Mali and Me

Sharing life as a business owner, chronic illness advocate and stoma blogger

Sharing life as a business owner,
chronic illness advocate and stoma blogger

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AS SEEN IN:

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Welcome Readers,

MY NAME IS IMALI

I’m a proud Wife, Founder and Stoma owner, based in the South of the UK. This is my space on the internet to share snippets from my day-to-day life, along with things I’ve learnt along the way. My aim is to raise awareness for EDS, Ulcerative Colitis, Autism and Arthritis.

Welcome Readers,

MY NAME IS IMALI

I’m a proud Wife, Founder and Stoma owner, based in the South of the UK. This is my space on the internet to share snippets from my day-to-day life, along with things I’ve learnt along the way. My aim is to raise awareness for EDS, Ulcerative Colitis, Autism and Arthritis.

Winter Gardens Carpark – Bournemouth: An Accessibility Nightmare!

Fighting for Care: When the NHS Fails Disabled Patients

No colon, still rollin’ – My new wheels – Sunrise Medical Quickie Carbon Q50R

  • What’s in my stoma supply cart? @ikeauk edition ✨VD: A young white woman with pink hair, sitting next to a fully stocked white Ikea cart which is stocked with Stoma supplies.#StomaStorage #Illeostomy #Stoma #ChronicIllness #CrohnsAndColitis #WhatsInMyCart #MyOtherBagIsGucci #Stoma #StomaLife #Ostomate #StomaGirl
    1 day ago
  • Vulnerable post: My body has completely changed in the last year, and here’s why…Up until March last year I was on a hefty concoction of medication to manage my ulcerative colitis. Then came my surgery and a promised ‘end in sight’ - finally, the potential to be medication-free. What followed however, was an unexpected change in my joint health and yet another huge diagnosis of enteropathic arthritis.By July, I was back on steroids, and thanks to a plethora of allergies and miscommunication, I’m now in my ninth month of having to take them.Nobody talks about the side effects, nobody tells you what will happen and the worst part? There’s nothing you can do. You have to stay on them to remain functional until an alternative is found, but you feel dreadful.I don’t see enough people talking about Cushing’s - or the mental and physical side effects.  Let’s get the conversation flowing - if you have questions, ask me!@pituitaryfoundation is a great resource for more information.  @versusarthritis and @crohnsandcolitisuk also have various support pages it you’re wanting to learn more.VD: Listed in the comments.(Hashtags)
#Steroids #Prednisone #Cushings #SteroidInducedCushings #SteroidUse #SickGirl #Disability #Crohns #Colitis #Arthitis #Stoma #Illeostomy
    3 weeks ago
  • International Woman’s Day at the House of Lords with @fentrepreneuruk

Big shout-out to @joliemclarenx for being my carer for the day and doing an absolutely fabulous job. I couldn’t have made it without you! 

Something that’s been on my mind is that you as the reader see the things -I do- through the lens of the online world - but not the things I have to cancel, turn down, or pull out of last-minute because of my health.

Being invited to the House of Lords for International Women’s Day as a disabled woman in business was an incredible moment, as has been the whole experience of being in the f:entrepreneur #IAlso100 this year so far. However, what’s easy to lose sight of is the rest time beforehand and the recovery time afterwards, the meticulous planning, and the unsureness over if my body will co-operate on the day.For someone with chronic health issues, attending an event isn’t about ‘just showing up’ - it’s a huge feat of logistics and planning to leave the house. It often means factoring in mobility, accessibility, medical needs, fatigue, carer availability, and recovery, knowing that one good day can take days or weeks to bounce back from.As a disabled founder, every opportunity I take is carefully measured against my health. For every ‘yes,’ there are ten ‘no’s’- events, meetings, even personal plans I’ve had to turn down, cancel, or step back from just to make this one moment possible.It can be easy to fall into the trap of feeling guilty when you make it to one event over another, questioning if you’re doing enough or if you’ve let other people down.In reality though, without proper pacing and management, you wouldn’t be able to make it out at all - even just to the supermarket.So, as I now recover from the epic day that was yesterday, I sit deep in thought over the balance of outings to health. It’s a ratio I’ll never truly master, but being able to enjoy days like yesterday is an enormous win. I’m so proud of it and @inkfirelimitedVDs in comments.(Hashtags)
#IWD #IWD2025 #SmallBusinessBritain #DisabledFounder #DisabledLed #DisabledNetworking #WheelchairUser #DisabledLed #DisabledOwned #DisabilityAtWork
    3 weeks ago
  • I have finally got a rheumatology appointment 🎉Southampton Hospital Update!VD: Imali super imposed over a screenshot of an email from the CEO of Southampton Hospital.(Hashtags)#Hospital #Update #Disability #Rheumatology
    4 weeks ago
  • Medical update - I finally got a brain MRI!VD: A young woman with tiny space buns wearing pink glasses talking to the camera. The sky behind her is blue.(Hashtags)
#BrainMRI #CushingsSyndrome #ChronicIllness #Arthritis #Neurological
    4 weeks ago
  • Did you know that today is International Wheelchair Day?I visited Bournemouth today, to see what work had been done in a car park I recently had issues accessing. Sadly none at all!  Despite more 1.2 million people in the UK using a wheelchair as a main mobility aid,  there are still many aspects of day-to-day life that aren't accessible, reducing our ability to be independent (source: Disability Sport Organisation).In this instance, it meant that I had to put myself in danger by using a busy road to navigate my way out of a car park that doesn't have a pavement I can use. This is extremely unsafe, given the large quantity of vehicles approaching that cannot see me until last minute.  Over the last three weeks, I've faced a number of other accessibility challenges in my travels, including supposedly 'accessible rooms' which aren't big enough to fit a wheelchair in and the dustbin men blocking my outdoor footpath with littered rubbish on bin day. These are things that wheelchair users shouldn't need to give a second thought, yet constantly they seem to be forgotten.Accessibility is NOT an after thought, it needs to be at the core of what you do. Whether you offer a service, a product or something else. Inclusivity should be at its core.VD: A young woman in a wheelchair with pink hair, showing various inaccessibilities in a car park. Most of the video is filmed in and around her black Seat Atecca.
    1 month ago
  • Officially adding ‘provided accessibility consulting to Meta’ to our list of accomplishments in 2025 ✔️@inkfirelimited How surreal!ID: A young white woman with pink hair, sat in a wheelchair wearing a yellow dress. In the background is a printed wall and a vending machine which has the Meta logo on it.(Hashtags)#Meta #DisabilityConsulting #Consulting #DisabledWork #ChronicIllnessAtWork #WheelchairUser #QuickieWheelchair #ChronicIllness #EnterpathicArthritis #StomaBag #DisabledLed #AskDisabledPeople #LivedExperience
    1 month ago

Introducing The Chronic Club

Being iconic doesn’t take a day off. Neither do we.

My Motability Car

Proudly working with Snows SEAT CUPRA as a Motability Ambassador

Snow's Ambassador