My ‘magic belly’

James shares how life with an ileostomy has given him confidence and the reassurance he needed ro run his own business.

I have just celebrated the 2nd birthday of my “Magic Belly”. Since having a full Ileostomy on 25th March 2015 at the age of 39 (was advised I was too young for that procedure) I feel after 25 years suffering with UC I have real quality of life.

I can and have done so much more and been more active since the operation. For me having the full op rather than a temporary and reversal made more sense. I was done with managing and suffering and did not ever want the risk of it coming back into my life.

The operation and recovery was tough, more than I had imagined. But the rewards have been fantastic and I can now have a real active role in my family and work life.

Running my own business and having 2 children under 6 – you need that sort of confidence and reassurance in your health that the ileostomy has now given me.