Main content

Swimming with my stoma bag

The sea off the coast of the north of England is NOT a place many people choose to swim in the middle of winter - but one woman has been swimming there throughout the last seven cold months in just a bikini - to raise awareness about stomas and birth trauma.

A stoma is a small opening in the stomach where human waste can be passed out through a tube into a colostomy bag if illness or injury means it can't come out in the normal fashion. People often hide the bags or find them embarrassing.

But Gill Castle has decided to wear hers proudly in order to raise money for the Birth Trauma Association and to encourage other people with stomas to overcome the stigma, and grab life with both hands.

(Photo: Gill in her bikini. Credit: stomachameleon.com)

Release date:

Duration:

2 minutes

Featured in...