Reuben’s Story: How His Stoma Unlocked a New Life
02 October, 2026
On Stoma Aware Day, we wanted to share a bit of Reuben’s story. Following chronic gastro problems spanning several years, Reuben had ileostomy surgery in June 2025 when he was five years old and coming to the end of his Reception year. The idea of having his insides rewired and a bag attached to his tummy seemed incomprehensible to us, and the surgery itself was an understandable ordeal for such a young child.
Nearly 18 months on, it is difficult to explain just how much the surgery has changed his life for the better. With amazing support from community and paediatric stoma nurses in the days and weeks after the operation – big shout-out to Heather Maitland in Barnet and Nicola Greenwood at Great Ormond Street – we gained confidence in looking after his stoma and Reuben adapted to the new reality, quickly realising just how much better he felt. He’d previously been living with a digestive system that simply wasn’t working and this affected everything, from his ability to eat and drink normally to school and social situations.
The stoma resolved all of this, giving him boundless energy, appetite and joy in life. Over the past year, he has blossomed so much and the stoma hasn’t stopped him from doing anything he wants to do, from football, dancing and swimming to soft play, tennis and even white water rafting. The mantra ‘Stomas Unlocked’ feels particularly appropriate for Reuben, whose stoma unlocked a problem he and we had been battling quietly with for a long time, without success.
Now in Year 2 at a school that has been so supportive in managing his additional needs, he recently celebrated his seventh birthday and had us all sign his stoma bag in the morning so he could show his friends. That’s how he manages his stoma – with confidence, resilience and pride. It’s simply part of his identity and allows him to function normally and happily.
We don’t yet know what the future will hold for Reuben, but right now are just so happy that he had the opportunity to have this transformational surgery, and grateful for all the support along the way, from family, school, community and healthcare professionals. Our hope on Stoma Awareness Day is that stoma awareness will continue to rise so that people of all ages and conditions can live life to its fullest.
How You Can Get Involved
You can now visit the Stomas Unlocked campaign to learn all about each of our campaign initiatives, as well as discovering the many ways you can support us across all three themes.
We hope you will join us as we build towards Stoma Aware Day 2026.
Together, we can Unlock Understanding. Unlock support. Unlock Choice.
