BRITTANI NICHOLL - AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION SURFER | Page 2

would even slightly ease the pain. It wasn't until they went in to perform a simple
surgery to fix what they thought was the problem, only to find out that it was
much worse than they intended. I had perianal Crohn's disease and now had no
skin in my anal passage, which meant further surgery was required, as I would now
require an ileostomy bag.
The ileostomy bag would allow the bowel to rest, but at that time doctors
could not say how long I would have the ileostomy for and there was still
discussion with the surgeon that they may have to remove the entire bowel.
It was a very hard time in my life, where looks and appearance seemed so
important. You could imagine my fear and worry. I definitely didn't think I'd be
able to live a normal life with an ileostomy and the first thought