- Following 1.5K
- Followers 5.1K
- Engagement 1.5%
- Avg likes 74
- Avg comments 7
About gill_castle
gill_castle (@stoma_chameleon) is a Personal blog creator on Instagram, also filed under Pets. The account has 5,133 followers and 1,954 published posts. Recent posts average 74 likes and 7 comments, an engagement rate of 1.5%.
gill_castle belongs to the nano tier, the band usually drawn between 1,000 and 10,000 followers. gill_castle follows 1,487 accounts, so the audience is roughly 3.5 times the size of the list followed. gill_castle carries Instagram's verified badge and uses an Instagram professional account. Flinque files gill_castle under Personal blog, with Pets as a secondary category.
The Instagram bio for gill_castle runs to 23 words across 6 lines. The bio mentions @chameleon_buddies and @bbcsounds. The latest activity Flinque has on record for gill_castle dates from September 2025.
Story Highlights
Unlocking shows the title and cover image of every story highlight this creator keeps pinned to the profile.
1,954 Posts
Of the 10 most recent posts shown for gill_castle, 5 are single images, 3 are videos and 2 are carousels. No single format accounts for most of them. gill_castle has built a substantial archive of 1,954 posts. Against the audience, that is roughly 2.6 followers for each post published. gill_castle also keeps 14 story highlights on the profile. All 10 carry captions, averaging 164 words each. The captions are written mainly in English. Words that recur across them include itās, life, kenya, which and birth. The captions tag #stoma, #ostomy, #nosecretsnoshame, #fistula and #childbirth.
No secrets, no shame.
Letās continue to break taboos and stigma around childbirth injuries, and provide more education for women and health professionals to prevent injuries occurring.
Listen via link in bio.
#nosecretsnoshame #fistula #stoma #childbirth #maternity
At the risk of reeling off what seems like a social media bore-off list of CV-like achievements, hereās who I am:
š„ø My pic shows me wearing makeup for a photo shoot. This is an anomaly. Usually I rarely brush my (naturally straight) hair
š©āš¼in 2011 I suffered a missed 4DT, RVT & other injuries during childbirth which led to a permanent stoma, PTSD, medical retirement from the police & some truly shit years.
šļøāāļø I did some physical stuff, usual triās etc and recovered
š randomly decided to solo swim the English Channel in 2023 & got the GWR - 1st person in world with a stoma to do so
šŖš» Campaigned for years for better maternity care, member of the first Birth Traums APPG, advocate for, fundraiser for. Now focusing on my positive charity after suffering a negative health relapse due to my campaigning:
š°šŖ spontaneously created in 2022 to support women in the UK & Kenya to adapt to life changes from childbirth or stoma surgery
šāā¬LOVE cats, work part-time at pets at home, part time at the charity, 1-2 days/week voluntarily for the charity
š» Climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Oct 25 with 16 other incredible women with ostomies/birth trauma to raise money for CB. Film coming out NEXT WEEK!. Itās awesome
šwritten my book which is with to find a publisher
š©āš»had a website about myself then deleted it after 5 years. Might bring it back if I sell my book to make more money for CB š«£š¤£
š«£ Iām not an influencer, I donāt take freebies for posts, I have no interest in touting my stoma bag for likes and share random snippets when I feel like it
š awarded a BEM in the New year honours but have yet to recieve it. Mind blown
šMy dad died from cancer in Sept 2025. I lost my guiding light
šdiscovered hyrox type stuff and love! Still swim a couple of times a week with
š Iām married to Chris who works off shore and has less than zero interest in social media so youāll never see him š¤£
š¦son Sam now reads my Facebook posts š«£š¬
Thatās me!
Many people know I was diagnosed with PTSD in the years after the birth. It was actually more to do with the loss of my job, but intermeshed with medical trauma. I didnāt receive any specialist treatment. I refused point blank to discuss my feelings about losing my police career. I had panic attacks if I saw a police car behind me, nightmares about being arrested, vivid flashbacks, then medical traumas with miscarriage and operations. I swore never to watch another real-time police programme. I deleted nearly all of my police friends. I moved back to Northumberland, and it was many years before those feelings of terror subsided. I didnāt speak of it to anyone, it felt ridiculous.
I started watching Crossbow today. I suddenly realised it would cover my old area. I even spotted a PCSO I worked with. I recognised the streets. The accents. Then my old station appeared on screen.
I waited for the tears, the tight chest. None came. I objectively looked at the nick and was easily transported back to the last day I ever went there. Iād taken Sam in to show him off to my colleagues. I knew then I would never be able to go back and I was distraught. I remember barely being able to see as I drove out of the little visitor car park, tight hands on the steering wheel. I cried for 3 days. Sam cried. I did night feeds. I cried more. I grieved. I was on my own and it was fucking horrendous.
Today, I felt nothing. I feel so content. The final dragon slayed.
