If you were to take a look at Aimee Rouski, a 19-year-old girl from Liverpool, you wouldn’t think that she was any different than any other teenage girl. In reality, she struggles with a chronic condition that is not only difficult, it can be debilitating as well.
After Aimee saw so many blog posts dealing with body image, she realized that it was important to go public with her own struggles. This is largely due to the fact that her disability tends to be a hidden illness.
When she was only 11 years old, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. It causes inflammation and ulceration of the digestive tract, leading to symptoms such as bloody diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and debilitating pain. Four years after she was diagnosed, she was given an ileostomy “stoma” bag. This was after her operation to have her colon and large intestines removed. She also had muscles removed from her inner thighs to cover the external wounds.
There is not cure for Crohn’s disease but Aimee says that the surgery has improved her symptoms significantly. She is also no longer shy about her stoma bag, so she took to Facebook to share photos of her body; scars, bag and all. The post quickly went viral and inspired others to have more in the way of self acceptance.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a while because I always see body posi posts for weight, but not many for disabilities / invisible illnesses.”
“First off I have Crohn’s disease, it’s a serious incurable illness that nearly killed me, not just a stomach ache like most people seem to think.
A person with Crohn’s will go through many different treatments including surgery, and it’s the surgery I want to touch on now.”
“My Crohn’s has left me with a permanent ileostomy, no large intestine, colon, rectum, anus, or inner thigh muscles as they were used for plastic surgery on my wounds.”
“I’ve always been okay with the stuff that has happened to me, but some people have real difficulties accepting these things so I just want to say this.
No one will know unless you tell them.”
“People who know will still love you and still find you beautiful.
Your illness is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.”
Via: Little Things
Make sure you share this young girl’s story with your friends on Facebook
