as he described living with the disease for more than a decade. Between the embarrassing, and frequent restroom breaks, abdominal cramps and pain, Jim said he was ready to take a stand against the disease.
He decided to take that stand Oct. 6. As Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" blasted through speakers at the starting line at Mount Trashmore, in Virginia Beach, Va., Jim, his family and team of supporters from Langley Air Force Base, joined a large crowd of people walking to combat Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.
The event, known as the "Take Steps for Crohn's & Colitis Walk," was sponsored by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America - a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization committed to finding cures for both diseases.
Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the entire gastrointestinal tract. Colitis is a similar condition that affects only the colon. Both diseases are often difficult to diagnose, leaving affected individuals in intense, sometimes debilitating, pain.
Jim has been dealing with Colitis ever since he was diagnosed a decade ago. Since then, he has experienced a multitude of symptoms on a rollercoaster of intensity. After Jim and his family moved to Virginia, his Colitis intensified to the point where he had to be hospitalized.
"I was using the restroom about 25 times a day, nearly every hour," he said. "I could barely move. I wasn't sleeping. My joints hurt so bad I couldn't even chew a banana."
After checking into U.S. Air Force Hospital Langley, Jim was diagnosed with severe dehydration and referred to a specialist in Richmond. So far the treatments have been yielding positive results, but the Taccogno's are well aware that Colitis can be a degenerative disease.
"It's very hard to cope sometimes," said Jim's wife, Air Force Capt. Charee Taccogno, 633rd Medical Group family health clinic registered nurse and Jim's wife. "It's hard living with someone who is in chronic pain. We can't really be spontaneous."
For Jim, Colitis has limited his ability to hold a normal job, enjoy family outings and play tennis at the level he was accustomed at prior to his diagnosis.
"I've been playing tennis my whole life," he said. "Now, I have to teach myself what my new 100 percent is. There are a lot of times I come home completely exhausted because I overexerted myself on the court."
Jim said the summer months, coupled with Virginia's warm weather, have taken their toll on his condition - forcing him to limit his activities even further.
"I'm not nearly as active as I used to be," Jim said. "I just don't recover anymore - especially in the summer."
Charee said that even though Jim's treatments have been promising, the disease is so advanced that the next step would be to remove a portion of his colon - if medication fails. Learning to do spontaneous things on her own has been a difficult, but necessary, adjustment, as Jim works to reduce the level of stress in his own life.
"Controlling symptoms can be directly impacted by how much stress a person carries around," Charee said. "Right now, Jim has taken on the role of full-time Dad to our daughter, Jonsie."
When Jonsie was born, nearly 20 months ago, both her parents were worried that the disease could be passed genetically. Fortunately, even though Crohn's and Colitis affect roughly one in every 200 Americans, the diseases seem to be caused more by environmental factors, rather than hereditary ones.
"Both of the kids I grew up next door to have Colitis," Jim said. "It's hard to say what causes it. Each case is unique and we are still learning so much about the disease itself."
Both the awareness and fight against the diseases were central themes at the walk that Jim, Charee and Jonsie all participated in. Jim said he had been looking for a support group, and this event was a big step toward achieving that goal.
"It's so easy to think that you are on your own little island," Jim said. "I'm really amazed to see so many people here, rallying behind this cause."
While awareness of the diseases is still growing, people can learn more at the CCFA website https, or by talking to their medical provider.