My journey from cardiac arrest to sport🏊♀️🚴♀️🏃♀️Stoma • bowel cancer. Once on Radio4 DNACPR • ReSPECT • EOLC • Dignity in Dying.
#TacklingTheStomaStigma
💜
The last few days have mainly been about resting and restarting food.
But my
#ICU
nurses & physio have washed my hair.., and it’s the best feeling 🤩
#surgeryMk2
#bowelcancerrecovery
After losing a job I loved at 30 and spending 18 months off recovering from
#bowelcancer
& ICU
And then 18 months of applying for new jobs that I could manage
An employer has finally seen past my brokenness and...
I have a job! 🥳🤩
#ICUrecovery
After only being allowed to lie on each side for the last week, 🥴
I can finally start lying on my back
and sitting for 20 minutes a day 🥳
The step down to the ward has been tough!
But yay for my own PJs & underwear after NHS gown!
#iykyk
#bowelcancerrecovery
#surgeryMk2
This was me last summer- stage 3 bowel cancer, panproctocolectomy, 4 cardiac arrests, broken ribs, sternum & 2 fractured vertrbrae.
This Sunday I will be running my 1st Half Marathon
@NFMarathon
for the ITU that saved my life. Please support me. Thanks!😎
I’m really annoyed that my hospital appointment tomorrow, that I’ve been waiting months for, has been cancelled.
But the junior doctors strike isn’t the problem.
The
@Conservatives
are the problem and need to pay junior doctors what they deserve
I support
#Doctorsstrike
I'm a former ICU patient as a direct result of chemotherapy
I am triple vaccinated to protect me, my friends, family, community, and to support the
#NHS
Would you question chemo?
Vaccines work. Vaccines are safe. Vaccines have saved millions of lives.
#GetVaccinatedNow
Two & a half years ago I was warned I may never run again due to the extent of my surgery.
Then things got more complicated & I ended up in ICU.
They made me move.
Then I ran,
I ran my first half marathon.
Today... this! 👇
#tacklingthestomastigma
@TeamColostomyUK
After 5 years of not being able to sit without pain, I’m going in for surgery.
#bowelcancer
#never2young
✨Always have
#rebellioushope
✨
(I’m trying to tell my self that more scars aren’t bad & that I can have another tattoo!)
Stage 3 bowel cancer at 30
Surgery & stoma
1 chemo & 4 cardiac arrests at 31 (6 wks later)
Waiting for major surgery
But I’ve made it to 36 🥳
Happy Birthday to me… still COVID positive 😷
#bagwhatbag
@VBlush
#tacklingthestomastigma
To all those on Twitter being negative about stomas,
I will never understand the negatively and stigma around Stomas
For me it’s given me my life back!
I’m proud of my bag & scars
#tacklingthestomastigma
#bowelcancer
@nevertooyounguk
~surviving CPR ~ bowel cancer ~ stoma ~ unhealthy ECG to a healthy ECG ~ the weeks I spent in hospital ~ the 1st time I swam post-op ~ cycling again ~ my 1st ever half marathon ~ my 1st ever triathlon ~ the ups & downs of my recovery
#HiddenScars
#InvisibleIllnesses
If you have just returned home from ICU this is a tweet of encouragement for you.
I was in ICU 3 yrs ago, I weighed 42 kg & couldn't stand up without the help of physios. My world had ended.
16 months later I ran my 1st ever half marathon.
Small steps everyday! 💪👊
It's great to see ICU patient stories being highlighted on the news, but they are all covid patients.
Non-covid patients will have woken up in ICU without their loved ones around them, with staff in PPE, & will need assessment for PTSD.
All ICU patients will need support 💙
If you have just left ICU, there is hope.
I was in ICU 3 years ago, I weighed 42 kg and couldn't stand up without crippling pain and the help of physios.
It's not always easy,
It's a long journey.
But there is hope 🌈
That moment you suddenly realise that you were diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer at 30, underwent major surgery, had chemo, 4 cardiac arrests & fought for my life. Decided to run a half marathon & now have a tattoo that I designed!
