A physician diagnosed Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jake Diekman with ulcerative colitis at a young age. After suffering a flare up in November 2017 that lasted into December, he went to Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic seeking a permanent treatment, Yahoo reports.
He met with Mayo Clinic colon and rectal surgeon Robert Cima, MD, who got to work on a treatment plan. Mr. Diekman would undergo a colectomy, and then Dr. Cima would use the pitcher's small intestine to replace his colon, In The Loop reports. In total, Mr. Diekman required three surgeries and had to undergo months of recovery.
He told Yahoo, "I knew I would pitch again. It was just a matter of when my body would tell me that I was ready to go."
After each surgery Mr. Diekman waited six weeks before he could do any sort of weight training or throwing. At the end of the third surgery, he was cleared to throw as soon as he was pain free. The final surgery was completed on a Friday and he was throwing by Monday.
Mr. Diekman has been open and transparent about his recovery, documenting the entire process on his Instagram. He hopes his case could be used to help others dealing with inflammatory bowel diseases. To that point, Mr. Diekman and his wife, Amanda Diekman, started the Get it Out Foundation. The couple hopes to use the foundation not only to raise awareness, but also to serve as a conversation platform for people living with the disease and to raise funds for research efforts.
Other teams in the league are taking notice. The Seattle Mariners have an annual fundraiser for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. They just so happened to pick their Sept. 29th game against Diekman's Rangers, to hold this year's event. The team plans to donate a portion of ticket proceeds to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, and attendees will receive a Crohn's & Colitis foundation giveaway.
As for Mr. Diekman, he continues take the mound for the Rangers and live life by his motto, #nocolonstillrollin.