Jordan Sweeney, 23, suffers from ulcerative colitis (UC), a form of inflammatory bowel disease that affects the large intestine or colon that can severely limit the quality of life. Rather than letting UC bring him down, Jordan is using UC to raise his voice, speaking for millions of Americans with the same situation and inspiring them to take the next step in their struggle.

"When I was diagnosed, I had to research it because I had no idea what it was," said Jordan to his local newspaper. "I asked a lot of people, and they don't know about it. I decided to dedicate my whole musical career (to) raising awareness about this disease."
Now, thanks to the support of his online fans and fellow UC sufferers, Jordan will be releasing his second acoustic rock CD, Road to Recovery in two weeks. The new CD will take up where the last CD left off, sharing some of the trials of a young man fighting his way through UC while living a full rich life in Ventura with his wife Katie, now 24 weeks pregnant with their first child.

To raise awareness and inspire UC patients, families, friends, and communities, Jordan has been offering a sneak preview of his new CD during a nationwide concert series, sponsored by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) Take Steps program and Centocor, makers of a drug called Remicade used to treat Jordan's UC.

The CCFA Take Steps program is the nation's largest fundraiser walk committed to raising money for research of digestive diseases. To date, Jordan has performed at Take Steps events in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Nashville. This weekend, he will be performing in Austin, Texas.

"I've gotten a lot of feedback from (my music). Obviously, my main key is to spread awareness for this disease," said Jordan. "If it goes somewhere, it goes somewhere. If it doesn't, I've still put out two CDs, which is more than I ever wanted. It's been awesome to spread my music. I've been giving out CDs on every stop. It's going well."