WORDS:
EIMEAR
O'HAGAN
©THE
SUN/NEWS
LICENSING.
PHOTOS:
LANCTON/THE
SUN/NEWS
LICENSING
Becky,RioandViv:
allproudtobe
bikiniwearers!bikini
ready!
We’re
Forget poolside ‘perfection’ – these three
women reveal why they refuse to let anything
stand in the way of their body confidence
‘Now I feel
strong,
empowered
and happy’
‘I decided it was nothing
to be ashamed of’
Becky Bate, 35, is a
lecturer, who lives in
Solihull, West Midlands, with her
children Lucy, nine, and Katy, eight.
Climbing out of the pool on holiday
in Barbados last December, I could
feel people sneaking glances as
I towelled myself dry. I didn’t stop,
though, as I wanted people to notice
the stoma bag attached to
my stomach. It was
the only way people
would realise it’s not
unusual or something
to be ashamed of.Stomach pain
In spring 2011, I started
suffering from stomach
pains and exhaustion, passing blood
when I went to the toilet. A year later
it hadn’t gone away, so I visited my
GP, worried I had bowel cancer.
While I was relieved to be
diagnosed with ulcerative colitis –
an acute inflammation of the large
intestine, it was still a huge shock,
as it’s a chronic condition that can
be treated, but never be cured.
For the next four years, I took
medication, yet still sufferedflare-ups that left me in agony. It
also affected my mental health, and
I ended up being signed off work.
In February 2016, a friend came
round and found me lying on my
bathroom floor in agony. I was taken
to hospital and told that my large
bowel was so ulcerated there was
a risk it could rupture and kill me.
The only option was to remove it
and fit a stoma bag
outside my body
to collect waste.
I had my bag fitted
a month later – the
physical recovery was
quick, but emotionally
it was pretty tough.
I despised looking at
the bag and felt nervous changing
it. But I slowly began to realise that
I could return to work, look after
my daughters and have fun again,
which really boosted my confidence.
That’s when I decided in
September 2016 to proudly show off
my stoma bag on my cousin’s hen
weekend in Spain. I understand that
not everyone with a stoma bag
has my confidence, but now I feel
strong, empowered and happy.‘I love telling
people my
survival story’
Rio Diedrick, 30, is a data analyst.
She lives in Mickleover, Derbyshire,
with her partner Laurence, 36.
Intrigued by the huge scar that runs the
length of my chest and stomach, the man
on the sun-lounger next to mine asked
how I got it. We were just a couple of
strangers lazing by the pool on holiday
in Ibiza, but it didn’t stop me proudly telling
him how it had saved my life in 2009.Inner strength
Although my scar is a decade old, it’s still
hard to miss when I decide to wear a bikini.
Stretching from my breastbone all the way
down to my pubic bone, it’s my battle
scar – a reminder of my body’s strength.