No wonder I'm exhausted 😆
#FridayThought
This was me 2 yrs ago- stage 3 bowel cancer, stoma, 4 cardiac arrests, fractured sternum, ribs & vertebrae.
Tomorrow I take on my biggest event of 2019, a 3 hr open water swim 🏊♀️🏊♀️🌔
(I will be taking breaks!)
Please support me...
#solsticeswim
My DNACPR & Advanced Directive are not a wish to die, but one to not suffer.
It’s not being negative, it’s an acceptance that my body has been through too much & that I wouldn’t want to deal with the mental or physical trauma of a ‘second recovery’.
#importantconversations
#CPR
Lockdown is challenging
But please believe me that it is no where near as challenging as this👇
ICU recovery is long & painful, physically & mentally
#PTSD
#StayHome
#StaySafe
#StayPositive
💙
On my way to join the
#stomasinparliament
relay! Whether it’s fitness, reading or bingeing a series, nobody should be stopped from doing the things they love just because they have a
#stoma
. That’s why I’m so proud to be carrying this message to Westminster today!
@ColostomyUK
I hate this photo of me in ICU 3 yrs ago!
I'm glad Boris seems to have walked away unscathed, but ICU scars you.
I suffer with PTSD, I have nightmares, I've not yet returned to work, it's affected my family.
Don't end up in ICU for hanging out in the park.
It's not a joke!
4 years ago I got my cancer diagnosis
More than 2,500 people under the age of 50 are diagnosed with
#bowelcancer
each year
If you experience the symptoms pls speak to your GP
• bleeding • change in bowel habits • lump • unexplained tiredness & weightloss •
#never2young
Now that the world has seen inside ICU,
I sincerely hope that all ICU patients will receive follow up care, as cancer patients do. With psychological & physical support.
Not a postcode lottery.
And let's not forget the phenomenal staff & their needs.
#RightToRehab
From not being allowed to jog for more than 2 mins, before having to walk
#Physio
To getting back to a sub-32 min 5 km hill run.
Something I dreamt of doing at the beginning of 2023, but didn’t think would be reality!
123 km 🏃♀️ & a triathlon later 💪🏻
#SurgeryMk2
#TRItanium
A shout out to all critical care nurses, you all do an amazing job.
Although I can't remember my ICU nurses' names or faces, memories of their care and presence will stay with me forever.
You are all incredible! 💙
@BACCNUK
@FICMNews
@ICS_updates
@CNOEngland
As someone in their 30s who has had a stage 3 cancer diagnosis, and only one chemo before an ICU stay
I have written my
#EOLC
wishes
But I’d also hope that if I were to receive a terminal diagnosis that I would be able to die peacefully
#AssistedDying
@dignityindying
First trip abroad in 13 years (mainly due to ill-health).
Proud of my bag & scars 💛
"From every wound there is a scar, and every scar tells a story. A story that says, I survived."
~ Bowel cancer ~ CPR ~ ICU recovery~
#TacklingtheStomaStigma
After what feels like the longest 5 & 1/2 weeks of my life.
A PET scan, MRI and biopsy later.
It’s almost definitely not cancer
I still need surgery, but…
🥲🙏🥲🙏🥲🙏
I've just had my last appointment with my physio before he moves abroad.
We joked about my recovery.
How I wanted to run 5 k within a year of being in ICU, and that if I had told anybody, they would have thought I was crazy.
Be crazy! 🤩
Dream big, and achieve.
#ICUrehab
I was diagnosed with colitis at 19, it robbed me of my career & my 20s.
Since having my stoma I am happier & fitter than ever; I've run my first half marathon & triathlons.
I wish I had been offered the surgery
years ago!
#StomaAware
Let's
#tacklethestomastigma
together
“find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope. And finally, check your poo – it could just save your life.” x
@bowelbabe
#rebellioushope
After two major surgeries, a metre of scar, and several years of recovery.
Then waiting a year to hear that I don’t need a third surgery that I wasn’t sure I could face mentally or physically is a huge relief!
