A model who was 'too ashamed' to tell people about her worrying symptoms was eventually diagnosed with a chronic illness.
Megan McNeil was only 17 when she started experiencing symptoms such as passing blood when she went to the toilet and suffering from diarrhoea, but was ultimately too self-conscious to inform her mum.
More severe complications proceeded and Megan started to experience severe fatigue and weight loss, which resulted in a trip to her GP, who sent her straight to A&E, as Belfast Live reports.
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The teen, from Lisburn, Northern Ireland, was later diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, a form of Irritable Bowel Disease that affects the colon and rectum, resulting in both becoming heavily inflamed.
Those living with Ulcerative Colitis, or Crohn's Disease, the other form of IBD, often suffer similar symptoms and if left un-treated, it can have long-lasting implications.
As it stands, there is no cure to be free from Ulcerative Colitis, only treatment to reduce the inflammation and help patients remain in remission for short periods of time, with a flare up always possible.
Megan, now 21, has opened up about her health battle and some of the toughest moments she faced.
"When I was 17, I was going to New York and my mum had found blood in the toilet so I had to tell her what was going on," she added.
"She got me an appointment with the GP for when we got back and I was sent for a flexisigmoidoscopy (a camera test). I was diagnosed with Proctitis first with only a few cm of inflammation in my bowel and I was sent on my way with anti-inflammatory medication.
"Over the next three months I became increasingly worse, I was bleeding uncontrollably and going to the toilet sometimes up to 15-20 times in an hour.
"I was exhausted from being up at the toilet all night, there were times I didn’t even make the toilet it was soul destroying at times. I had so much fatigue and slept everywhere I could, my mouth was filled with ulcers and I was in constant pain."
Megan then noticed she had lost weight, which she described as "drastic", so she attended her GP again.
"I was skin and bone, he took one look and told me to go to A&E immediately and I was took straight through and started on IV but I was still getting progressively worse.
"They had thought it was my appendix so I was transferred hospitals for surgery. When I arrived they had quickly realised it wasn’t that, I was in A&E passing out from pain, my blood pressure was plummeting and I couldn’t stay on my feet to even get to the toilet.
"The next day I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and started on an IV biologic drug that I was going to need every 6-8 weeks alongside and high dose of steroids. This whole process took around four months to be diagnosed from my first appointment which is a lot quicker than others but I ended up in hospital for a month as they tried to control my symptoms."
Throughout the next year, Megan suffered bad flare ups due to the seriousness of her condition and despite being put on various biological drugs to steer her into remission, none of them seemed to do the trick.
Emergency surgery was the only option left.
She came out of the surgery with a stoma bag and "a huge amount of shock".
"I was going to die if I didn’t have that surgery and my consultant told me he would probably need to do more in the next five years and was giving me a chance to build my body back up and to let me have children as my next surgery was going to reduce my chances off being able to conceive and carry by 50%.
"People think this disease affects only your bowel but it’s so much more than that. Sadly, I only got just over a year before I ended up needing that surgery, I had everything removed including my rectum and as it was in the peak of Covid my mum was only allowed in for one hour a week.
"I was back to be being mentally low and afraid, I couldn’t even sit straight, wash, brush or clean myself. It was the most mentally challenging thing of my whole journey. As well as now having the fact my chances are being a mum has decreased."
Megan says it was mentally challenging, to come out of such a major surgery, with something life-changing.
And now, after the obstacles she faces, and continues to face today, the young woman is standing up for others who may find themselves in similar situations.
Speaking openly about her medical journey through social media, Megan has modelled for major brands including Bellamianta and Unaltered.
"When I had surgery all leaflets and help books were mainly elderly people and I was an 18-year-old girl relating to none off it at all.
"People see stomas as an end-of-life process when in actual fact it gave me my life back. I want to be the big sister figure for young people going through the a similar journey and who may feel like no one understands. Genuinely you don’t get it, until you get it.
"Even raising awareness and making the subject now so taboo is crucial as if I knew a bit more about it I possibly would’ve talked sooner and not have had been on the roller coaster I did.
"The response I get from people is so heartwarming it seriously restores your faith in people. I seen on Instagram that Bellamianta were doing a new ‘Real Women’ campaign so I sent some pictures and was picked to go down for a photo shoot.
"It was the best few days I have ever had, I had my bag out and never felt more comfortable around people and a group full on women like mummies, a girl with alopecia, engineers and of all ages. I felt so proud to be stood next to them.
"My body took so much away from me and betrayed me for so many years I am now ready to take it back and show off exactly what me and thousands of others are going through."
