A RUNNER was going to the toilet 40 times a day, was malnourished and her brain was “shutting down” before she had emergency bowel removal surgery. Charlie Ryan, 37, says she had a “minefield” of gut diseases but now feels like a “new woman” after having her entire bowel removed during stoma surgery. The fitness professional from Salisbury initially needed a temporary colostomy – a procedure which created an opening in her abdomen to allow stool to exit her body.
But after her bowel became perforated through disease, she had the organ removed. Charlie is a fitness professional from Salisbury (Image: Charlie Ryan/SWNS) Now, she has a permanent stoma and ostomy bag but feels like she’s “living her best life”, despite initial fears. Charlie said: “I’d describe myself as the strongest and most comfortable I’ve ever been.
“As a woman, I’ve always had wobbles, but I’ve stepped into this. I’m owning it.” Charlie was initially diagnosed with ulcerative colitis – a long-term chronic condition where the bowel and rectum become inflamed – at the age of 33.
In early-2020, she was also diagnosed with irritable bowel disease (IBD), a group of conditions which can cause severe stomach pain or diarrhoea. This left her “really poorly” and “in and out of hospital constantly”. She developed a skin condition called Sweet syndrome, which caused fever and red, raised cysts all over the body, and her joints developed “reactive arthritis”.
Charlie .
