‘My stoma bag gave me FREEDOM’

Ten years ago, just after my 30th birthday, I noticed blood when going to the toilet.

I didn’t have pain, so my GP thought it was a haemorrhoid. A colonoscopy later revealed it was perianal Crohn’s disease and initially my symptoms were mild. But after 12 months, the pain and frequency of having to poo became extreme. I needed the toilet 25 times a day. If I couldn’t go within a minute, I’d have an accident. It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how debilitating this