Our Story

I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2012 at aged 31, 11 years ago. Initially my condition was mild and it didn’t have a great impact on my day to day life until I went through some personal trauma where the stress accelerated the disease. I went through every level of medication up to biologic infusions and nothing helped to get the flare ups back under control. I became dependant on steroids which isn’t sustainable long term so in 2019 I had to face the reality of surgery to have a stoma bag (ileostomy) fitted. I have two young children (2 years and 9 months) when my bag was fitted and my goal was to get healthy again so I could live my life and give them a childhood that they deserved and wasn’t restricted by my illness.

After the surgery it took a few months to fully recover, then I was able to make the most of my second chance! My surgery was successful but that still didn’t come without its challenges. The biggest challenges for me were finding out what I could and couldn’t eat (apparently I’m still learning this!), dealing with leaks and being able to sleep through the night. 

I’ve been determined not to let the bag restrict me and to live my life to the full. I had the most magical weekend away in Bruges. I had no issues with the plane or train, I was enjoying the city and got slightly carried away with the food! I hadn’t had any issues in quite a while so when we went out to a restaurant I treated myself to steak, as much as I enjoyed it my bag didn’t agree with me! The next day after a horse and cart ride, the worlds best hot chocolate and a Christmas light walk we were walking round the outdoor Christmas markets, when some runners came in to view, first one or two, then more and more. Soon there were a hundred runners around us, as they ran in the annual Christmas run, it was a site to see. We were in the market square surrounded by runners, eating snacks and enjoying the atmosphere, when all of a sudden I realised my bag had gone from empty to full in a couple of minutes, I tried not to panic and look for the nearest toilet but with such a big event on there was nowhere to go, we had to force our way out for the market square and march back to the hotel. I managed to make it back with seconds to go before I would have encountered a messy explosion! What I really needed was a way of emptying my bag as an emergency when there are no toilets available… and so the idea for the emergency bag was born.