Behind the Pouch A Bigger Life

Behind the Pouch speaks to Dan 'Dry Dock' Shockley. Dan is a retired US Navy veteran who currently resides in Sacramento, California. Dan is an 8-year hereditary colon cancer warrior who underwent ostomy surgery for a permanent stoma back in July 2012. His vision is to share his journey on the importance of early colon cancer detection through local and national advocacy efforts and encouraging others to get screened. He is also a strong advocate for raising awareness for hereditary colon cancer.

Behind the Pouch speaks to Michaela Hayes (@MichaelaKHayes), presenter of iWork, a mid-morning weekday show on iRadio which broadcasts to over 370,000 listeners in Ireland every day. She only underwent her ostomy surgery in March 2020, and so is still adjusting to life with Paloma the Stoma. Michaela is an IBD and Chrohn’s advocate and has been open in sharing her IBD journey and experiences on Twitter documenting what life has been like post- surgery in lockdown and living with her Gran

Behind the Pouch speaks to Alisa Kuivasto (@stomazing) from Tampere, Finland. Having undergone stoma surgery twice in her relatively modest 21 years, she has been vocal in speaking out about her experience as an ostomate on topics such as anxiety and relationships, as well as highlighting the value of online ostomate communities in helping the wider community. Alisa also recently enrolled at nursing school in Finland and is currently in the first year of her studies.

Behind the Pouch speaks to Clare Mee (@tomasthestoma), a married mother of two from Nottingham, England. Since acquiring her stoma in 2016, Clare has really taken to online blogging where she has documented her own IBD journey as well as offering a range of helpful tips for other ostomates. She aims to raise awareness of all things stoma and IBD and to show the world that life doesn’t have to end after a traumatic event, it just changes.

Behind the Pouch speaks to Keith Thomas (@keiththom2014), a man from Swansea, Wales who has seemingly embraced life since becoming an ostomate eight years ago. Keith is, among many other things, an award winning bus driver and has been nominated for the Positive Role Model Award for Disability at the National Diversity Awards 2020. In this week's podcast, Louise and Shona discuss Keith's journey, his milestones and how he keeps a positive mindset.

Behind the Pouch speaks to MJ Boaretto Pureza (@emjayuc) from Sydney, Australia. A graphic designer, illustrator and artist by profession, she is another ostomate who has not let her stoma define her but embraced life since undergoing her stoma surgery back in 2017. She uses her colourful and playful art and illustrations to help raise awareness and take a step towards reducing the stigma associated with ostomies and IBD.