PTSD is no joke. Itās so debilitating and I protected myself for 13 long years. I hope I donāt have nightmares tonight butā¦this is an unexpected, wonderful step šš„°
It was murky. I swam alone, almost on the beach, tapping my toe every couple of strokes to make sure I could touch the bottom. My mind whizzed from āwhatās in this water?ā to ābloody hell get a gripā to āhow the actual hell did I swim in the dark out at sea. TERRORā to āaha yay a bit of current letās swim!ā
I saw a couple of ladies dipping as I got out, and as I was getting changed one asked me if I was the channel swimmer (there are fewer of us up north!). Her friend commented that she doesnāt swim in the open water because she hates seaweed and stuff under the waves. I donāt think sheād believe me had I told her the mind games Iād just gone through! Itās still surreal to think of me Then to me Now. It blows my mind what we are capable of if we put our minds to it. I fight the fear in other ways now - not of the sea, but of letting people down who rely on me. Maybe I need this kind of adrenaline to pump me along, and I know that on the other side of fear is achievement, but itās a strange environment for a naturally anxious person to find themselves inhabiting, again. Who knowsā¦but Iāve enjoyed my holiday š
Last night I took my son to see. He was awesome, but started by saying he was nervous - you could tell he was. What a likeable guy. He shared the immense struggle he had to get to where is he today, the unglamorous stuff he did behind the scenes, years of sleeping in his van. Sam sat next to a lovely lady, who was thrilled at his interest in photography and animals.
āGood luck and go out and have a good life! You follow your dreams!ā
I felt a bit choked. My son really is on the cusp of the rest of his life. Itās so exciting. Who knows what path heāll go on, but I hope he fights whatever fears he may have and finds out his true potential. And most of all, I hope heās happy. Iād actually be really sad if he simply said āI want to be richā.
Whereās the adventure in that?
Discovered the life changing revolution of removing the work email app from my phone. Can I maintain this when Iām home? #worklifebalancegoals
Julia Robinson and Liz Hinds spoke movingly about why they are climbing Africaās highest peak in less than 2 weeks time for.
Itās very daunting sharing such personal information on the tv, and which Liz had bravely just shared on live BBC radio earlier that morning too.
So proud of them both, and of all the team - pushing themselves out of their comfort zones emotionally and physically to support women in Kenya.
Please continue to support our wonderful trekkers!
#mountkilimanjaro #womensupportingwomen #stoma #ostomy #babyloss
Tremendously happy memories.
#channelswimmer #channelswimmingassociation #stoma #ostomy #colostomy
Three years ago this video was released by BBC World Service and it completely changed my life. It led to me meeting Debbie Eisenberger Matityahu who introduced me to Dr Mabeya Hillary and his wife Carolyne, who are all involved with Debās charity Beyond Fistula at Gynocare Center in Eldoret, Kenya.
As a result of these connections, I travelled to Kenya to meet them all, and the stoma ladies under the BF programme. This led to me fundraising to send out stoma bags, which then ultimately led to me setting up Chameleon Buddies in 2022.
Deb is joining our team to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to build a new stoma and continence wing at the hospital, which is building on the almost Ā£50,000 I raised from my Channel solo for Chameleon Buddies. The BBC made their iplayer documentary The Stoma Swimmer and the audio series of the same name.
So many lives changed, all because of a 2.5 min video of my spontaneous idea to wear a bikini - for which I raised Ā£10k for the Birth Trauma Association - UK.
Serendipity ā¤ļø
gill_castle's engagement
gill_castle's engagement rate on Instagram is 1.5%, between 1% and 3%, or 1 to 3 likes and comments per 100 followers. On a typical post that comes to about 1 like or comment for every 67 followers. An average post collects 74 likes and 7 comments, close to 11 likes for each comment.
Engagement rate
1.5%
- Avg likes
- 74
- Avg comments
- 7
- Interactions : followers
- 1 : 67
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Frequently asked questions
These answers about gill_castle are generated from the Instagram profile data Flinque holds for the account.
Who is gill_castle?
gill_castle (@stoma_chameleon) is a Personal blog creator on Instagram, also filed under Pets. gill_castle carries Instagram's verified badge and uses an Instagram professional account. The Instagram bio for gill_castle runs to 23 words across 6 lines.
How many followers does gill_castle have?
gill_castle has 5,133 followers on Instagram (5.1K). gill_castle follows 1,487 accounts, so the audience is roughly 3.5 times the size of the list followed. gill_castle has built a substantial archive of 1,954 posts.
What is gill_castle's engagement rate?
gill_castle's engagement rate on Instagram is 1.5%, between 1% and 3%, or 1 to 3 likes and comments per 100 followers. On a typical post that comes to about 1 like or comment for every 67 followers. An average post collects 74 likes and 7 comments, close to 11 likes for each comment.
What does gill_castle post about on Instagram?
Flinque files gill_castle under Personal blog, with Pets as a secondary category. Of the 10 most recent posts shown for gill_castle, 5 are single images, 3 are videos and 2 are carousels. The 10 recent Instagram captions Flinque holds for gill_castle repeatedly use the words itās, life, kenya, which and birth. gill_castle's captions carry hashtags such as #stoma, #ostomy and #nosecretsnoshame. gill_castle writes those captions mainly in English. gill_castle keeps 14 story highlights, which open with a free Flinque account.
How do I contact gill_castle for a collaboration?
gill_castle's contact details are not published on Flinque's public profile. The Instagram bio links to 5 external sites, and a free Flinque account opens those links. Brands with a free Flinque account can shortlist gill_castle and use Flinque's outreach tools wherever a contact route is on file.
Links
gill_castle's own Instagram profile is the one outbound link Flinque publishes for the account, and the 5 bio links open after signing up.
Public profile data sourced from Instagram. Flinque is not affiliated with gill_castle.