UPDATE: |‘My biggest dream turned into my worst nightmare – I can’t even trust my own body’ News

After a harrowing year, Lucy Jane is determined to find her spark

Weeks before her 25th birthday, Lucy Jane was living out her childhood dream. A major skincare company had invited the thrifty trendsetter to join them on a once-in-a-lifetime brand trip to New York Fashion Week.

Having grown up in Rochdale, Lucy, who has become a renowned fashion blogger across Greater Manchester, jumped at the chance to go, not realising her worst nightmare awaited her.

Lucy had become well-known for sharing her latest looks online. She shows her large following where they can find a swift bargain, as well as documenting her journey with Ulcerative Colitis.

It’s a long-term condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed, and small ulcers can develop on the colon’s lining, which can bleed.

As a result of the bowel disease, Lucy opted to have a colostomy when she was just 19, meaning she would now have to use a stoma bag – a small, waterproof pouch used to collect waste from the body.

While Lucy said having a stoma as a young woman can knock your confidence and impact various aspects of your life, such as intimacy, the positive style aficionado says it gave her her life back.

The nightmare trip to New York

However, just two days into her dream trip in February 2024, Lucy knew something wasn’t right.

At the time, she told the Manchester Evening News she woke up in the middle of the night to agonising tummy pains, something she had first put down to the ‘rich American’ cuisine.

Lucy said it’s not uncommon to experience mild pain with a stoma bag, as often you can get bad trapped wind, which she says “you can’t push it out like you normally can.”

With Lucy’s normal remedies to help the wind pass failing, the pain became so “crippling” she struggled to get out of bed.

Ultimately, Lucy was rushed to emergency surgery as doctors in New York discovered that Lucy’s bowels and stoma had twisted.

Now 26, Lucy said her road to recovery was “not an easy one” – she rushed back into normal life, not dealing with the traumatic experience she had been through.

“Not going to lie, after what had happened in New York in February last year, it made me resent my stoma. My biggest dream became my worst nightmare.

“When I came back home, I just tried to throw myself back into work and focused on getting better, and acting normal, but I wasn’t dealing with what had happened.”

Lucy admitted she “struggled a lot” and almost felt like she was back at square one. She said: “What happened wasn’t normal, it wasn’t fine. I wanted to hide away.

“My confidence was completely impacted, and I felt like I couldn’t even trust my own body.”

The fierce fashionista was determined to find her spark again and underwent several counselling sessions to face her feelings head-on.

“I just couldn’t shake what happened to me in New York. I know I got through it and survived, but it was dealing with the trauma of what actually happened – being in such a scary situation far from home, undergoing emergency surgery in an American hospital.

“This year, I knew I needed to make a change.”

Lucy said it wasn’t until her appearance on the popular blind date TV show ‘First Dates’ – which she had filmed two years ago – aired unexpectedly earlier this year, that things began to look up.

On the show she spoke about living life with a stoma.

“I was overwhelmed with the response from people both in the stoma community and those who were unfamiliar with it. I had such a positive reaction to speaking about living as a young woman with a stoma.

“From there it really sparked my passion back to do things i wanted to do again, and to continue creating positive content for those living with a stoma.”

That’s when Lucy and her new fashion designer friend, Rachel Hadfield, teamed up to create colostomy covers for people looking to customise their stomas.

“I made a TikTok asking if any small designers wanted to collaborate to make some covers and Rachel got in touch with me. From there, I made some designs and it was important to us that they were chic, affordable and sustainable.

“Rachel got the fabrics and began sewing some up – we did five to 10 covers of each three designs and then had a shoot for it.

“We decided to put them on sale on Rachel’s Etsy – NiceThingsByRAH – and they all sold out within a few days. We couldn’t believe it, we though we’d only sell one and we never really intended to make money from them but people left us such lovely reviews.”

Now the pair are looking for ways they can pay it forward by donating them to stoma nurses or hospital wards around Greater Manchester to those who may be undergoing the life-changing surgery.

Lucy plans to continue to fly the flag for everyone with colostomy bags and wants to keep having positive conversations surrounding the surgery for those who may need it.

“Everything you’re given after the surgery is so depressing and you feel like your life is over. I want to show people that it’s not so sad.

“One day, I’d love to create a cute, fun leaflet that covers all sorts of things you’re almost too nervous to ask about before undergoing the surgery, such as how it impacts relationships, sex, and self-confidence,” she said.