My US medical nightmare made me refocus on giving positive stoma message

WEEKS before her 25th birthday, Lucy Jane was living out her childhood dream.

- BY CAITLIN GRIFFIN

A major skincare company had invited the thrifty trendsetter to join them on a once-in-a-lifetime brand trip to New York Fashion Week.

Having grown up in Rochdale, Lucy, who has become a renowned fashion blogger across Greater Manchester, jumped at the chance to go, not realising her worst nightmare awaited her.

Lucy had become well-known for sharing her latest looks online.

She shows her large following where they can find a swift bargain, as well as documenting her journey with Ulcerative Colitis.

It's a long-term condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed, and small ulcers can develop on the colon’s lining, which can bleed.

As a result of the bowel disease, Lucy opted to have a colostomy when she was just 19, meaning she would now have to use a stoma bag - a small, waterproof pouch used to collect waste from the body.

While Lucy said having a stoma as a young woman can knock your confidence and impact various aspects of your life, such as intimacy, the positive style aficionado says it gave her her life back.

The nightmare trip to New York However, just two days into her dream trip in February 2024, Lucy knew something wasn’t right.

At the time, she told the Observer she woke up in the middle of the night to agonising tummy pains, something she had first put down to the ‘rich American’ cuisine.

Lucy said it’s not uncommon to experience mild pain with a stoma bag, as often you can get bad trapped wind, which she says “you can’t push it out like you normally can.”