An inspiring 28-year-old woman whose colon and rectum were removed says she feels more body confident since her stoma bag was fitted, and is now proudly displaying it in bikinis and lingerie on social media.
Journalist Holly Fleet underwent an emergency operation to have a stoma bag fitted in November 2021.
She had been battling crippling ulcerative colitis – which left her going to the toilet over 20 times a day and frequently passing large amounts of blood – until it eventually perforated her bowel.
Undergoing a second excruciating operation in August this year to have her entire rectum removed, Holly has learnt to love her new body. She calls herself ‘Stoma Babe’ in tribute to her hero Dame Deborah James, who was widely praised for her positive outlook after being diagnosed with bowel cancer.
Alongside the support of her boyfriend, Callum Campbell, 31, Holly, who currently lives in Epping with her mum, Joanne Watson, 54, is now proudly showing off her stoma bag in no holds-barred posts, saying: “I actually feel more confident in myself now than I did before my stoma bag.
“I used to worry about my weight or cellulite but now I have been through these massive surgeries and I feel so proud of my body and grateful for it.
“I would never have posted pictures of myself in my bikini or underwear before but I feel proud of my body and I appreciate it more than ever. ”
Despite having no issues with her bowels before, Holly suddenly started experiencing excruciating stomach pains from January 2020 – but put it down to the stress of starting a new job.
She said: “I got a new job as a journalist working overnight for a newspaper, starting work at 11pm and finishing at 7am.
“When the pain started, I just put it all down to changing my routine and eating at different hours but it just seemed to get worse.”
With lockdown announced in March 2020, Holly embraced working from home.
“I would just lie in bed and try and work through the pain,” she said. “Then one evening, I had this sudden urge to go to the toilet and I passed loads of blood.”
Heading straight to the doctor for a colonoscopy, Holly was told she had proctitis, inflammation in the lining of the rectum.
Handed medication, Holly hoped that would be the end of her troubles – but the pain returned and became progressively worse.
She said: “I used to love running but every time I’d go for a run, I would need to dash into a supermarket or cafe to use the toilet. By the time it got to November, it was literally so bad that I actually couldn’t get off the toilet – I would even be sat working on the loo. It was debilitating.”
Moving in with her mum, so she could be looked after, the pain ramped up again.
She said: “I was waiting for the results of a colonoscopy one evening and I tried to have a bath to relieve some of the pain but it was just beyond belief. I actually thought, ‘I am going to die’.”
Unable to cope, Holly’s mum rushed her to St Thomas’ Hospital in London – where for 10 days, doctors tried to figure out what to do.
Eventually, they decided a stoma was the only option.
She said: “They could see the colitis had spread everywhere in my colon. My bowel was basically perforating and I was at the risk of getting sepsis and dying. When they told me I was having a stoma, I thought ‘Well that’s it, that’s my life over.'”
To make matters worse, for the first few weeks after surgery, Holly dealt with numerous complications.
She said: “I was in hospital for 60 days in total and missed Christmas and my birthday, which is just after. My bowel had basically ‘gone to sleep’ so if I tried to eat I would be in excruciating pain, until I had a feeding tube up my nose.
“Then when my bowel finally started working weeks later, my stoma bag went into overdrive and I was losing weight because everything I ate went straight through me.”
After an agonising seven weeks, Holly finally left the hospital with a functioning stoma in January 2022. She said: “I came out the hospital a completely different person to the one who went in. I felt mentally and physically changed. It was so hard.”
Although Holly was initially worried about dating with a stoma, she met her boyfriend Callum, in April this year and says he “accepted me, for me”.
Callum also supported Holly through a more recent surgery to have her rectum removed last month.
“Although I had my stoma working, I was still bleeding profusely because there was still inflammation in my rectum,” she said. “And a lot of people don’t realise, but Crohn’s and colitis can be a catalyst for getting cancer, which I just didn’t want to risk.”
Holly has documented all of her surgeries and health updates on her TikTok and Instagram.
She said: “You never see glamorous people or fashion models wearing stoma bags.
“Instead, there is this perception that you should cover up – but that isn’t me, I like to wear crop tops and tight dresses and a stoma bag shouldn’t mean you can’t do that.”
As well as sharing her journey on social media, Holly is walking 39 minutes every day this month – because every 39 minutes another person in the UK has a stoma surgery – to raise money and awareness for Colostomy UK.
She said: “It is so important to me to raise awareness so people can get diagnosed as early as possible because it can make such a difference.”
Holly added: “I am alive today because of my stoma bag and for that, I am so grateful.”
Follow Holly on Instagram and TikTok at @stomababe, or to support her fundraising go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Holly-Fleet2
