Omma: "I was diagnosed with Crohn's at the age of 22, 10 months after first experiencing symptoms. The first symptom I remember was blood in my stool. This wasn’t accompanied by any pain so I didn’t think much of it. This persisted for a few months, before I was forced by my mum to visit the GP. I was lucky to have such a great GP who referred me to a gastroenterologist immediately. A few months and one colonoscopy later, I was hesitantly diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. My colonoscopy showed some mild inflammation but my symptoms began to become more severe including weight loss, stomach cramps and diarrhoea which is what led to the diagnosis.

Once diagnosed with Crohn’s, I soon learned that time between hospital appointments can be months. I feel like the delay in medication led to my condition becoming quite severe within a short space of time. One year after my official diagnosis, I ended up needing emergency surgery as my intestine had burst, and I required life-saving stoma surgery. Having never heard of a stoma, this was a really huge adjustment in such a short space of time.

Since, over the last 14 years, I've lost count of the number of surgeries I’ve had. The biggest surgery I had was a Proctectomy or commonly known as a ‘barbie butt’ surgery with a permanent stoma in 2017.

IBD affects every part of my life, and its a condition I think about daily. From the moment I wake up (needing to empty my stoma bag) to the fatigue. Despite this, I try to see the positives, such as the amazing online IBD community, the incredible support I get my from family and friends, and being able to help others especially within South Asian and Muslim communities.

It takes courage to live with IBD because life becomes unpredictable. You never know how your day will be, whether it’ll be a low symptom day or a high pain day, so as a result you become very flexible. IBD also has a huge impact on your mental health, so it takes courage to keep on going, making the most of life each day, when you can."

Farish: "Over 12 years ago I first saw blood in my stool, which was my first concerning symptom. Thankfully for me, my diagnosis was quick, and I was soon diagnosed with Colitis. I began medication, which didn't help the symptoms much for me. I also travel a lot in my job, so experiencing symptoms whilst doing this was stressful. It became clear, that a stoma would be my best and only option, to control my symptoms,

I have since had multiple surgeries, but thankfully, my NHS care has been good as I had a great consultant. 

Multiple surgeries, including a Proctectomy or the 'Ken butt surgery' in a short space of time, means that I do experience daily pain, but I use courage to carry on each day for my kids. 

I try to have a proactive attitude that yes, I have a stoma bag and I need to be careful in daily life, but I can still live my life to the fullest. I still love to travel and go on holidays. Educating other people to understand more about Colitis and stomas, is also important to me. 

I think it's important to be honest with friends, family and employers.  Before I took my current role, I wasn’t shy about my stoma bag and was even open in the interview about it too. Living with IBD isn’t always easy, and I'd urge anyone in a similar situation to not be ashamed, and to ask for help."