Professional skateboarder Sewa Kroetkov didn’t plan to kick off 2025 in a hospital bed.
What started as chills, nausea, and a fever turned serious fast. Thankfully, his wife insisted on taking him to the emergency room.
That decision may have saved his life. Doctors warned that his body was heading toward sepsis. A few days later, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.
According to Mayo Clinic, Crohn's disease is a chronic condition that falls under inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It causes inflammation in the digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, and poor nutrient absorption. In Sewa’s case, the usual symptoms weren’t all there.
Many people with Crohn’s spend hours running to the bathroom. That wasn’t happening to him. He thought it might have been a one-time inflammation.
But because his mom also has Crohn’s, he always knew it might surface eventually.
After being discharged, he returned to the Netherlands and ended up back in the hospital not long after.
That second visit was the turning point. He started treatment with infliximab, also known as Remicade, which is delivered through an IV.
Within a few days, he started to feel a huge difference. His strength was still low, but the pain and inflammation finally began to ease.
Sewa had lost around 24 pounds and took a three-month break from skating. When he stepped back on his board, he could feel how much muscle he had lost.
His pop was weaker and tricks that used to feel natural now felt distant. The flat ground impact was especially tough to handle. Even so, his balance was still there, and that gave him something to build on.
One of the hardest tricks for him to bring back was the frontside flip. It has always been one of his favorites.
Landing it again after all that time off felt like a small win, a sign that things were turning in the right direction.
Sewa opened up about the whole experience. He encouraged others dealing with inflammatory bowel disease or autoimmune issues to share their own stories.
The more people talk about it, the more they can learn from each other. Tips, support, and information really matter when you're facing something this serious.
Sewa is not calling this a comeback. He’s not trying to tell a polished story. He’s just skating again, regaining strength, and figuring things out as he goes.
For now, he’s grateful to be out of the hospital, back on his feet, and slowly finding his rhythm again.
For more information watch his YouTube vide below!