About Me

My name is Patrick Dement, I'm 20 years old, and I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 2001. Since then, I've tried every usual treatment, as well as alternative treatments and diet changes, and they either didn't work, didn't help enough, or stopped working. I flew to Chicago in March to be evaluated for a Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant at Northwestern. Dr. Burt, the Immunologist and head doctor running the transplants, and Dr. Craig, their gastroenterologist, decided I was eligible and accepted me for the transplant. The transplant team submitted my case to my insurance company and, after 2 months, they approved the transplant. I will be admitted to the hospital on August 16th to start the transplant process. I made this blog so other patients can learn about this as a treatment option, and ask any questions which I will do my best to answer or get the answer to, and so friends and family can keep up with me. I wouldn't have learned about the stem cell transplant were it not for another patient's blog about it, so I feel obligated to do the same.