A STUDENT from Builth Wells has completed the first of three challenges she set herself to raise money to fight ulcerative colitis, a condition she has battled for many years.

Amber Davies, who is 20 and a product design student at Cardiff Metropolitan University, completed the Crohns & Colitis UK 5km and 10km Walk It event in Swansea last weekend along with eight members of her family.

Amber, a former pupil at Builth Wells High School, is now planning to climb Mount Snowdon on July 14 and hopes to take part in the Cardiff Half Marathon on October 7.

While any one of these challenges would be difficult for most people, Amber has to run or walk with a stoma bag attached to her body after she had major surgery in 2015 and 2017 to remove most of her colon and rectum.

But far from feeling sorry for herself after undergoing these procedures, Amber says the surgery and her stoma have given her a "new lease of life".

Not only did she manage to complete her GCSEs and A-levels in the years when she underwent surgery, Amber even completed a skydive in aid of Crohn’s and Colitis UK in 2016 which raised more than £1,000.

Amber said: “Although inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can still take its toll on my mental and physical wellbeing, I’m an extremely positive individual. I choose to focus on the positives rather than the negatives.

“I’ve grown to love and appreciate all of my scars and ostomy, they’ve given me a new lease of life and have allowed me to do things I would have never otherwise dreamed of.

“For me, it’s now all about raising awareness and understanding of IBD and colitis. In 2018 I aim to be healthy, strong, happy and adventurous, taking every opportunity I can while helping and inspiring others.”

Not only has Amber had to cope with two major bouts of surgery, completed a skydive and passed her exams and gained a place at university, she is now managing to cope with living away from home for the first time as a student in Cardiff.

She is also involved in a campaign called ‘behind the scars’ in which patients who have been through colon and rectal surgery celebrate their scars and stoma bags. She is working closely with a company called Ostique which is designing revolutionary, new, “beautiful” stoma bags for people to be proud of. This entails Amber travelling to and from London to take part in photo shoots.

She said she hopes to use her product design degree to design innovative products that help people in their daily lives. She added: “For me now, it’s all about positivity, raising awareness and understanding of colitis, while helping and inspiring as many others as possible.”

She has now set herself a goal of raising more than £1,500 for Crohn’s and Colitis UK and has already had more than £900 pledged.

One other piece of good news came last Saturday, June 2, after she completed the Walk It event in Swansea. She learned she has been shortlisted for the Crohns & Colitis UK Alex Demain Young Fundraiser of the Year award. She will find out if she is the winner this Saturday (June 9) after the Walk It event in London.

To support Amber’s fundraising exploits visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/amberdaviesccuk.