06/12/2025
Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week
Day 6 - What people see vs what people don’t see 💪
After living with Crohn’s Disease for half of my life, I actually can’t remember what it feels like to not have to worry about my health or just feel ‘normal’.
I always knew I wanted to be a hairdresser growing up and so I got a Saturday job when I was 13 and started my apprenticeship when I left high school, whilst working as a waitress at the weekend and had a good social life with friends.
At 18 all that changed, I had just completed my apprenticeship that I’d worked evenings and weekends on £80 a week for and I started with severe diarrhoea. Then came the horrendous pains, blood, mucus and severe fatigue.
I was just hoping it would go away but it persisted and the doctors insisted it was IBS. It took over my life and I had to stop hairdressing which was devastating and I sank into a deep depression and went to work at Asda where I was just living to go out at the weekend and numb the pain of my body failing me after finally pushing for a camera and 18 months later I was given a diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease.
Life saving surgery at 24 and waking up with a stoma was a turning point for me. I had been in denial that I was living with a chronic illness and decided to really educate myself on IBD, diet and exercise.
I realised there were so many others struggling and that’s why I set up our Lancashire support network with zero funds and I’m so proud of how we’ve grown over the last 8 years.
Living with a stoma isn’t easy but it allowed me to return to my passion, hairdressing and I do believe this is the path I supposed to walk, to inspire others.
No textbook could ever teach you how to learn to walk again, get through the lonely nights in hospital with just my son’s teddy for company, overcome a whole new body image and scan anxiety.
Everybody is fighting their own silent battles and there is so much we do on a daily basis to even function but what we do have is next level resilience.
Crohn’s disease is a full time job I don’t get paid for but I’m just trying to be who I needed at 18 in helping others 💜
