Texas Rangers Pitcher Jake Diekman is Gutting it Out for Chron’s & Colitis Awareness
Major League Baseball Players are going to bat for causes close to their hearts
Awaiting the third of three surgeries related to his ulcerative colitis, Texas Rangers pitcher Jake Diekman will be unable to contribute in the Rangers’ bullpen until the second half of the season, but the hard-throwing left-hander is using his time on the disabled list to help support others who suffer from his condition.
Jake was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a chronic disease of the large intestine similar to Chron’s disease, when he was 10-years-old, and has been playing baseball with the disease for about 20 years. About three years ago, Diekman decided it was the right time to go public with his condition and try to help others – especially children – who face similar challenges.
So Jake and his fiancée, Amanda, teamed with the Chron’s and Colitis Foundation (CCF) and coined the term ‘Gut It Out.’ Diekman got the phrase tattooed on his right wrist and in March of 2015, Diekman printed t-shirts displaying the slogan to help raise funds to fight this awful disease.
“I was like, this is enough, I’m tired of it,” Diekman said to The News Journal. “It [stinks] to see little kids that have it in the hospital and their bodies can’t handle it because their system is so weak that they’re in the hospital for three or four months at a time.”
Continue reading at PlayersTrust.org.
