Bethany Purnell muestra una de sus de ileostomía personalizadas. | bethanypurnell (Instagram)

TW
4

La joven Bethany Purnell, galesa de 20 años que padece la enfermedad de Crohn, por la que le tuvieron que extirpar el intestino grueso, no quiere que su enfermedad le impida llevar una vida lo más normal posible. La operación le ha conllevado tener que portar a todas partes una bolsa de ileostomía, hecho que, aunque al principio le avergonzaba, le sirver ahora para ayudar a hacer visible esta enfermedad.

Según explica el Daily Mail, con diez años le diagnosticaron la enfermedad de Crohn. Pese a tomar una medicación y seguir una dieta especializada, Bethany seguía padeciendo un dolor severo en el abdomen, por lo que a los 17 años le extirparon el intestino grueso y le colocaron una bolsa de ileostomía.

En la cirugía a la que fue sometida, le hicieron una pequeña abertura en el vientre, de modo que los desechos del cuerpo atraviesan esa abertura hasta la citada bolsa.

I am so proud of my body. No matter how many times it's failed me and put me through shit, it always finds a way of still standing strong. In 2015, I dropped down to 6st 4 (88lbs / 40kg) and was unable to eat or drink anything without throwing up.. My body gave in and I passed out.. Luckily, I passed out in hospital & my mother had to pull the emergency cord and doctors came running in and carried me over to the triage room to pump fluids into me to try and hydrate my poor body. In 2016, I had surgery to remove an abscess and part of my very infected intestine. Whilst I was recovering, my heart rate shot up to 250-300bpm and SO many nurses rushed around me to hook me up to an ECG and Oxygen. In 2017, I had an allergic reaction to infliximab (Remicade). It was my third time retrying the drug and unfortunately my body had a reaction to it and I went supper hot and sweaty and I couldn't breathe. Once again, there were so many nurses around me and I had to be stabbed with adrenalin to save my life. Over the years, my body has almost given up on me... but it's held on to the last chance of hope! Somehow my body found a way to fight through all these difficult times. Even though my body is fighting itself and my immune system hates itself, my body still manages to try it's very hardest to work as best as it possibly can. My body may be defected, it may not be perfect, it may not be as healthy as others, but it's MINE and I'm super proud of it for being so strong ☺️

Una publicación compartida de Bethy ✌️ (@bethanypurnell) el

Una vez superada la reticencia inicial, ahora Bethany ha decidido mostrarse ante sus más de 11.000 seguidores de Instagram. La joven personaliza las bolsas que tiene que usa y ahora tienen originales dibujos, formas y colores.