A Northern Ireland woman who was once nervous to speak openly about symptoms she was experiencing, is now raising awareness for chronic illnesses.
Megan McNeill, 21, was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis four years ago after noticing she had been passing blood when going to the bathroom.
The Lisburn woman was also having spells of diarrhoea but says she was too embarrassed to tell her mum, given the nature of the symptoms.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Megan opened up about her journey to a diagnosis, and how she battled through some tough moments at a young age.
"When I was 17, I was going to New York and my mum had found blood in the toilet so I had to tell her what was going on," she added.
"She got me an appointment with the GP for when we got back and I was sent for a flexisigmoidoscopy (a camera test). I was diagnosed with Proctitis first with only a few cm of inflammation in my bowel and I was sent on my way with anti-inflammatory medication.
"Over the next three months I became increasingly worse, I was bleeding uncontrollably and going to the toilet sometimes up to 15-20 times in an hour.
"I was exhausted from being up at the toilet all night, there were times I didn’t even make the toilet it was soul destroying at times. I had so much fatigue and slept everywhere I could, my mouth was filled with ulcers and I was in constant pain."
Megan then noticed she had lost weight, which she described as "drastic", so she attended her GP again.
"I was skin and bone, he took one look and told me to go to A&E immediately and I was took straight through and started on IV but I was still getting progressively worse.
"They had thought it was my appendix so I was transferred hospitals for surgery. When I arrived they had quickly realised it wasn’t that, I was in A&E passing out from pain, my blood pressure was plummeting and I couldn’t stay on my feet to even get to the toilet.
"The next day I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and started on an IV biologic drug that I was going to need every 6-8 weeks alongside and high dose of steroids. This whole process took around four months to be diagnosed from my first appointment which is a lot quicker than others but I ended up in hospital for a month as they tried to control my symptoms."
For the next year after this, Megan was in and out of hospital every few months with bad flare ups of her condition.
The teenager was on a number of biologic drugs to see if she was going into remission but none of this would settle her illness, leading to a call for emergency surgery when her body began to shut down.
She came out of the surgery with a stoma bag and "a huge amount of shock".
"I was going to die if I didn’t have that surgery and my consultant told me he would probably need to do more in the next five years and was giving me a chance to build my body back up and to let me have children as my next surgery was going to reduce my chances off being able to conceive and carry by 50%.
"People think this disease affects only your bowel but it’s so much more than that. Sadly, I only got just over a year before I ended up needing that surgery, I had everything removed including my rectum and as it was in the peak of Covid my mum was only allowed in for one hour a week.
"I was back to be being mentally low and afraid, I couldn’t even sit straight, wash, brush or clean myself. It was the most mentally challenging thing of my whole journey. As well as now having the fact my chances are being a mum has decreased."
Megan says it was mentally challenging, to come out of such a major surgery, with something life-changing.
And now, after the obstacles she faces, and continues to face today, the young woman is standing up for others who may find themselves in similar situations.
Speaking openly about her medical journey through social media, Megan has modelled for major brands including Bellamianta and Unaltered.
"When I had surgery all leaflets and help books were mainly elderly people and I was an 18-year-old girl relating to none off it at all.
"People see stomas as an end-of-life process when in actual fact it gave me my life back. I want to be the big sister figure for young people going through the a similar journey and who may feel like no one understands. Genuinely you don’t get it, until you get it.
"Even raising awareness and making the subject now so taboo is crucial as if I knew a bit more about it I possibly would’ve talked sooner and not have had been on the roller coaster I did.
"The response I get from people is so heartwarming it seriously restores your faith in people. I seen on Instagram that Bellamianta were doing a new ‘Real Women’ campaign so I sent some pictures and was picked to go down for a photo shoot.
"It was the best few days I have ever had, I had my bag out and never felt more comfortable around people and a group full on women like mummies, a girl with alopecia, engineers and of all ages. I felt so proud to be stood next to them.
"My body took so much away from me and betrayed me for so many years I am now ready to take it back and show off exactly what me and thousands of others are going through."
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