Living With a Stoma: Robert Meehan Shares His Journey with Ulcerative Colitis

Early Diagnosis and Surgical History

Robert Meehan’s medical journey began when he was just two years old and experiencing constant health issues that prompted his parents to seek help from a general practitioner, who referred him to a hospital for diagnostic tests, as reported by Limerick Live. Medical professionals initially treated him with steroids, but his body developed a steroid dependency, causing him to relapse each time the medication was stopped. Because of these recurring relapses, Meehan underwent his initial stoma surgery at just four years old at Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin. When he reached the age of 18, he underwent reversal surgeries at St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, which ultimately proved unsuccessful. This outcome necessitated a permanent stoma procedure in 2019. Today, he manages his condition using a combination of biologic therapy, immunosuppressant medications, and steroids.

Advocating for Normalisation and Support

Living with a stoma allowed Meehan to transition away from constant hospital admissions as an inpatient and establish a relatively normal daily routine. As he stated in Limerick Live: I try to normalise having a stoma as much as possible and speak about it openly. Having a stoma enabled me to live a relatively normal life without constant hospital visits as an inpatient. He also urged the public to exercise compassion, noting that stomas are typically life-saving medical interventions rather than lifestyle choices. Growing up with inflammatory bowel disease presented emotional challenges, and Meehan has credited counselling alongside support from family, friends, and the Knockaderry community with helping him feel accepted. Now 28, he is studying social care work as a mature student who began his course at age 27, while also playing hurling and rugby and writing music as an emotional outlet. He emphasizes that reaching out to GPs, psychotherapists, or organizations like Crohn’s and Colitis Ireland is vital for anyone facing similar health hurdles.

World Stoma Day Guide and Expert Webinar

To coincide with World Stoma Day on Saturday, October 3, Crohn’s and Colitis Ireland released its new informational guide aimed at fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment for stoma bearers. Inflammatory bowel disease encompasses conditions like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, where immune system dysfunction triggers gut ulcers, swelling, and severe inflammation. Common physical indicators include frequent bowel movements, blood in stool, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, joint pain, and skin rashes. When bowel damage becomes extreme, creating a surgical opening from the gastrointestinal or urinary tract allows waste to bypass damaged tissue into a collection bag. The organization also hosted a webinar on Saturday, October 3, featuring discussions from 18-year-old IBD advocate Lydia O’Connell and coloplast stoma nurse specialist Eileen Lim Joon. O’Connell, a Leaving Cert student from Cork city diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 11, underwent stoma surgery following a bowel perforation and subsequent collapse. Describing the impact of the procedure, O’Connell noted in the sourced reporting: Having a stoma has been like night and day for me, to how I used to be. It’s taken away so many of my symptoms and has given me my life back.