Woman Aims To “Calm The Fear Around Inflammatory Bowel Disease” With Inspirational Photo

A few months ago, Samantha Cleasby became an internet sensation after writing an open letter defending her decision to use a disabled toilet. Samantha has inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the condition has caused her to have both a colectomy and ileostomy. Earlier today Sam shared the below Facebook photo of her stomach stoma, a surgically created opening from the abdomen to the bowel or urinary tract, in a bid to break the stigma surrounding IBD. In the post accompanying the photo, Sam wrote: "This photo means so much to me, I was so scared to show the world my stoma but I did it to raise awareness, calm the fear and drop the taboo around IBD. The overwhelming response was "Is that it?? Its so small!" People had seen colostomy bags and ileostomy bags but what was hidden underneath was a mystery. Knowledge is power and I hope to empower the world". Sam spoke to Metro.co.uk about her hopes to "break taboos and lessen the fear" by removing her colostomy bag. She said: "There have been a load of people showing their bags but my readers tell me that they want the veil lifted on what is under the bag! "I hope with this photo that I will break taboos and lessen the fear that people facing surgery to remove their bowel may feel. "It is a little controversial as some people say you shouldn’t show pictures as it is like showing your anus!! But others cheer it on as it breaks the stigma. Image via the Picture Foundry, H/T Metro UK