#BowelCancer
#ICUrecovery
#Never2Young
#TacklingtheStomaStigma
A yr ago I stood with the help of my physio
I was terrified about a 2nd recovery
It has been a tough year!
“find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets&always, always have rebellious hope.&finally, check your poo – it could save your life” Bowel Babe💛
Thank you to all ICU staff everywhere 🙏 you are all incredible!
I am a triathlete because of you 💙
Something I dreamt of before ICU & never achieved.
Something I couldn’t have imagined as I lay in ICU!
How it started How it’s going
My surgeon is happy for me to try and run again.
It still feels like my scars are going to fall apart!
But my surgeon is happy for me to try and run 🥳
Another step on my return to triathlon
#SurgeryMk2
#physio
#TRItanium
🏊♀️ 🚴♀️🏃♀️
As someone in their 30s who has had a stage 3 cancer diagnosis, and only one chemo before an ICU stay
#CPR
I have written my
#EOLC
wishes
But I'd also hope that if I were to receive a terminal diagnosis that I would be able to die peacefully
#AssistedDying
@dignityindying
While my friends are planning their weddings & birth plans, I have planned my funeral
It’s not a negative, it’s accepting my mortality & choosing what I want
But I'd also hope that if I were to receive a terminal diagnosis that I would be able to die peacefully
#AssistedDying
I was diagnosed with colitis at 19, it robbed me of my career and my 20s.
Since having my
#stoma
I am happier & fitter than ever. I wish I had been offered the surgery years ago!
2nd October is
#StomaAwareDay
Let’s
#tacklethestomastigma
together 💜
@TeamColostomyUK
5 years on from this…
#BowelCancer
#Chemotherapy
#CPR
#ICUrecovery
“The mental health scars stay with me, no one looking at me would know, but they run deep. The anxiety & fear is still there. There are a lot of ICU survivors crying out, our scars are beyond what you can see”
I try & put a brave face on. I try & carry on & do as much as I can. But sometimes it all gets a bit too much. Recovery is tough & I’m not ashamed to say I’m scared of what I have to go through.
We don’t know what others are going through
#BeKind
#invisiblescars
#CPR
#bowelcancer
I wouldn’t be here without the NHS:
Stage 3 bowel cancer at 30
Stoma surgery
1 chemo
4 cardiac arrests
ICU stay
Surgery Mk 2 …
7 yrs on, I’m still ‘No evidence of disease’ thanks to our incredible NHS’ 💙
Vote tactically, Stop the Tories 🗳️
We need to talk about
#CPR
We need to talk about the mental & physical trauma it causes.
It isn’t a quick fix, or a miraculous cure.
It’s a live saving procedure for when the heart stops.
We need to know about all of our options for care.
#TalkEndofLifeCare
1st Sept - 9th Oct I will be walking 1 km a day for
@ColostomyUK
#StepUpForStomas
💜
Why? … because every 39 minutes, someone in the UK has stoma surgery
My stoma saved my life after I was diagnosed with
#bowelcancer
at 30
Colostomy UK have supported me in my recovery 💜
Having stoma surgery at 30 is pretty pants but fortunately Vanilla Blush helps ostomates feel better by creating beautiful underwear & supportwear. It was great to meet Nicola
@VBlush
, she does so much for the stoma world!
#ostomy
#bowelcancer
#ostomyfashion
If somebody had told me in Jan 2017 what was going to happen, I wouldn't have believed them
If somebody had told me in Jan 2018 what I would achieve, I certainly wouldn't have believed them!
Slightly apprehensive about what 2019 has in store... let's hope it's good 😎
I did need to go to A & E. Now back home and resting.
Amazing care from all the staff 💙
But extra grateful that my
#AdvancedCarePlan
&
#ReSPECT
form wishes were respected 😌
Whatever it is that you love to do, having a
#stoma
shouldn’t have to stop you from doing it. That’s why I’m so excited to be joining next week’s relay to Parliament to share this message with policymakers 💜
#stomasinparliament
@TeamColostomyUK
@ColostomyUK