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About This Episode
What can you do if you face the need for life-altering surgery, but you are terrified of surgery, terrified of the though of never waking up from the operation and never seeing your family again?
That was the dilemma which my guest faced.
As Caroline says “I have never been so terrified, feeling out of control of the situation, but knowing I had to go through it to have a fighting chance of a better quality of life.”
Join us as we discuss her life before and after surgery, and take a look at –
- Why you must believe in yourself
- How to tackle major obstacles in life or business.
- Why you should surround yourself with people you aspire to be like – don’t just watch on the sidelines, get in the thick of it.
and a whole lot more
About My Guest
Originally from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, Caroline and her husband moved to North Devon in 2004 to enjoy a better work/life balance on the coast. A wife and mother who had been running her own successful PR & Marketing company for 28 years, all was good until Caroline was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis – an inflammatory bowel disease – when she was pregnant with her second child. A yo-yo regime of medication ensued for the next four years, to try and get the disease under control.
At times, Caroline couldn’t be more than a couple of feet away from a toilet, such is the urgency to use the loo with this debilitating disease. Racked with pain, anaemic and fatigued, whilst raising two small children, the business started to suffer, employees were let go and Caroline had to confront surgery as a realistic option. At its worst, Caroline was hospitalised for a week for intravenous steroids and needed two blood transfusions. She rarely left the house and the business was failing.
Bloated and overweight from the medication, and having no quality of life with her family, Caroline decided to have her entire large intestine and bowel removed and to live with a permanent ileostomy.
After surgery (March 2009), Caroline was determined to enjoy life to the max and shed the weight. A self-confessed couch potato, she signed up to cycle London to Paris in 24 hours for charity as her motivation to train regularly. Despite suffering from osteoarthritis from the steroids, Caroline was determined to take back control of her life and prove that having stoma surgery and living with a stoma bag was not an end, but a new beginning. She rode into Paris in July 2010 in 24 hours.
After another 24hr cycle ride two years later, Caroline decided to overcome her fear of water, so she could make up for those lost years with her kids when they were small and she was ill. This led to the idea of doing a triathlon. From doing a little local Sprint triathlon, Caroline has continued to push the boundaries of her body and is an advocate for people with an ileostomy. She trains up to six days per week and competes in Half and Full Ironman triathlons (2.4mile open water swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run).
Approached by a publisher, her autobiography ‘Loo Rolls to Lycra: The Ironman Dreams of an IBD Sufferer’ was published in January 2018 and Caroline is now an inspirational speaker.
You can find out more at:
Website: https://www.carolinebramwell.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ironostomy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarolineBramwel
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinebramwell/
