Miss Melissa Oliveira Cunha, PhD, FRCS . Consultant Colo-rectal surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham

Melissa qualified in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She completed surgical training in the East Midlands. She obtained a PhD in molecular cancer biology from research carried out at The University of Manchester. Her main interests are laparoscopic colorectal surgery, inflammatory bowel disease and medical education.

John’s background was initially as an industrial microbiologist and then as a director and senior manager in the pharmaceutical and healthcare manufacturing industry with a focus on business development, technical and quality assurance matters. Having served on the Board of a UK listed company for several years, he is now working part time as a consultant.

John has had an ileostomy since 2007. For nine years prior to that he had a colostomy, both conditions as a result of bowel cancer. He has been a member of IA since 2009 and is also actively involved with Bowel Research UK. He sits on their Scientific Advisory Committee and has participated in a number of their sponsored projects.

John is one of Birmingham IA's qualified One2One Supporters.

He is married with 4 children and 7 grandchildren. Pastimes include cooking, Pilates, badminton and rebuilding and maintaining several classic cars.

Kalpana has had Ulcerative Colitis for 14 years. Unfortunately, this never went into remission which led to a lot of different types of medications and an extremely restrictive diet. She underwent unplanned ileostomy surgery at the end of 2019 with many complications ensuing, meaning a long recovery, though with that came the discovery and support of the Birmingham Ileostomy Association and a better quality of life.

 Subsequently, Kalpana became a committee member in 2021 supporting with social media, coffee mornings, supplier events and presenting to healthcare professionals and the wider IA community. She is also a trained One2One support volunteer providing support to individuals who are considering or who have recently had surgery. 

 Kalpana has worked extensively in education and training over her career and works full time as a People and Organisational Development Consultant in Higher Education alongside her contributions to Birmingham IA.

Maggie was unexpectedly diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in October 2012, having had no previous health issues, and within a year she needed emergency surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. In 2014 she joined Birmingham IA and found that support from members helped her enormously in coming to terms with the situation. She has since had internal pouch surgery.

Maggie has been a member of Birmingham IA’s Committee since 2016. Her roles involve communication with members. She is a qualified IA One2One Supporter. She is also a member of IA National’s Internal Pouch Committee.

Prior to her retirement, Maggie worked in Education.

Mark had surgery in 2013 due to ulcerative colitis and joined Birmingham IA in 2015. A couple of years later he was asked to take on the role of IA Together Co-ordinator, and as such he has organised several social events for members. He is also a qualified One2One supporter and is currently the One2One Support Co-ordinator. 

Career-wise, Mark is involved in the groundcare and forestry equipment industry. He has held various aftersales and technical roles for machinery manufacturers and UK-based companies, and continues to be engaged with these. Currently, he is focusing on training to become a qualified counsellor.

Mark is single, lives in Solihull and enjoys being part of Birmingham IA and talking to people who have had or about have to ostomy surgery. He has completed the IA Visitor One2One Supporter training.  Socially, he loves meeting with friends, enjoys the occasional fishing trip, when time allows (which isn’t very often), and also loves experimenting in the kitchen - he’s not bad, apparently!

Bogusha has been a member of Birmingham IA since 2015. In 2014 she had emergency surgery because of diverticular disease which resulted in a permanent ileostomy. After the initial shock of this unexpected surgery, she joined Birmingham IA, where for the first time she met other people with ileostomies: this helped her a lot with the process of adjusting and healing. In 2019 she joined Birmingham IA Committee and has been responsible for organising displays, keeping and updating information leaflets, brochures and other IA marketing materials. She is also responsible for organising the coffee mornings in Solihull. She is also a qualified IA One2One Supporter.

Bogusha is married with two children, two step children and one step granddaughter.

Originally from Poland, she came to the UK in 1990 and in 1999 she became a British Citizen. Initially she graduated in Economics but she retrained and became a teacher. She worked for 26 years for Birmingham City Council’s Language College as a Language teacher and also as a Co-ordinator of Information, Advice and Guidance Office for foreign students. She retired in 2017 and now in her free time she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, baking and travel.

