Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is laid in a pin up pose with legs in the air showing her ostomy bag

World Ostomy Day!

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Happy World Ostomy Day!

My ostomy journey began in September 2013 and it really has been a journey, there have been times where I hated it, when I cried and despised the thing. But most of the time, I have felt relief, relief that this ostomy of mine saved my life, that it gave me back freedom, gave me a life, allowed me to travel the world and play with my children. My ostomy allowed me to become a better wife, mother, friend.

For the 9 years before that since I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (though to be honest, I truly believe that I have had UC from being a very young child) I lived a life in the bathroom. During flare ups, I would go to the toilet 20-30 times a day, I would poo myself regularly and be in agony feeling like barbed wire was being pulled through my guts. So when I finally had my large bowel removed and my ileostomy formed, I was happy and relieved.

Yes, it has caused me lots of other issues, and sometimes it is hard to live with. I sometimes leak, I have had multiple hernias, had to have abdominal reconstruction, there have been so many side effects to the many major surgeries I have had. But my ostomy has saved my life and I am grateful.

So on World Ostomy Day, I thought today I would share a collection of photos of me from over the past 11 years.

Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is laid on a sun lounger in a bikini and has an ileostomy bag on her stomach, she is smiling and relaxed
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, this is a black and white image of a woman with an ostomy bag
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is standing outside by a stone wall in front of a field with a horse in to and wears a vest, skirt and cardigan, she is pulling up the vest to show an ostomy bag
A woman showing a stoma
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is floating in a swimming pool and looks relaxed, she is wearing a bikini and has an ileostomy bag
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is posing on a chaise longue with a cup of tea in underwear and has an ostomy bag, the vibe is very 50s pin up girl
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is taking a mirror selfie in her underwear in a bathroom with make up pots and brushes around the sink, she has a big smile and is pointing at her ostomy bag
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is jumping like a star fish into a swimming pool wearing a bikini and has an ostomy bag
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is wearing a red and pink ethnic scarf around her like a dress and has her ostomy bag on show
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she has bright pink hair and is wearing an orange yellow and green Lucy and yak boiler suit, you can see her bra and her ostomy bag
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is smiling on a beach holding a big sun hat on to stop it flying away, she wears a bikini and has an ostomy bag and hairy armpits
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she has bright pink hair and is on a boat in Lanzarote, she is wearing shorts, bikini top and a floaty cardigan and you can see her stomach is scarred and has an ostomy bag
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is standing proudly on a beach in Croatia wearing a leopard print bikini, she has lots of scars on her stomach and a Coloplast ostomy bag
a montage of two photos, in the first Sam Cleasby, a woman of British and Indian descent, lies in intensive care, she is covered in tubes and machines and looks very unwell. The second image shows her laying in a similar position, but she is floating in a pool wearing a bikini and looking very relaxed and calm, she has an ostomy bag
Sam Cleasby is a woman of British and Indian descent, she is posing like a 50s pin up in underwear showing her ostomy bag

Peace and loce

Sam xx

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1 reply
  1. Erica
    Erica says:

    Happy World Ostomy day! Love your pictures, you look lovely. I’ve had my ileostomy since February 8, 2018 due to a failed j pouch and FAP.

    Reply

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