My name is Holly Fleet
I am a digital journalist in the U.K. I was first diagnosed with Proctitis in 2020 after having a colonoscopy during the first coronavirus lockdown. I was told by a doctor that only a small section of my rectum was affected by the disease and therefore it was unlikely to spread any further. However last year my symptoms began to escalate dramatically, and by November I was left unable to leave the house.
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I had sent multiple emails to my IBD care team to insist I needed to have my medication changed. Unfortunately, I was ignored and told to carry on taking mesalazine, which was doing nothing for me. By the end of November, I was rushed to the hospital after collapsing at home. I was immediately placed on steroids – the doctors hoped this would calm my symptoms. However, they did nothing and my health deteriorated quickly.
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It was discovered that my Proctitis had developed into Ulcerative Colitis and was spreading throughout my entire colon. Taking dramatic steps, the doctors placed me on infliximab and gave me an unprecedented three rounds of the treatment. But still my symptoms carried on escalating. After 10 days of being in hospital I was told that I needed an emergency ileostomy surgery to save my life. I was becoming dangerously close to my bowel perforating and contracting sepsis. My surgeon postponed all his surgeries to fit me in for the five hour surgery. I was absolutely terrified, and had no idea what this would mean for my future. I was finally discharged from hospital on January the 21st after the hardest seven weeks of my life.
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Since then my life has turned upside down as I have adjusted to having hardly any colon left. I’m now considering whether to have reversal surgery, as I’m keen to not have a bag forever, but I will only go ahead with a J-pouch if it means I get to be healthy and pain free. I have spent the past two years battling inflammatory bowel disease which has left me physically and emotionally drained. I wish there were more options apart from surgery to survive IBD. I’m now focusing on ways I can raise awareness and give support to others in the community.
My insta is @stomababe
