When Australianfitnessblogger Sophie Allen postsselfies, she’s not just showcasing her progressshe’s celebrating her health.
The 26-year-old suffered from a perforated bowela gastrointestinal condition that nearly killed herearlier this year.
“People would come and visit me,” Allen toldtheDaily Mail.
Instagram/Sophie Allen
“And what I envied the most was their health.”
Since then, Allen has decided to dive head first into the world of health and fitness.
But each day, she challenged herself a little bit more, easing into a new fitness routine.
Gastrointestinal perforation is a medical condition where a hole forms in the stomach, bowel, or small intestine.
In Allen’s case, a perforation formed in the bowel.
“A [bowel] perforation is just a hole in the intestine where it shouldn’t be.”
Many different things can cause gastrointestinal perforation.
And even then, gastrointestinal perforation is unlikely.
In fact,research has shownthat perforations only happen in 0.01-0.1 percent of screening colonoscopies.
Though bowel perforation sounds scary, it rarely happens spontaneously.
(Allen hasn’t spoken out about what caused her gastrointestinal perforation.)
Thankfully, the symptoms are hard to ignore.
Fever, vomiting, and significant pain after a procedure are also warning signs.
“Perforation is usually not a subtle incident,” he says.
“You’re pretty sick with it.”
Bouncing back from a perforated bowel is no small featand that’s what makes Allen’s accomplishments so incredible.
But any time a perforation is significant enough to require surgery, the healing process will likely be substantial.
This means additional recovery time in physical therapy.
But if her Instagram tells us anything, it’s that she’s come a long way since then.
My journey is my own," she said.
“Im so happy with my body.
And I want tomotivate peopleto feel empowered and confident about their hard work.”
See some of her Instagram posts below.
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