Waking up from that surgery put Kimberly on an entirely new life trajectory. Her new lease on life empowered her to not only embrace but advocate for self-love and positivity around one’s body image while living with a stoma. In fact, Kimberly is now doing all kinds of things that most people, let alone those with this type of life-altering diagnosis, don’t know is possible.

“It actually helped to save my life. It has given me six extra years with my family, six extra birthdays with all of them, six extra anniversaries with my husband. It has allowed me to travel the world and become an author.”

These days, Kimberly sees her stoma as a part of herself, one that she actually adores. As strange as it may sound, Kimberly’s stoma has enriched her life so much that after two years of having it, she decided to keep it permanently when the option arose to have it removed. She’s named it Toodles and refers to her stoma as her side buddy in life, one that has gained Kimberly access to supportive communities for ostomates and colorectal cancer. At the beginning of her stoma journey, she felt alone and isolated. With all of her new scars and medical appliances, she felt like a stranger in her own skin. But once she met like-minded people within the same community, Kimberly felt a surge of empowerment take hold. Encouraging herself and others to embrace their new bodies.

“I can stand in the mirror and just love on every part of my body, my scars, my bag. Seeing myself and giving thanks for who I am, perfectly imperfect.”