After undergoing emergency ileostomy surgery in June 2024 due to a small bowel obstruction, Ailidh threw herself (as per usual!) headlong into IA. Passionate about supporting others and a life focus on helping people, Ailidh was asked to take over the IA Together role from Mark Barnes and joined the committee formally in May 2025. Recently enjoying a month-long trip to New Zealand, Ailidh wants to show the world that having a stoma does not mean life has to stop.

Flourishing in her recovery, Ailidh has modelled for ostomy garment company Vanilla Blush; written a 2-part series for the Midlands IA bulletin and even roped her mum into photography for the Birmingham IA Information Day 2025! With life still slightly up in the air, Ailidh’s focus remains supporting others and she will join the 1:1 support training in September 2025 and is currently considering a college diploma in social sciences and health.

An ileostomy has only made this warrior stronger!

Georgina underwent her first bowel surgery at 12 days old and experienced multiple additional surgeries throughout her teen years.

In 2004, she became unwell and was misdiagnosed for four years until a dental professor at Birmingham Dental Hospital diagnosed her with Orofacial Granulomatosis (OFG), also known as oral Crohn's disease. She was subsequently referred back to Walsall Hospital for further investigations and was diagnosed with Crohn's colitis in 2008. After a year of medication working, her condition began to deteriorate. 

In October 2018, she underwent a pan-proctocolectomy, which included the creation of an ileostomy (named Burt). Over the following six years, she faced multiple setbacks involving sepsis and additional surgeries. She also developed cutaneous Crohn's disease, identified after biopsies and consultations with various dermatologists, which remains an ongoing challenge.

In January 2022, Georgina was diagnosed with uterine cancer, which was a significant shock. 

In June 2023, she underwent what was intended to be her final surgery—a complex, three surgeries in one, procedure combining a full hysterectomy, stomach reconstruction, and hernia repair. Up to this point, Georgina felt she had missed out on potential support, as she was not informed about available resources, leading to feelings of isolation.

This changed when she discovered a support stand at Walsall Hospital that introduced her to Birmingham IA. Interested in connecting with others who have experienced similar health challenges, Georgina reached out and eventually became a One2One support volunteer to provide others with the assistance she wished she had received. She was also asked to help manage the social media accounts for Birmingham IA.

Georgina was a hairdresser for 21 years. She later expanded her skills by working in mental health services and pursuing additional education through numerous courses while unable to work. Currently, she continues her educational pursuits, although her career remains on hold due to ongoing health issues.

Kate is a Yellowbelly (native of Lincolnshire) with a family history of inflammatory bowel conditions and after several years of misdiagnosis was finally diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2002. She underwent colectomy and ileostomy surgery in 2003 aged 30, followed by reversal into an ileoanal (internal) pouch (W type) in 2004. Kate joined IA in 2019 and was recruited onto the Birmingham IA committee in 2020. Her main focus, for several years, was reporting on events and news from the Birmingham group for the IA Journal and Midlands Bulletin and distributing those magazines to its members. Her interest is in supporting and highlighting the needs and issues of those who have lived with both a stoma and an internal pouch like herself. Kate is currently Birmingham IA’s Communications Officer/Magazine Distributor.

In a working life interrupted by ulcerative colitis and recovery from surgery, Kate worked in printing and publishing and adult social care prior to surgery and afterwards worked in various voluntary roles as her health allowed. Later she gained paid employment in specialist education working with disabled young adults.

She is also a member of the Friends of Perry Park and enjoys walking by the Tame Valley Canal, home crafts and visiting heritage sites. She has a partner and a lively border collie cross.

Peggy Costello was the Membership Secretary of Birmingham IA for over twenty years.    She joined the group in 1977, two years after having surgery, having suffered from ten years of Ulcerative Colitis.   Peggy is a qualified  One2One Supporter for IA. She undertook voluntary work at a stoma clinic at Dudley Road (City) Hospital for ten years, along with Doreen Harris,  a founder member of Birmingham IA. 

Peggy is married with five children, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.  She trained at Aston Commercial School and worked as a shorthand typist before starting her family.   When her children started school, she took a job as school cleaner to fit around them and ended up doing the job for 22 years until she retired at the age of sixty.

In 2025 Peggy was made an Honorary Committee Member of Birmingham IA.