Pickleball champion Rob Nunnery, 41, who endured years of perianal Crohn's disease and underwent life-changing surgery leaving him with a permanent colostomy, found love with a stranger just weeks after his operation. He flew one-way to South Africa to meet Danelle Louden, a woman he connected with on Instagram.
Surgery and Recovery
In January 2026, surgeons at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, performed a complete proctectomy, permanently removing Rob's rectum and sewing his anus shut. The procedure came after four years of battling perianal Crohn's disease, which caused recurring abscesses, fistulas and severe infections. Despite trying medications including Remicade, Rinvoq and Skyrizi, nothing worked. A colostomy in February 2025 initially offered hope, but drainage returned, new fistulas formed and fevers came back.
Two weeks after the proctectomy, Rob suffered a severe setback when an artery was severed during a routine procedure, requiring an emergency pelvic angiogram to stop bleeding. He documented his recovery publicly on TikTok and Instagram, generating more than 30 million views in the first month.
Meeting Danelle
On March 4, 2026, Danelle Louden contacted Rob on Instagram after reading a story about him in a South African publication. Danelle, a bone cancer survivor who also cares for her grandmother with dementia, understood chronic pain. They began talking daily, and by March 30, just two months after surgery, Rob boarded a flight to South Africa. His ostomy was only eight weeks old and his surgical wound had not fully healed. One suitcase contained clothes; the other was packed with ostomy supplies. He did not buy a return ticket.
During severe turbulence on the flight, his ostomy bag began filling rapidly. Despite orders to remain seated, he repeatedly rushed to the lavatory to avoid a leak. When he landed and saw Danelle waiting, he said, “She put her hand on my back and gave it a rub. She kept it there all the way to the car. It felt like she'd been doing it my entire life. It just felt like home.”
Life After Surgery
Rob now lives with a permanent colostomy, with waste collected in an ostomy bag. He openly answers questions from followers, stating, “Everything that used to come out the back now comes out the front into a bag. I don't feel it happening, I can't control when it comes out.” For the first time in four years, the deep fistula pain that once dominated his life has disappeared. The couple recently signed a 12-month lease in George, South Africa.
Rob continues recovery with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and nerve pain management. He is developing Flexara Health, a hydration company inspired by his medical journey, and exploring a return to elite pickleball competition. He has won 19 professional titles since 2022, including the Dubai Open in 2025 just 10 weeks after his colostomy surgery, and was part of the winning team in the first Major League Pickleball Championship in 2021.
