I was dragged out of a disabled toilet as my illness isn't visible
A woman with a stoma bag is calling for more awareness of invisible illnesses after describing being "assaulted and abused" when she used a disabled toilet at an Adele concert.
Jessica Storey, 28, from Brampton, was left in tears after the incident, which took place in Munich, Germany earlier this summer.
Recalling what happened Jessica, who works for a private healthcare company, says after enjoying the "incredible" concert she made her way to the disabled toilet to empty her stoma bag, which she requires as she has Crohn's disease - a lifelong condition where parts of the digestive system become inflamed.
A stoma is a small opening in the abdomen that is used to remove bodily waste into a small pouch attached to the body - known as a stoma or ostomy bag.
Jessica says she tends to only use a disabled toilet when she needs to empty or change her bag as the extra space is helpful. But, a few minutes after locking the door, Jessica was interrupted by someone shouting and banging on the door. When she opened the door she describes being met by an angry woman who Jessica claims dug her nails into her arms and "dragged" her out of the toilet.
She was also confronted by a man in a wheelchair who expressed his anger at what he thought was Jessica's apparent lack of a disability. After revealing she had a stoma bag, Jessica said the man became "very apologetic", sharing that he used to have a stoma himself. But despite the apology Jessica says the incident "really tainted the day for me".
"As soon as it happened I burst into tears to my mum," she explains. "No one should be made to feel the way I did. Using disabled toilets I will often get funny looks and you do feel judged, but just because it's not visual, it doesn't mean I'm not disabled. You kind of do want to walk around with a sign above your head saying 'I am disabled'."
Jessica has only had her stoma bag for just over a year after initially being diagnosed with Crohn's in 2020. "In September 2023, they decided I needed a large portion of my bowel removed and that left me with the stoma," she explains.
Having such a life-changing operation hasn't come without certain struggles. "It's been a rollercoaster of a year. You think about body image and your age. The clothes I used to wear before having a bag I can't really wear as much anymore as they're too tight. It's been hard but it [the stoma] gives you your life back."
Following the incident, Jessica wants to encourage others to think twice before making a judgement about someone using disabled facilities.
"Hidden or invisible disabilities do exist," she says. "Please don't judge people on how they look. You never know what might be going on behind the scenes."
Read more about stomas:
I quit work after Crohn's left me bedridden and unable to control my bowels (Yahoo Life UK, 9-min read)
Mum becomes TikTok star sharing videos of her stoma bag to normalise Crohn’s disease (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)
Woman wears bikini to proudly show off her stoma bag and help banish the stigma (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)
