Bodybuilder forced to give up his career because of devastating bowel disease is now a fitness model
A bodybuilder struck down with a crippling bowel disease has become a male model - who proudly sports a colostomy bag, the Daily Mail reports.
Blake Beckford was preparing to compete in a bodybuilding competition when he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
The painful condition causes inflammation and ulceration of the inner lining of the rectum and colon, triggering symptoms such as diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
Over the next decade, the devastated 33-year-old was treated with a variety of different drugs.
But his condition meant he was constantly tired - and needing to go to the loo up to 20 times a day.
He was also forced to give up his strict training regime - which had included two-hour gym sessions, six days a week - and lost two stone in weight as his muscle wasted away.
By last October, his health had deteriorated so much that he required surgery.
Mr Beckford was admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for a sub-total colectomy.
This involved removing his entire colon before doctors performed an ileostomy - where the small intestine is diverted through an opening in the abdomen.
He was fitted with a stoma bag on the outside of his body to collect waste.
Doctors also warned the father-of-one he would never be able to train at the level required to be a fitness model.
He said: 'They said to start lifting weights and training to be a physique model would be very unattainable and unlikely.
'I was warned there was a risk of hernias and other problems.'
But determined to prove them wrong, he began a training regime in January, starting at a weight of 11st 12lbs.
Over the last six months he has bulked up to 13st 2lbs and has just appeared in ‘Men’s Fitness’ magazine.
And now a personal trainer, he hopes his progress will inspire others with stoma bags to have more confidence.
'Mr Beckford, who lives with his partner in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, said: 'I am determined to show people and society that having a stoma doesn’t change who you are.
'It doesn’t mean you’re not normal. You can achieve anything you want to do, you can be attractive, and you can lead a normal life.'
He admits that it took some time to get used to his new appearance.
'When I came out of hospital, I had to get used to having a stoma,' he said.
'I knew it was there, but found it hard to accept the fact I had this bag on my stomach and what it did.
'It was strange because I didn’t even want to show my family at first.
'It took a while to build my confidence again, to talk to people openly about having a stoma, to show anyone what I had.
'But over time I realised "this is me".
'The operation had also made me feel like a new person. My energy levels were much better and I could enjoy life more.'
He now plans to enter his first competition in the physique class of the Miami Pro UK Championships in October this year.
He added: 'After the surgery I remember thinking if I would be happy even if I could just potter around the garden or spend time with my friends and family.
'I never thought I would be able to get in this shape and be competing for the first time.'
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