Bethany Townsend is not only brave and courageous, she has become a role model to her newly gained fans and to herself.

So who is Bethany Townsend?

She is a 23-year-old former model that suffers from Crohn's disease, and for a while she was ashamed of her body, E! News reported.

Because of her disease and a near-death experience that caused her bowels to burst, Townsend was required to have pouches attached to her to remove feces from her body. The pouches were embarrassing for Townsend, and she often covered up to hide the pouches.

However, one day, while Townsend was on vacation with her husband, he encouraged her to wear a bikini that revealed her pouches.

Townsend agreed and wore the bikini. She even took it a step further and took a photo with her bikini and posted it to Crohn's and Colitis U.K.'s Facebook page.

"My husband always said to me, 'If we go on holiday, I want you to wear a bikini. You've got a great body,' " Townsend told BBC Midlands Today.

"The first day I was like, 'Okay, let's do it.' I'm not gonna see these people again, that's how I looked at it."

Much to Townsend's surprise, her photo went viral and so far has been viewed by 9 million people, The New York Daily News reported.

Now, because of her husband's encouragement and the positive feedback that Townsend has garnered from people who have seen the photo, Townsend revealed that she is more confident in herself and may even consider modeling again.

"I feel confident enough now to put myself out there and pursue modeling again," Townsend told The Daily Mail. "I did a little bit of work here and there before I had the colostomy bags, but once I had them fitted I thought that was the end of the dream. ... I'm looking forward to chasing my goals, and I know now that nothing can hold me back. ...I won't let the Crohn's control me anymore."

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