Why Did A Postman Decide To Cross Dress For A Day?

Stephen Axford has been delivering letters across Crawley for the past 20 years wearing the Royal Mail uniform we see all postal delivery personnel wear.

But for one day only in October he decided to wear a purple dress, a wig and a handbag over his shoulder!

His local newspaper, Crawley News reported this somewhat strange activity, which has given Steven the publicity he deserves for his fund raising stunt.

He was raising money, by collecting donations from customers, for the Colostomy Association, as he suffers from ulcerative colitis, a condition he was first diagnosed with when he was 21 years old.

This is a condition that causes inflammation and ulceration of the inner lining of the rectum and colon, with symptoms which include passing blood.

Given there is no cure for this painful and debilitating illness, all that could be done for him was for his GP to keep a check on his condition on a regular basis.

About five years ago Stephen suffered severe inflammation which caused so much damage to his internal organs that he had to have a stoma fitted. A stoma is an opening in the side of the abdomen through which bodily waste can pass and is normally created through surgery.

This means he has to carry a colostomy bag with him wherever he goes, including on his postal round.

Speaking to the Crawley News Stephen, he said that speaking openly about a condition which embarrasses people is what he feels has helped him cope.

He also explained how the day of his cross-dressing fund raising went:

"It was really good fun. When women were giving me money I was saying 'you know what it's like for us ladies, we need somewhere to put our bits and bobs' while carrying my pens and cards in my handbag. I'll tell you what as well. It was lovely. I had loads of air around my bits!"

If you need to go to the toilet, you need to go there and then. I've had accidents on duty. It's not nice being a postman and soiling yourself. It's really embarrassing. But I think the fact I'm not afraid to talk about it helps.

When I had it really bad I was delivering on a different round in Pound Hill. I used to know which of my customers had downstairs toilets and they were very understanding, so they would let me use them."

The Crawley News report continued:

Stephen raised £418 through donations from residents and the help of colleagues, one of whom baked cakes.

After one woman gave Stephen a donation on his round, her daughter, who Stephen estimates was about seven, raided her piggy bank to support the cause because she has a family member with a stoma.

Stephen was full of praise for the Royal Mail, who have been very supportive of him, even changing his round so he could be closer to his own home.

But he thinks far more needs to be done to educate other employers and members of the public in general about stomas.

He said:

"A lot of people who get stomas can't accept it. One woman I spoke to on my round said her sister couldn't accept it and starved herself to death.

A lot of people see it as being abnormal. A lot of companies don't understand it either. Fortunately for me, Royal Mail have been very good from the start."

If you have a stoma and need any information or support, call the Colostomy Association's free 24-hour helpline on 0800 328 4257.

Source: Crawley News