All diseases are disabling in their own way. However, when they are invisible to the eyes of others it becomes more difficult to understand, creating great loneliness in the patient being treated. There rettocolite ulcerosa it is one of these and, what is even more serious, it is difficult to talk about it. Giorgia Cirullipersonal trainer and tenacious and combative mother, decided to tell her story to shed light on one autoimmune diseasewhich today forces her to have a stoma, i.e. a pouch tied to the abdomen. An example, as well as the commitment of him sui social network, which is not intended for self-pity, but rather to help those who suffer from it. Or he will suffer.
In this article
It all starts with a recurring candidiasis
Far from a rare disease, albeit little known and increasingly widespread. Ulcerative colitis, like Crohn’s disease, is one autoimmune intestinal disease. In the vast majority of cases the cause is still unknown, what is known is that the chronic inflammatory state indicates that something in the immune system is not working properly. For Giorgia Cirulli it all started with one recurrent candidiasis, poorly maintained. A diagnosis that arrives at the age of 30 when she is in full beauty and her son is only two years old. “My life has been turned upside down acute episodes of diarrhoea, often with malformed stools, blood and mucuse di Tenesmowhich made social and working life very difficult to manage».
Giorgia Cirulli’s difficulty in accepting the disease
Giorgia tries not to get discouraged: she leaves the gym where she works and starts taking lessons on online platforms. «I didn’t have to give up, so I could continue working and being a mother. The most difficult thing to accept, but also the most obvious, was the fact that the disease had presented itself aggressively right away”. The personal trainer sees her body weaken and not respond to any drug therapy for 7 long years. Ulcerative colitis spreads throughout the colon and the young woman finds herself forced into an operation, which she hoped she would never have to face but which will save her life.
The rebirth with the ostomy
The surgical operation that scared Giorgia so much involved, during the 7 hours under the knife, the permanent removal of the colon it’s a ileumtemporary terminal ostomyor a piece of small intestine outside the abdomen for drain the enteric material. Upon awakening, she would have had to live for a certain period of time with a medical device attached to her belly, a physical handicap which, for a woman, represents a condition of extreme discomfort. «She It really concerns something that enters the intimate, which jeopardizes the lives of those who suffer it and those who are close to people with this problem. I didn’t want to have surgery, but I was at a crossroads: surgery or death. Which meant never seeing my son again.’
The life changing surgery
Giorgia Cirulli operates and is reborn. «I have no more painI went back to managing my life without being a slave to the attacks that forced me to running to the bathroom even 30 or 40 times a day». By not taking more drugs, she sees brighter skin and hair. She feels beautiful, stronger. And now her commitment, in addition to the many jobs she carries out, is to talk about the benefits of this surgery, hoping to be able to help those who are facing the steps of the ostomy.
In Italy there are 70,000 people with an ostomy
In Italy it is estimated that they are more than 70,000 people with an ostomy. Although the numbers speak for themselves, there is still a lot of ignorance on the subject. The causes that lead to this condition are the most varied: tumors, endometriosis, perforations, chronic inflammatory diseases. «The process is difficult. Here because people need to be informed. Above all, they must have positive examples like mine». Hence the desire to show off his toned and slender physique in front of the photographers’ flashes. «Not a spectacularization of the disease, but a way to talk about it, to make known a condition invisible disability but with great dignity and kindness”.
The colored bag cover: Giorgia’s entrepreneurial idea
Giorgia has taken her life back into her own hands, learning to review her priorities and her ties. To make women suffering from ostomy feel unique and beautiful she is trying to produce gods colored bag covers to match the lingerie. “It’s not easy because there are many sizes of medical devices, but it’s not impossible.” Who knows if after breaking down the taboos on the disease, Giorgia will not succeed in this endeavor too. Surely with word of mouth we can all help her out.