Gerrard Kaonga
A paralyzed California woman has explained how she goes to the bathroom and after hearing it, her fans have admitted they have always taken the easy process for granted.
Admittedly, a lot of us take much of the simple pleasures of life for granted... I know I do.
26-year-old Steph Aiello has highlighted this fact with a video on how she goes to the bathroom differently to the rest of us.
The popular southern California beauty vlogger and influencer took to Instagram last week to explain her situation.
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Back in 2010, she was involved in a serious car crash that saw her lose a close friend and become paralyzed from the waist down, resulting in her becoming wheelchair dependent.
On her social media pages, Steph regularly showcases how she goes about her life as a quadriplegic - including how she uses the restroom.
Speaking in a recent video, she said she knows she has go to the bathroom when her eyes begin to water.
She noted that this is autonomic dysreflexia, which is when the nervous system reacts too strongly to stimulation. It can result in an increase in blood pressure, muscle spasms and a change in the heart rate.
It can often occur in people with spinal cord injuries and can indicate that the bladder is full.
Steph did a demonstration on how she goes to the toilet outside, stating that she could actually do it anywhere she wants.
She then held up a cylindrical blue catheter, explaining: “This is a male version. So when I stick it into my belly button, it’ll reach my bladder."
Steph then pushes the device in, allowing her to pee through her belly button, before she carefully pulls it out.
After use she can then close the tube back up, and can take the catheter bag and discard of it in the bathroom.
She also spoke of the surgery that allowed this to be possible and but did say recovery was difficult.
“I will say to anyone who is thinking about getting this surgery, it is extremely brutal," she said. “It is a brutal surgery, the recovery is really rough.
"But I always tell everyone, if I had to do it again every single year, I would.”
Explaining the surgery that allowed this to be possible, she said doctors make a 'C-section cut' and user her appendix to form a path from the bladder to the belly button.
“I do take some form of bladder spasm medication occasionally, to prevent my bladder from spasming and having leakage,” Steph added.