Brampton stoma bag Campaigner in Adele concert 'assault'

Jess Storey, 28, was fitted with a stoma bag in September 2023 almost three years after her initial diagnosis with Crohn’s disease.

Jess is a campaigner about life with a stoma and uses social media to raise awareness about her 'invisible illness'

She was horrified when in August this year she was abused at an Adele concert in Munich by someone who thought she wasn't disabled. 

What should have been the ‘night of her life’ was ‘tainted’ by her experience using the disabled toilet.

“I have to use the disabled toilet to empty/change my bag due to needing the extra space to be able to empty/change my bag efficiently,” said Jess.

“When I use any disabled toilet, I always think up a little spiel that I will say to someone if I’m ever confronted by anyone for using it because unfortunately a lot of people with hidden disabilities generally don’t fit into the characteristics of the picture of someone in a wheelchair on the door of a disabled toilet.

“This particular occasion I used the disabled toilet, I didn’t even think about how someone on the other side may not be happy I’m using it, while I was changing my bag the door handle kept moving and someone kept knocking quite aggressively on the door.

“As soon as the door opened, I saw a man in a wheelchair shout at me ‘why are you in there?’.

“I was shocked at the anger in his voice and then from the other side of him was a woman who proceeded to dig her nails into my arm and drag me out of the toilet while shouting something at me along the lines of ‘you are not disabled’.

“In a bit of a hazed panic after the woman dragged me from the toilet the man in the wheelchair carried on hurling abuse at me until I said, ‘I’ve got a stoma’.

“The look of panic set into his face immediately as he started apologising to me.

“The whole ordeal brought me to tears as just because I might not look disabled doesn’t mean I’m not.”

Jess in hospital (Image: Supplied)

Jess was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in October 2020 after having some awful symptoms which she says people automatically think  is either cancer or Crohn's.

She explained: “Once I was diagnosed I went to see the IBD nurses at the Cumberland who showed me all different medications and stuff that you can use.

“She showed me a stoma bag and at the time I just went into a blind panic, got upset to her and said ‘please tell me I'll never have one of them’.

“I tried all the medication. I had infusions, injections, tablets, steroids, which just never seemed to help so my Crohn's was just getting worse and worse.

“I was getting more and more unwell so in 2023 I was transferred over to the RVI and my consultant said, ‘your bowel is a mess, and we need to remove a large proportion of it’.

“This meant getting a stoma bag fitted but I wasn't bothered, I was glad because I could have my life back.

“I'm so thankful to have my back now, because it's given me a new lease of life.

“I can do everything someone can without a bag can do whereas before I could barely even leave the house, so I don't know why I was scared because it's not something to be scared of.”

Since having her stoma bag fitted, Jess has begun a social media page called ‘Jess and the Bag’ which has a significant following online.

Jess is now calling for more awareness of people who don’t look visibly disabled.

“One of my main goals is to say that hidden disabilities are still disabilities,” said Jess.

“They're kind of stigmatized because although you don't fit into the characteristics of the little person in a wheelchair on the outside of a disabled door, you will get funny looks when you walk out and it's not right.

“I know a lot of toilets have got the new purple sign which does say not every disability is visible, which I think is absolutely amazing, but you will find people who ignore it, and that's when you'll get the funny looks, or get confronted by people – it’s not nice.”