Bullies will often hide their rudeness by saying they’re trying to help, but it never changes that it is just bullying.
One young woman, Jade Hughes, had to find this out when a senior woman yelled at her for having a colostomy bag at a local swimming pool. The senior woman claimed that the colostomy bag was “scaring the children” as she continued to scream and yell at Jade! Unbelievable!
Meet Jade Hughes, at the young age of 17 she began to experience horrible stomach pains. She went through a variety of medications but nothing seemed to work and the pain was so severe it was unbearable for Jade.
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That’s when the doctors finally diagnosed Jade with a condition called ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis is a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) that is known to cause inflammation and sores in the digestive track.
Unfortunately there was no other option besides surgery, so reluctantly Jade went under the knife to have her large bowel removed. Her bowel was then replaced with a drainable pouch called a “stoma”. The bag would be attached to her body near her hip.
Jade was nervous about the bag, but as she adjusted to living with it, she finally started her return to an active and normal life.
But then, at 23 someone was actually rude enough to humiliate her just for swimming at public pool!
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The bag was of course not all bad news. The bag gave Jade a new sense of freedom and options. Instead of being forced to carry buckets and wet wipes, Jade would just have a small bag attached that would allow her to go live a normal life of any young woman!
One of the first things Jade did with her new freedom was to sign up at a swimming club near her home. Jade had defeated her insecurities and was ready to go out in public and live her life without fears.
That’s when the unthinkable happened. When she was at the pool a woman around the age of 50 years old went up to Jade and began to yell at her. It turns out that she was yelling at her for her colostomy bag! The lady would point at the bag and shout “Do you think that’s appropriate for the pool?”
Jade was shocked at this woman’s rudeness. Jade told the Mirror of the experience
I think I was just stunned so I didn’t reply and then she said, ‘Well you know that shouldn’t be on show in pool? It’s not very nice for young children to see’
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Thankfully the staff at the pool had Jade’s back as they told the woman that there was nothing wrong with her bag.
Jade tried to continue swimming but the 50 something year old woman continued to stare at Jade. Jade felt so uncomfortable she decided to stop swimming for the day.
That lady has no idea what I’ve been through for the last seven years. Luckily for me I love my bag and I love my body. It looks after me everyday, it fights infection, it keeps my heart racing and my blood pumping
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With the incident in the past, Jade continues to be herself and taking life head-on. She still swims at the local pool.
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Fortunately, Jade has a strong support network to give her the confidence she needs. She married Will, her husband of 1 year who has been the support she needed to have the confidence she does.
The amount of times we’ve been out in public and he’s had to pull over so I could go to the toilet in a field
Jade hopes that sharing this story will help other girls find the courage they need to be proud of their bodies.
People will always judge you, always drag you down when you’re starting to feel really good about yourself. Ladies love your body! Fat, thin, scars, stretch marks, SH*T BAGS! Love your fricken body!!!!
A lot of respect to Jade for her bravery and tackling an issue like this head-on. No one deserves to be shamed for a medical condition or anything else. We should all learn to love ourselves and each other!