This 19-Year-Old Showed the World Her Ileostomy Bag to Make a Beautiful Point

Crohn’s is an inflammatory disease of the digestive tract. No one knows for sure what triggers the lifelong condition, but it typically begins in younger people between ages 15 and 45. The intestinal inflammation leaves sufferers with pain, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. Since symptoms come and go, and there’s not one test that can diagnose the condition, it can take months—even years—to determine if you have the disease.

RELATED: What It’s Like to Live with an Ostomy Bag

Like Aimee, up to 75 percent of those with Crohn’s disease will require surgery, often to be fitted with an ileostomy bag to reroute waste, according to the Crohn’s Colitis Foundation of America. As Aimee pointed out, some people can find the bag off-putting, but she inspires other patients with this powerful message: “No one will know unless you tell them,” she wrote. “People who know will still love you and still find you beautiful. Your illness is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.”

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The post has been shared more than 5,000 times and has more than 1,600 comments. We’re adding this one to the mix: Bravo, girl.