25-year-old Zoey Wright is a real force of nature! Having been diagnosed with the rare disease ulcerative colitis she found herself dependent upon a colostomy bag, yet that didn’t stop her from becoming a world champion body builder, reported The Herald. Instead of letting the disease take her down, she did the unimaginable and fought back– the one thing she was told she probably could never do.
Zoey was diagnosed in 2012 with ulcerative colitis (UC), which is a bowel disease that affects the digestive system. To learn more about UC, click here.
Prior to diagnosis, her weight decreased dramatically and therefore she sought out help. Managing the disease was stressful and painful, finding herself back at the hospital constantly for two years. In 2014, she was forced to use a colostomy bag as she needed immediate removal of her large intestine. Instead of letting this procedure and new way of life pull her down, she owned it and did what many would’t think of doing: become a fitness model and compete in body building competitions. Not only did she do it, she did it well.
She took home the “overall” champion crown last year at the Pure Elite World Championship. A year prior, back in 2016, she had financed in second place. Her training consisted of 90 minute sessions, six days a week, and while it was intense, it made her feel so much stronger and healthier than ever. Not only is training to that level physically taxing, but she experienced reoccurring symptoms as well.
It’s been an incredible journey for Zoey as she was told just years before that her white blood cells were attacking her own body, ultimately forcing it to shut down. Yet, her mind accepted the challenge of doing something new, something scary, and something seemingly impossible to achieve. She accomplished her goals and more, and she grew to love training. She hopes everything she has accomplished will motivate others to achieve their fitness goals, whether they have a disease or not.
