Rob Hill
In 1994, Rob was a fit, healthy 23-year-old, an amateur runner and athlete. Until that time, Rob had never really been sick - he didn’t even have a regular doctor. When the illness started, it progressed rapidly. Daily diarrhea. Sustained stomach cramps. The diagnosis was Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory condition of the digestive tract. It got worse, and Rob's weight plummeted from 185 to 105 pounds. After a year and a half, it became clear that Rob's large intestine, his colon, needed to be removed.
Not long after surgery, Rob started getting active again, running and eventually competing. In his lowest moment, Rob had not been able to climb the stairs in his house so regaining his fitness became a very personal challenge. Recovering mentally would take longer.
When Rob was ill, he learned an aunt also had Crohn’s, a fact she had never shared, even with close family members. Through her experience, and his own, Rob realized how destructive the stigma surrounding intestinal diseases and having an ostomy can be. How it can isolate you, keep you from reaching out and getting help. Rob decided he had to do something about it.
The Seven Summits campaign, which Rob calls “No Guts Know Glory,” grew from his love of sport, adventure and the outdoors. By taking it to the extreme, and on a global basis, Rob hopes to show people everywhere that having these diseases or having an ostomy, like he does, shouldn’t stop you from leading a full life. You may not be able to climb mountains, but there are so many other things you can do.
To further his goal, Rob started the Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society (IDEAS), from his home base in Vancouver, British Columbia. Rob also approached ConvaTec, whose ostomy products he wears, to sponsor his climbs, and he became a member of the GreatComebacks family. This global program has allowed Rob to speak in many countries, alongside his climbs and through local patient and professional organizations.
While reaching the top of each mountain is a great accomplishment, with respect, Rob says removing the social stigma associated with these diseases and having an ostomy is a far more daunting task - a task which will require much more than his voice alone. Rob hopes you will add yours in letting people know they are not alone. One of the young people he recently met said, “this isn’t really about climbing mountains, it’s about moving them.”
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Q&A with Rob Hill
CFC: How have the mountains/outdoors changed your life?
RH: Through it all, the darkest days of living with Crohn's and life saving surgery, climbing is what I held on to. At first I thought that climbing would kill me and all the pain would be over, I could die doing something I loved. Then I realized, I climbed because I loved life! How I turned inspiring others into a career, I am not really sure, but it is very exciting.
CFC: What are some of the biggest ‘mountains’ you’ve overcome?
RH: Living with Crohn's disease and an Ileostomy, realizing that Crohn's wasn't just a physical illness that it broke me down mentally and spiritually as well.
CFC: Why Climb For Change?
RH: We all climb mountains in our lives; through these climbs as in life, we get or give support to those around us. Climb for Change, is a chance for me to be part of something bigger.
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Rob's Websites