A GLAMOUROUS influencer has revealed how she underwent surgery to get a ‘Barbie bum’ and it has since been life changing.
Holly April, 30, has now become a content creator and earns a living from regularly posting videos about her situation.
And in one of her latest videos, shared on the TikTok account @stomababe, Holly revealed that she no longer has a bumhole.
Speaking to the camera whilst she sits in her car, Holly said: “I have no bumhole. So let’s talk about it. Why have I got no bumhole? How do I go to the toilet without it?
“These are the big questions that I’m sure you want to know.”
Holly explained that it was coming up to her two-year bumhole removal anniversary.
She said: “Actually, the technical name for that is a proctectomy surgery.
“So a proctectomy surgery is something you have to remove your rectum, your rectal canal, and your bumhole.
“Cheeks are un-sucked. It’s just the hole that got sewed over. Which is a very strange thing to think about.
“But actually, it’s one of the best things that I’ve ever done in my life because if you don’t know, I live with a condition called ulcerative colitis and it nearly killed me.
“It’s a form of inflammatory bowel disease and it meant that I spent long periods on the toilet bleeding from the back end, and it was a very painful, horrible, nasty condition that many people live with and suffer with.
“It resulted in me needing to have an emergency operation in 2021 to have a stoma bag created. So some people get the stoma bag created and just leave it there.
“But for me, I went a step further and had the back passage basically removed as well.
“This is because after I had my stoma bag surgery, I was still frequently bleeding from my rectum. Ulcerative colitis affects the colon and the rectum.
“Those are the two organs where it lives. And so now I have neither of those organs.
“I am basically symptom-free. I’m not on medication anymore. I don’t have pain anymore. I can eat what I want.”
Wouldn’t trade it
Holly now believes this is the best thing that could have happened to her.
She says: “I know that sounds really bizarre, but I don’t miss my bumhole and if I could have it back, I certainly wouldn’t.
“Now when I see people living with IBD [Inflammatory bowel disease], I think to myself how lucky I am that I’m out of that situation now because it was such a horrendous thing to live through.”
Holly was diagnosed in 2020 and by 2021 she had nearly died from it – now she wants to raise awareness.
Spreading awareness
She continues: “I know a lot of doctors scare people off by saying, ooh, you’re not gonna have a baby if you have, you know, a permanent stoma, if you have your rectum removed. That’s not necessarily true.
“Clearly not because I’ve had a baby. You know, actually what it means is that your fertility isn’t necessarily affected, but the way that you conceive, it might have to be IVF if you get lots of adhesions and it makes it hard for the semen to get to where it needs to go, basically.
“But it doesn’t actually impact your personal fertility.
“Other things can impact fertility, such as different conditions, illnesses, but actually the surgery itself on its own should not impact your fertility.”
Her video has currently gained over 708,000 views, with 512 comments.
Fertility
One commented: “Just glad you are well. Its a terrible thing. I am OK but worked with lots of people why have had a stoma bag.”
A second added: “And you look absolutely fantastic.”
Speaking previously in another clip, Holly explained how making videos online and talking about her life with a stoma is enabling her to pay her mortgage.
She said: “I just saw a creator do this video saying about how a video had paid her mortgage this month.
Why would you need a stoma bag?
A COLOSTOMY is an operation on the colon – a part of the bowel.
It diverts one end of the colon through an opening in the tummy, known as the stoma.
This means that the person can no longer pass poo.
The poo is instead collected in a stoma bag, which is placed over the opening.
Many people have to undergo a colostomy due to illness.
These can include:
- bowel cancer and other forms of cancer
- ulcerative colitis
- Crohn’s disease
- diverticulitis
A stoma may also be necessary due to genetic disorders, birth abnormalities, after trauma to the abdomen, and following radiotherapy.
“And I just wanna say that my missing bum hole is paying my mortgage, well, my portion of the mortgage this month, because last month, you all went crazy for my videos talking about my missing bum hole, and I made quite a bit of money off that.
“So, thank you to everybody for watching me talk about my missing bum hole and sharing and spreading awareness of that.
“It means a lot. So keep watching and keep learning and keep spreading the word, because some of us have no bum holes.”
