Cherine Docherty had to go to the hospital for a long time.
On TikTok, she shared everything from doctor visits to living with a colostomy bag.
She wants people to not be embarrassed about their health.
Cherine Docherty was confused and upset when she woke up in the middle of the night with a leaking colostomy bag.
She said she was covered in shit.
A colostomy bag is an external pouch that is attached to a hole in the abdomen and has to be emptied.
She described it as an absolute nightmare. Since I've been discharged from the hospital, I've had to set my alarm every night.
Docherty has shared many experiences with her 244,000 followers on TikTok. She began documenting her issues after she was unable to defecate. She went to the hospital every four weeks to get the medication that would allow her to use the bathroom. The treatment stopped working after a while.
On July 11, Docherty posted a TikTok captioned "Day 34 of not doing a poo emoji" in which she showed her large belly and noted that she was eight months pregnant. She continued to post updates about her visits to doctors and the hospital, as well as her frustration with not being able to get an answer.
Docherty, who is 39 years old and lives in Scotland, has gained over 100,000 followers since then. She is connecting with people going through similar things and inspiring them to speak up about health issues they might find embarrassing and not seek medical help for.
Docherty said that many people have been through what he has been through, but they are too embarrassed to go to the doctor. It's given them the confidence to speak about what's going on with them after watching my journey.
Docherty said she begged her doctor to do something after being in and out of hospitals. She was tube fed because her throat was closing up and she was tired of being sent home.
Docherty said in the videos that she was having trouble breathing and was worried about her health. Docherty has a number of health conditions and didn't want them to get worse.
The doctor told Docherty that he would have preferred to remove her large intestine and put her back together. He decided to give Docherty emergency surgery that day because there was a long waiting list. Docherty said it was either that or live the way he was living.
She said that the operation has been traumatic. She said she's not sleeping because she's scared of her bag exploding and she's exhausted all the time.
She said it was one of the worst things she had experienced.
Docherty needs to go for more tests to find out what happened to her bowel problems. There's no definitive diagnosis yet, but doctors have mentioned a few potential issues.
As she wrestles with her condition, Docherty has been turning to her TikTok community, posting about her experience every day before and after the surgery. The good days and the bad days are laid out openly, showing the realities of going through a major surgery, shouting out for nurses and retching because the pain was so bad. Docherty's followers are happy to give her advice about living with a bag.
Docherty turned to her followers when her bag exploded after she had surgery. She couldn't remember what the nurse said because she was still affected by the anesthesia and painkillers.
I would've believed it if you told me my skin was blue. I didn't have a clue what she was telling me.
Docherty's comment section was filled with people suggesting things like eating marshmallows and buying puppy pads, after she posted about what had happened. Docherty has found the platform to be an incredibly supportive space because of the large following.
She said that there are a lot of big TikTokers that get negative vibes.
This was open on the internet. Due to her health issues, she has had to stop working. She said she used this opportunity to be an "open book" on TikTok, and it's paid off for her and the people who watch her videos.
She said she gets a lot of people tag her in their videos saying, "This is the very, very first video I've made, but here's my bag, thank you very much for encouraging me to do it." That's been great.
Her parents give her a positive outlook. She said that her dad sees the humor in everything and says, "Oh for fuck's sake, hen, shut up just get on with it." She is told not to wallow by her mother.
She said that they are proper Scottish people where they will just be like, "Get on with it or moan, it's up to you." If you moan and lie in your bed for a day or two, you're done. I have taken a bit off of them.
She can see the silver linings while living with a bag. She loves to cook and bake, and now that she can eat, she finds joy in that again. Docherty couldn't finish all of her dinner because she couldn't get enough bites. She said that she has room to eat now that she's put in more than her.
Docherty is familiar with hardship. She has been intubated four times in her life and nearly died, so this is just the latest challenge for her.
She said she had nine lives.
You can read the original article.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
