On September 18, Peggy Lillis Foundation gathers in Brooklyn for our 17th annual Changing the Odds Gala. It is a night of celebration, connection, and purpose. But behind the evening’s name is a simple, serious truth: for people affected by C. diff, the odds are too often stacked against them. Every ticket, every donation, and every advocate in the room helps change that.

The best way to understand what this gala makes possible is to hear from the people at the center of the movement. This year, that includes our 2026 Advocate Award Honoree, Carol Raye.

Carol’s Story

Carol’s path to C. diff began in a way that will sound familiar to many in our community. In 2012, she had wrist surgery, which may have been where she first picked up C. diff spores. Ten months later, her dentist prescribed an antibiotic, and roughly three weeks after that, she realized she was seriously ill. Like so many people, she had never heard of C. diff. That lack of awareness is why she did not seek help sooner.

What followed was a long and grueling fight. Months of vancomycin did not clear the infection. She was eventually cleared for a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), which she describes as a saving grace that finally cured her.

Recovery could have been the end of Carol’s story. Instead, it was the beginning. Once she was strong enough, she decided she needed to do something for others who were suffering the way she had. She began advocating to medical and dental offices and working one-on-one with people fighting the infection.

In the spring of 2020, Carol attended the Peggy Lillis Foundation Virtual Summit. There, in a networking session, she connected with a leader at a therapeutics company, a relationship that grew into an opportunity to share her C. diff story with their entire company across the UK, Florida, and Massachusetts. Energized, she reached out to our co-founder Christian John Lillis and said she wanted to advocate alongside the Peggy Lillis Foundation.

A self-described born networker, Carol has spent the years since doing exactly what she set out to do: reaching out, connecting people, and making sure no one faces C. diff feeling as alone and uninformed as she once did. She is a passionate voice for a cause many people do not know exists until it touches their own lives, and a tireless advocate for better tracking of community-acquired C. diff so that others can recognize the risk before it is too late.

That spirit, turning personal suffering into advocacy for others, is exactly why Carol is our 2026 Advocate Award Honoree.

Karl’s Story

Carol’s experience is one path through C. diff. Karl’s story shows how relentless the infection can be. Living with Crohn’s disease, Karl noticed persistent diarrhea in early 2022 that had never been part of his usual symptoms. His doctors assumed it was his Crohn’s, but Karl insisted on being tested for C. diff, and he was right. What followed was a two-year ordeal. Round after round of treatment brought little lasting relief, and at his lowest he became afraid to leave his house and lost significant weight. Relief finally came in 2024, when a newer treatment cleared the infection for good. Karl’s message to others is one of hard-won hope: trust your instincts, insist on testing when you know something is wrong, and hold on, because even after two years, lasting relief is possible.

Tiffani’s Story

Tiffani’s story is a reminder that C. diff can strike at what should be life’s happiest moments. What she expected to be the greatest day of her life, welcoming her child into the world, took a devastating turn into serious complications, emergency surgery, and a heavy course of antibiotics. A few weeks after finally getting home, the symptoms began. As a healthy woman in her early 40s, she found her C. diff diagnosis alarming and isolating, and her first round of treatment brought only a brief reprieve before symptoms returned. Left without much guidance, she educated herself, came back to her care team prepared, and carefully tracked her recovery. She shares her story to offer others what she most needed in her darkest moments: hope, and the knowledge that resources and compassionate help are out there.

Why We Change the Odds Together

Carol, Karl, and Tiffani took very different paths through C. diff, but their stories share a common thread. Each of them faced a danger that is real and often invisible: a common infection, a routine prescription, and a life upended, often before the person even knows what they are facing. And each of them found something on the other side. When survivors become advocates, when patients insist on being heard, and when supporters fund education, research, and policy work, the odds begin to shift.

That is what the Changing the Odds Gala is all about. The funds raised power PLF’s work to educate the public, empower advocates like Carol, and shape the policies that determine how C. diff is tracked, prevented, and treated. It is how we honor Peggy’s memory, and how we build a future where C. diff is rare, treatable, and survivable.

Join us

We would love for you to be part of the night. The gala takes place September 18 in Brooklyn, and every seat filled is a statement that this community will not stay quiet about C. diff.

Purchase your tickets today, and explore more stories like Carol’s, Karl’s, and Tiffani’s across our site. Together, we change the odds.