I know many of you will have recently seen the brave Bethany Townsend's bikini snap, with her ostomy bags out and proud! This photo sparked a worldwide reaction with millions of people now having seen it.
Many other people have snapped themselves on holiday with their bags on show but this image, in particular, has done a great job of bringing Crohn's and ostomy bags to the forefront of peoples minds. It is due to this sudden media frenzy that I was asked to go back once again to BBC Radio Berkshire and talk on the breakfast show.
It took a while to get it scheduled due to my work and brother's graduation but once it was sorted I headed to their studio with my Dad. He happens to work in the same building so it worked out really well. I was up bright and early and headed in to have a cooked breakfast before going on the show.
It was pretty exciting going in to a real life radio studio! Last time I was on the show, I was only a few weeks out of surgery so was still unable to drive, this meant that I was taxi-ed to the local council offices where I sat in a tiny, cupboard of a room, on my own with an ancient machine, where the lights would shut off every 5 minutes if I didn't move around enough.
The difference in the experience this time round was huge, although I was a bit nervous before going in, I felt a lot better being able to see and hear everything properly. Being able to sit in front of the Radio DJ, Vernon, made it seem like we were having a conversation and I was definitely a lot more relaxed.
The feature started off with my new mate, Vern, talking to Bethany on the phone (the bikini photo ostimate) about her reasons behind the post and what she wanted to achieve from here as well as a break down of the disease. After about 10 minutes and the traffic news I was bought through to chat about my blog and the positive things I see coming from Bethany's photo. I was pretty excited as I got to wear headphones (one ear on, one ear off - of course) and speak in to a huge red microphone - you can tell my life has been exciting recently that THAT was a highlight. I felt pretty confident about what I was speaking about and I think it went well! Bethany was lovely and Vern made me feel comfortable in a pretty alien setting. It was all over in a flash and I was out of there by 9:30!
I hope it will help to bring even more publicity to the disease and educate people. I also hope that if there are sufferers out there, especially girls and women, who lack confidence and are feeling generally rubbish about having Crohn's/IBD/ostomy, that they feel a little less alone and a little better about everything.
I'm not a big fan of the lime light or being the centre of attention, so really thats the only reason why I agree to talk publicly about my own experiences. If me being open and honest helps even one sufferer or their family or educates one member of the public then I am a happy chappy.
I'm sure if you REALLY wanted to listen to my not-so-great radio voice then you can listen again online. I will update you on my past few weeks very soon,
Lots of love
xxx
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