Now seen by over nine-million people, and liked over 190,000 times on Facebook, it's no surprise that viewers are gravitating to this young woman who has dared show off what makes her unique. After almost dying when her bowel ruptured in 2010, Bethany woke from a life saving operation to find she had been fitted with two colostomy bags. Initially, she felt insecure about the devices, but on holiday in Mexico with her husband, she decided to proudly show them off and wear a bikini. "I decided to get in touch with Crohn's and Colitis UK Facebook group to see if they would let me post something on their page. Bethany still suffers with her Crohn's disease and hopes ones day for a cure. Bethany, who is currently a makeup artist, says that the positive feedback gave her the encouragement to pursue a modelling career again.
– Bethany Townsend thought her modeling days were done for good three years ago when she got fitted with two colostomy bags, a result of her lifelong fight with Crohn's disease. But after a hiatus as a makeup artist, that modeling career might just be getting started, thanks to a viral photo of herself posing in a bikini with those colostomy bags in full view, reports People. The 23-year-old shared the photo with Crohn's and Colitis UK Facebook page after deciding that "my colostomy bags shouldn't control my life," she explains in the post. Townsend tells the Huffington Post that she has been floored by the global reaction and hopes she can inspire others in similar positions to "feel a little bit more comfortable in their own skin." She's going to do that and more, writes Marie Southard Ospina at Bustle. "In a world so focused on aesthetics, where differences and 'flaws' are rejected rather than embraced, Townsend is the type of person really making a change." Her decision to share the photo "isn't just brave; it's beautiful." Agreed, writes Heather Cichowski at the Gloss. She's "already a role model, and soon she will be a successful model too."