A RENFREW man is on a mission to raise awareness of Crohn’s disease by sharing with the world what it’s like to live with an ostomy bag.

Ghazi Al Ruffai, 21, was diagnosed with the bowel condition when he was 18 and lived with a temporary stoma for the best part of a year.

A stoma is an opening in the abdomen which can be connected to either your digestive or urinary system to allow waste to be diverted out of your body.

This waste will then go into a small, waterproof pouch, called an ostomy bag, which is placed over the opening.

The bag, which can be temporary or permanent, generally allows people with bowel conditions to live more comfortably.

But Ghazi, who lived in Royal Inch Crescent as a child, was keen to share some of the challenges it threw at him through a comical film called Me and My Bag.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to talk about,” said Ghazi. “It was about trying to take away the stigma around Crohn’s disease and the kind of fearmongering around ostomy bags.

“You don’t see many young people with them. I remember saying to my nurse that only old people had them but it’s just not true and I wanted to raise awareness of that and let people see what it’s like for a young person with a bag.”

In the 11-minute clip, Ghazi’s bag is brought to life, taking the role of a Scottish woman who constantly nags him while he’s trying to get ready for a night out.

While he’s busy drinking and dancing, the bag becomes increasingly frustrated with his rebellious endeavours, until Ghazi gets into a panic when he realises the bag is full and he hasn’t got a spare.

Before heading home, Ghazi has an affectionate moment with the bag as he expresses how thankful he is to have it.

Ghazi, who now lives in London, produced the video for a university project and to deliver a positive message about an illness which is often misunderstood.

He added: “Having a bag can feel like the worst thing in the world but the film is saying to people it’s actually not that bad. You will be able to live again because, once you have it, you don’t have any pain, after you’ve gone through the worst pain in the world.”

Ghazi said he also wanted to show the funny side of some of the annoying and embarrassing things the bag can do.

“It feels like there is another person on you,” he added. “The bag has a mind of its own and does some weird stuff.

“It farts, for example. You have to take into account it can leak, you have to think about having gassy drinks, because it just blows up like a balloon.

“Blockages can also be very scary. You can have a lot of shame around these things, so it was about trying to change that.”

Ghazi was able to have his bag removed just before the coronavirus lockdown last year.

But the experience of carrying it around has stayed with him, to the point where he sometimes feels as if he still has it.

“This film stresses that Crohn’s disease and having an ostomy bag do not mean life is over,” he said. “You will get through this. You can achieve your goals, you are worthy and you should not feel ashamed.”

To watch the film, visit HERE.