It must have been around the time of Natalie's diagnosis that I met her. We were both volunteering for the local branch of our NCT and as our children were the same age she introduced me to her coffee group. I remember her telling a mutual friend about her colitis. I'd never heard of it before and had no idea. Every time I saw Natalie she looked fab, had recently lost lots of weight and was so positive and happy. I had no idea. And then she went into hospital as she was so poorly and her bowel perforated while she was there. We are both very close in age and have children of a similar ages and I couldn't help but think how I would cope under similar circumstances. I went to visit her after the operation in HDU and almost immediately she showed me her stoma, saying she just wanted to show people, get the questions out of the way. Through the next weeks I helped her plan the final bits of her wedding from her hospital bed and then watched her marry her wonde...
Life's not been easy since losing my large bowel in 2009. Technically I didn't lose it in the same way you might lose your phone or your wallet- it was removed in an emergency operation after my bowel perforated due to Ulcerative Collitis. Since then I've been on a journey to get back to normal and still don't quite seem to have made it. This blog is a place to share some of the ups and downs, tears and laughter and hospital horrors that make up my life. Enjoy!