"I really believe that you can have the worst things happen to you and still make a great life for yourself." Petrina Barber.

 

My health story began in 2014 with my cancer diagnosis, and from there began a gruelling journey of learning that your life and dreams don't always work out as you had hoped. The time leading up to my stoma surgery was undoubtedly one of the most challenging periods, grappling with so much loss and being consumed with what society thinks of people who are different and broken.

 

The art of Kintsugi has always inspired me as a metaphor for life itself and my ability to handle some of the worst things that can happen to a person and continue to see things in a different light. Kintsugi takes a broken object that would typically be discarded and repairs it, highlighting what would be deemed imperfections with gold. No attempt is made to hide the object's flaws; they are embraced, and the item becomes more beautiful and valuable than before. Each item is unique; no one is the same.

 

Together with Jody Wright, we collaborated to artistically bring to life the concept of Kintsugi in the Stoma community & create the Beyond the Stoma campaign. To change the view & narrative of what it means to have a Stoma, for those living with one and for those who do not know what it means.

 

Each of the six individuals in the Beyond The Stoma campaign has a different journey, their own story that led them to have a stoma and are unique in how they live their lives.

 

All are embracing and accepting what others deem imperfections and redefining what it means to have a stoma. These people have picked up the broken parts of their lives and turned them into something more meaningful & valuable than before. They embody Kintsugi. They are Beyond the Stoma.

 

We hope that through the Beyond The Stoma campaign, we can show everyone a different way to see things, another way of viewing life's challenges, its hardships and the cracks that they may create and how everybody can embrace their lives and create something even more meaningful than before.