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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

AS SEEN IN:

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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.

READ MORE ABOUT ME

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.

READ MORE ABOUT ME

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  • I’ve been asked a few times recently to share my experience with enteropathic arthritis, and how I was diagnosed - so here we have it!It’s a relatively unusual form of arthritis and not a lot of people are speaking about it - if you have a question, please ask!Tomorrow is my first infusion for it, if Infliximab, so I will do my best to keep you up to date on how it works and IF it works!
    6 hours ago
  • I’m so thrilled to share that I’ve been named as one of the #iAlso100 female entrepreneurs for 2025 by @fentrepreneurukAfter some much-needed quiet time over the holidays, this week marked back to work for all of us at @inkfirelimited and I can’t think of a more wonderful way to start it.“The #iAlso100 campaign highlights, champions and celebrates 100 inspirational female entrepreneurs from across the UK who are wearing many hats and doing many inter-connecting roles, with a specific focus on community and sustainability.”Congratulations to everyone who’s made it into the final 100 - it’s a massive privilege to work and advocate beside you during 2025.This year is gearing up to be a big one, not only for me, but for @inkfirelimited and I cannot wait to share some of the incredible projects we’ve been working on. Watch this space 👀VD: Imali sitting at a desk with her laptop, which has a case with the Inkfire logo on. The video is in black and white and shows Imali mentoring on a video call. The text reads ‘F:Entrepreneur, The #iAlso100 2025 ListThe audio is an iconic clip from The Devil Wears Prada. Audio: “What if I don’t want to live the way you live?” “Oh don’t be ridiculous Andrea, everybody wants to be us.”(Hashtags)#FEntrepreneur #SmallBusiness #FemaleBusinessWoman #DisabledLed #DisabledBusinessWoman
    2 weeks ago
  • It’s no secret that I’m leaning into my @barbie era since losing my hair and wearing wigs.The lovely @millesaisons sent me this gorgeous pink hair bow to style and I am absolutely in love with it. The strong clip underneath is really well constructed and holds my hair securely, while looking cute and allowing me an alternative styling option with my hair!@millesaisons sells some beautiful silk accessories which are handmade. I highly recommend having a look and giving them a follow if you (like me) love a bit of hairspiration (even if you wear wigs like me)!If you fancy treating yourself to anything from the website, you can use the code ‘IMALIL15’ which gives you 15% off (excludes custom made, sets with other discounts applied and face masks)GiftedID: I am wearing a floral print top, with a black leather jacket and jeans, standing in front of a red brick wall. The video comprises of several clips of me spinning around and showing off the pink silk hair bow in my hair, which is a similar shade to my pink wig. My hair is bobbed and wavy with a fringe. I am smiling and modelling while holding my walking stick.
    1 month ago
  • As Crohns and Colitis awareness week comes to an end, I want to share my story:After years of undiagnosed problems with my stomach, I started to notice blood and cramping when I went to the bathroom. This got severely worse on the lead up to my diagnosis, in July 2023. I was given a strong course of prednisone steroids to lower my inflammation along with another drug called Melsalazine.I continued on these steroids almost constantly for the next 6 months, each time I attempted to taper off of them finding my symptoms would return.Eventually, I started biologic infliximab which I had from November-February 2024. Unfortunately, my colitis was too severe and didn’t respond. By the middle of February, my bowel had almost entirely stopped working and I was constantly vomiting or having non-stop diarrhoea. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t drink, I couldn’t sleep. My body was expelling everything.I was admitted to hospital, where over the next 4 weeks, we tried everything to save my bowel, including IV steroids, infliximab, and upadacitinib. Nothing worked.On the 15th March 2024, I had emergency surgery as my bowel perforated and I developed sepsis. I was given a permanent stoma & a mucus fistula.From here, I came off of all the medication I had been on up until this point. This gave me a break from some of the side effects, which included hair loss, swelling, insomnia and joint pain.By May 2024 I was unwell again, this time not with my stomach, but instead with joint pain and stiffness that left me unable to move. In July 2024 I was diagnosed with enteropathic arthritis.I was put back on a high dose of prednisone. I have tried different medications, including sufalazine, methotrexate (which I became allergic to) and I am about to start back on infliximab. It’s also started to affect my vision, in the form of uveitis, so I now have to put steroid drops in my eyes daily as well.The hope is that the biologics can finally get control of the inflammation.It’s not easy, and the side effects are brutal. Last time I went on this infusion, I lost all my hair. Currently, I am very swollen. It’s necessary, because without the medication, I can’t move.
    2 months ago
  • Welcome to our new home 🏠 “It’s the end of a decade, the start of an age”.Next chapter…
    2 months ago
  • Hi everyone! 👋I’ve noticed lots of lovely new people here recently, so I thought I’d reintroduce myself as it’s been a little while...2024 has been quite the year for me. I’ve survived sepsis, been through three major hospital admissions, adjusted to life with a stoma and mucus fistula, coped with ongoing hEDS dislocations and started learning how to manage enteropathic arthritis. At one point, I had to relearn how to eat—it’s been tough, to say the least.But it’s not all been bad. I’m a glass half-full kind of person, for the most part. Somehow, alongside everything, I’ve managed to continue building Inkfire, the business I co-founded with my Husband to create opportunities and support other disabled individuals. I work with a brilliant team who inspire me every single day, and together, we’ve achieved so much.Another highlight of my work is the mentoring I get to do—something that’s kept me feeling purposeful even while recovering from surgery. This year, I’ve mentored over 50 small business owners, helping them to strategise their marketing and work towards their goals.Through my blog, maliandme.co.uk, I’ve shared some of what I’ve learnt about stoma life and have been overwhelmed by the response I’ve received—even making connections as far away as Australia within the ostomate community!Whether it’s supporting others, sharing my own story, or continuing to grow @inkfirelimited, I love the idea that we’re all figuring this out together, one step at a time. Chronic illness can be very isolating, but sharing our experiences can make a huge difference.What lies next for me? I’m starting a new course of treatment for arthritis, which will mean more time in hospital. I have an exciting new product launch up my sleeve that’s so close to being ready to share, and a house move that’s going to bring more opportunities to create content—which I’m really excited for.If you're interested in what happens next then follow along 🫶🏼 Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments.
    2 months ago
  • Hello November 🍂 I don’t know where the rest of 2024 is disappearing…I had not planned to have a break from posting, but my body/health had other ideas…After losing my vision two weeks ago in my left eye from inflammation, followed by a nasty reaction to the methotrexate chemo injections, I’ve had quite a lot to recover from.This has been paired with some exciting news, that we’re moving house 🏠Anyone who knows Cam and me knows that we’ve been in a temporary living situation for over a year - but excitingly, we are moving to a more accessible place at the end of November near the New Forest.We’re both so excited to settle into a new home, and finally get our things back out of storage. After the hectic year we’ve had, it’ll be nice to settle and hopefully enjoy more recovery in a new, more accessible space. In the meantime, there’s a lot to plan for and arrange.Watch this space, as I keep you up-to-date with the move, and hopefully get some new medication sorted for my arthritis - it’s looking likely I’ll end up back on infusions, but in the meantime high-dose steroids are the way I’m managing day-to-day.
    3 months ago

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