When Jeanine Bradley was 9 years old, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a chronic, inflammatory gastrointestinal disease. She battled severe stomach pain, ran to the bathroom many times a day and knew no one else with a similar condition. Bradley said she felt “so alone.”

Now a pre-K teacher and the UFT chapter leader at PS 150 in Sunnyside, Queens, Bradley has found her voice as an advocate, both in the community and at her school, for people with Crohn’s and for her fellow educators. And she makes sure her students, no matter the challenge they face, never feel alone.

Bradley began her teaching career in New York City public schools in 2003 and, aside from requesting ad hoc coverage for bathroom breaks, navigated the challenges of her disease largely on her own.

That changed in 2009, when Bradley was struggling with the intense stress of frequent hospital visits and blood transfusions. She found an organization called Take Steps that organizes support groups for people with Crohn’s and colitis and raises money for research into treatments and cures.

Through Take Steps, she met fellow adults with Crohn’s disease — or “cronies,” as they affectionately call themselves. “I was like, I have another family,” she said. “These people were like me. I didn’t have that in my entire life.”

In the intervening years, Bradley has distinguished herself as an advocate with Take Steps. She raised thousands of dollars through their fundraiser walks. She completed half-marathons. She was given the Honored Hero award, a high honor for Take Steps advocates.

When Bradley’s Crohn’s symptoms present challenges on the job, she has continued turning to her colleagues for support. “My colleagues all know, it’s not a secret,” she said.

But until 2022, she kept her Crohn’s advocacy separate from school.

Then, at 48 years old, active and healthy, she was diagnosed with precancerous cells on her colon and underwent colostomy surgery, a major, but common, procedure in which the doctors removed her colon and rectum. Now, back on her feet and back in school, Bradley sports an ostomy bag.

“I don’t hide it because I’m not embarrassed about it,” she said. “It’s part of me and will always be a part of me.” When her students ask about it, Bradley simply says, “that’s my bag,” and they accept her answer. “I love their innocence,” she said.

This was the moment when she went from simply asking for support from her co-workers to seeking to galvanize her fellow union members to support her cause.

In the past, she brought just family and friends to Take Steps walks, Bradley said, but her surgery and subsequent recovery inspired her to set a higher fundraising goal.

“I wanted to see if the UFT could help me, because I’m a part of the UFT, and it’s huge and it’s powerful,” she said, “but also because I’m not the only one who has this disease, and I want people to know that they’re not alone.”

Her team for the Take Steps walk on Oct. 22, her first in which colleagues marched with her, included eight UFT members from her district. Together, they raised $10,000.

Bradley says her experience with Crohn’s disease has enhanced her empathy and open-mindedness with her students about all kinds of circumstances that affect learning.

“You don’t know what’s happening once they leave the classroom,” she said, recalling all the times her teachers were unaware of her own health struggles as a child. “I don’t judge. I accept whoever and however my students are.”

She had one student with autism who, at the start of the school year, struggled with transitions from one activity to another in class. “He’d cry and cry every day,” she said, but by the end of the school year, “he’d be taking selfies making silly faces.” Bradley offered the student “lots of stickers” and her classroom stuffed animals as well as quiet time sitting on her lap reading a book.

“I didn’t treat him differently because of his autism,” she explained. “I treated him how he needed to be treated to move forward.”

Amy Wine, the former chapter leader at PS 150 who passed the mantle to Bradley this October, called Bradley a “rock star.”

For the school’s “grade-in” in March during the fight for a fair contract, Wine said Bradley encouraged the school’s early childhood educators, who are housed in a separate building, to participate in large numbers.

“Jeanine says come, and they go,” said Wine. “She leads by example.”

When she first connected with her Take Steps “cronies,” Bradley felt recognized and heard on a new level. Likewise, says Wine, the UFT members at PS 150 know they can approach Bradley as chapter leader and she’ll “make sure everyone’s voice is heard.”

“The whole school is in good hands with her,” said Wine.