Athletes with Ostomies

Learning to live with an ostomy is a major change to your day-today life. Having to incorporate new considerations into your daily routine can seem daunting, and people may feel although they are fragile or held back by their ostomy. Having to have to adapt your life to follow the “rules” may make challenges or athletic goals seem impossible or unachievable, but that is not true. There are many individuals who continue to be successful after they received an ostomy. They break boundaries on what someone living with an ostomy is “supposed to do” and show the world having an ostomy is not a disadvantage that many may think.  

Gill Castle  

Gill Castle was an adventurous person who loved being active, but after complications due to childbirth, she was given a temporary ostomy to save her life. Learning to be a new mother while also adapting to life with an ostomy was difficult. When she discovered the damage, her intestines suffered during childbirth was irreversible and that her stoma could not be reversed, she gave up on her previous passions and allowed her ostomy to determine her future.  

After a few years, she would be out of breath by walking up the stairs or doing simple tasks, which made her incredibly self-conscious. However, she believed this was her only option because she has an ostomy. One day she heard a story of a woman living with an ostomy completing a marathon. This changed the way she viewed her life with an ostomy. She no longer viewed herself as this fragile adult, she saw how her life could continue as normal or better despite the outcome of her childbirth.  She made it her goal show the world living with an ostomy is not a burden. She ran a triathlon, hiked to the top of three peaks in 24 hours, and strived to show there is nothing that will hold her back. She than decide she was going to be the first person with an ostomy to swim across the English Channel. 

Gill Castle spent over three years preparing for her swim. She subjected herself to a strict workout regime 7 days a week and strict diet. She swam the channel overnight finishing in 13 hours and 53 minutes. Her stoma intact and unmoved throughout the swim.   

She donated all the proceeds of her swim to women in Kenya who needed access to ostomy supplies.  

Blake Beckford  

Blake Beckford was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when he was 21, unfamiliar with the disease he struggled to accept that so young he was struggling from health issues. He began medication and devoted his time to working out to try and better himself. He could not put on muscle no matter how hard he tried and as his disease began to deteriorate his colon, the symptoms began affecting his day-to-day life. He was presented with surgery and was told having an ostomy was his best option. He refused to accept that outcome, he loved to workout and loved the life he had built and did not want an ostomy to prevent him from fulfilling these desires.  

As the disease progressed, refusing surgery took away his passions anyway. Blake was incredibly sick, barely being able to leave the house and enjoy his social life. He had to give up his passion for the gym as he was struggled doing basic tasks like eating, sleeping, working. Eventually, Blake was faced with the decision to continue living this way or receive surgery. He felt although he was wasting his youth in pain, he took the next steps by getting an ostomy.  

Once he was recovered from his surgery, he began working out again to maintain his health, knowing that gaining muscle is very difficult for him in the past. But now that is body was no longer fighting this disease, and he felt better day to day. Having an ostomy did not hold him back it pushed him further. He has now competed in many body building shows and is now considered a fitness model for his impressive fitness & muscle. He remains an ambassador for Ulcerative Colitis & Bowel Disease, as well as Life with an Ostomy, to spread awareness of the possibilities that remain when receiving an ostomy. 

Cass Bargell 

In 2020 Cass Bargell began feeling sick and having symptoms that aligned with Ulcerative Colitis. She played high-level rugby for most of her life, and had no-interest on what may be causing these symptoms, worried about what effects it could have on her rugby career. In 2021, Cass no longer had a choice as symptoms were too strong to be ignored and was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, a month later she underwent surgery to get an ostomy. 

She took this in stride and immediately began training to get back of the turf. “It’s not who I am, but it is a part of my identity now”. Cass never let her diagnosis determine her future. She now plays for Team USA Women’s rugby as the scum-half, a position which is arguably the most important position on the field, as they determine the tempo of the game.  

Cass continues to play rugby, and in her free time, tries to encourage people living with ostomies to get into sports. Her posts show how her ostomy has never held her back and how she can still safely be in such a physical sport with an ostomy. She wants to show everyone never to be afraid or ashamed of their ostomy, showing them, the barriers of success people are battling is not because of their ostomy but because of their head.  

The story doesn’t end here  

The major change many people face when getting an ostomy is undeniable, but it does not mean you have to stop living. It is a fraction of who are as a person and do not let it change how you want your story to go. What limits us is thoughts of “I can’t do this” but with determination and a drive to be successful is all one needs to fulfill their goals.  Gill Castle, Blake Beckford, and Cass Bargell did not use this major life change as a reason they should stop; they used it as a new chance to begin and prove to others living with an ostomy anything is possible if you are willing to put in the work.