13-year-old Naples girl with Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis creates song to express her feelings

COLLIER COUNTY, Florida – Piper Brown, who is 13 years old, loves to be in the spotlight, whether she is acting on stage or singing in her room. But when the Naples teen was told she had a disease that made her weak, a non-profit helped her keep shining.

In 2021, Piper went to the emergency room because she had a lot of stomach pain. Doctors found out that she had Ulcerative colitis in the end.

Piper’s life became more lonely when she lost her immunity.

Piper said, “I saw all my friends go back to what they were doing, but I couldn’t.”

But when Piper signed up for a virtual camp for people with Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis, things started to change.

Piper said, “One of the things we did there was write songs.” She asked right away if she could join.

Piper was able to write and record her own music through a program run by the non-profit “Hear Your Song.”

“It gave her a way to talk about how she felt,” said Dan, Piper’s dad.

Since “Hear Your Song” began in 2014, it has helped hundreds of sick kids find their voice.

Dan Rubins, who started “Hear Your Song,” said, “We want kids to feel like they have a voice.” “[They] should be listened to, and their stories are worth hearing.”

Piper’s Ulcerative colitis is in clinical remission right now. She thinks that one of the reasons is that music lets her show how she feels.

Piper said, “I’m very lucky.”