In 2003 I was diagnosed with
Ulcerative Colitis. I had never heard of
this before and so went off to google and what I found seemed to be a horror
story, all the talk of ulcers and bleeding, surgery and bags! I was 22, engaged
to be married and had two children. I felt like my life was over.
What followed were years of
flare ups and remissions, never knowing when a flare up is coming or when it
will end.
In May 2013 I started with a
flare up, after trying to control it with drugs for months I was eventually
admitted to hospital for a course of IV high dose steroids. I was passing
a lot of blood and was very poorly. After 6 days of intensive IV steroid
therapy along with a whole host of other drugs, the decision was made that
surgery was the best option for me.
On 3rd September 2013 I had a
sub total colectomy and end ileostomy. I now have no large bowel and live
with a stoma in my stomach, I wear a bag to collect all my waste and my life
has changed forever!
During my treatment I blogged
my heart out, it has helped me to deal with the changes in my life and feels
good to talk honestly about my illness, treatment and life. I blog in the
hope of making poo no longer a taboo…
I hope that reading my blog
helps people to deal with their own situation.
I want to let other IBDers know that just because you have a bad ass, it
doesn’t stop you from being badass…
The blog now gets thousands of views
every week, I receive so many emails and messages of support and encouragement
as well as a lot asking for help and support themselves. I am so proud to have used my illness and
surgery to spread the word and raise awareness of Crohns and Ulcerative
Colitis. I use my ileostomy and stoma to
show images to the world to rid the fear of the bag! I show my audience that having a chronic
illness is just one small part of who I am, and that if they just open their
minds and look a little deeper, this ileostomy bag does not define me.
I spoke at International Women’s Day
this year about Ulcerative Colitis, living with a stoma, body image, self
esteem and positivity. I am also developing
a workshop for children and young adults to learn about loving their own bodies
no matter what they face in life and have more public speaking lined up for
this year.
The coming year is one of more
surgery (Im going to cease to be an ostomate and become a pouchie!!!) building
the blog, raising awareness and generally shouting as much as I can about
Ulcerative Colitis, Crohns, stomas and pouches and I run a photography company
called The Picture Foundry.
I am also renewing my wedding vows at
the end of this year after ten years of marriage with a big ceremony which Im
terrified about!! I am using the wedding as a way to raise money for Crohns and
Colitis UK though, we are asking our guests to make a donation in lieu of gifts
so this year is a busy one.
I didn’t ask for this illness or this
life, but I will make the most of every second of it. If I can raise awareness of the disease, it
makes it worth while. My surgery, illness
and stoma can make a difference and so every day I remind myself that I am so
bad ass.
You can take a look at my blog at http://sobadass.me
Follow me on twitter at @so_bad_ass
Or like my page on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SoBadAss1
