Kid with colostomy

As a young kid, I had issues with bowel movements. My parents thought it was odd that a young child like myself was having such problems. Being the concerned parents they were, they brought me to the doctor to have it check out. When my parents told the doctor everything that was going on, he told them what he thought it could be. He told my parents that he thought it was irritable bowel syndrome or IBS for short. This is a kind of disorder that affects my large intestine. He provided us with some treatments to try before getting serious. After trying the simple treatments but no results showing any real change, my doctor said I had to get a colostomy procedure; I was ten. 

I can remember that day vividly. I was very scared and did not know what was going on. After my parents explained it to me, it did not help that much. I trusted my parents, however. I knew they knew what was going to be the best for me. A few days after that meetup, my parents scheduled my ostomy procedure with the doctor. After about a week, it was time for my procedure. I was terrified because I still did not understand. 

Showing up to the hospital was scary, and when it set in. I was about to be put to sleep for a bit while doctors cut me up, at least as a kid; that’s how I saw it. The surgeon explained the procedure to me as best as he could to a ten-year-old. He told me that my large intestine and colon were not working correctly, and he would help fix that. What he had to do was put me under anesthesia. When this is done, he was going to cut my large intestine and bring it to my tummy. From there, he will make a small hole that the end of the large intestine will come out of. He explained that this part is called a stoma. It will be a pink red color and puffy but do not play with it. After explaining all of this to me, I understood it better and was ready for it to be over. 

When I went into the operating room, I remember seeing all the shiny tools and cabinets, not to mention how clean it looked. The last thing I remember was looking over and seeing my mom with a warming smile on her face; that helped a lot.  After that, the nurse came next to me and put a mask on. She told me to count down from ten to one. I only go to eight. I woke up in a different room in a bed with warm cozy sheets. My parents came in shortly after I woke up with a kind nurse. My parents were smiling ear to ear. The nurse began explaining everything she could to us about my procedure and how to care for it.

As a young kid with an ostomy, it was very scary going into the procedure and hearing about everything, but I am glad I was surrounded by kind doctors who could explain to me in a way I would understand. I did not tell anyone about my procedure for years. On my eighteenth birthday, I told my close friends about it, and not a single one was phased by it. I am very reluctant to be surrounded by people who support me and care for me. I don’t think I would have made it this far in life still sain if it were not for them. 

Enjoying Good Weather With a Stoma

There really is nothing that I love more than being outside and spending that time with my family.  Rather it is spring or fall those time periods seem to fit my preferences for the weather to a tee.  And let's face it pumpkin spice and cucumber water is such a win.  But with this part of the year comes a lot of different foods and drinks and if you have a stoma, it may mean a whirlwind of changes.  Sometimes the extra food you eat can have some rather annoying side effects.  Now that I have a stoma I am a little more conscious of my diet and especially during possible holiday times. 

The first few times I over-eat on the holidays ended up being pretty bad.  First I was frustrated because I was told to not eat most of the foods I really enjoy.  So that is what I did, I literally stuck with my strict diet.  My diet was not very fun and to be honest it made me stand out at my holiday parties and so on.  It was a bit frustrating.  I was flat out ignorant and I learned quickly that is a bad thing. 

I also did not do well on my next holiday season and went to the complete opposite spectrum.   It was certainly a big issue because I went all out.  I just enjoyed all the foods I felt I had been stripped of.  Now I do not suggest this at all. I had so many digestion issues and let's face it I felt super fat.  No way was this a win in any shape and form.  And believe me, it felt like I was shooting out my dinner and snacks like a rock.  But there is always a good and a bad to me and lessons to learn. 

There is always wisdom in learning and it is good to have a nice balanced approach to your ostomy care.  When it comes to the holidays, enjoy it in moderation.  That is what I think is the most important part.  Moderation is good for most things in life.  My ostomy does not hold me back, but the more I learn the more I am able to enjoy life.  I now know what had more fiber in it and it took years to learn.  So feel free to make mistakes.  It is not the end of the world, just bad sounds and feelings.  

Learn from others and be smart enough to not fall where they fell.  What I am talking about is doing self-research.  I think that going online and learning your social media outlets is a great start.  There are entire websites dedicated to diets and food knowledge for all types of ostomies.  It is really incredible how much knowledge we have.  IT is insane the knowledge that is available.  I suggest starting on the web.  Find a few good forums websites and learn what you can and then move on. 

It is always worth it to dive deep into the social media world. I know for a fact it helped me.  Youtube and Instagram are amazing for finding people who are willing to share their life with you.  Remember though that most of those people want to be paid.  Be wise and not super trusting but enjoy the knowledge. 

How to deal with your stoma during the heat of the day

It may be a little chilly right now but soon the whole hemisphere will heat up a bit and we will start thinking about beaches and long hikes.  It doesn't take long before it all happens either.  In my neck of the woods, the weather just jumped about 20 degrees and it is toasty outside.  Now it is time for me to break out of the closet and get things sorted for a different kind of look and feel for me.  What this means is lots of new changes have occurred and should probably happen if you have a stoma.  Now you are going to probably freak out and go on a social media rampage to think about keeping up with the new season's fashion.  It really just means that I am going to be wearing slightly tighter clothes and also that I may be sweating a bit more than normal.  So there are a few  good things you can do to make sure that your stoma is fitting in with your fashion style and allowing you to live your best life. So get your shop on.

Now gear is what drives a lot of the ability for me to be fashionable.  I mus trust my gear and also have the best fitting gear in teh world for my body.  That is the key. Your body is going to be special and your stoma shape may change how you shop or where you get your things from.  The first thing I like to make sure of is that my ostomy care is coming first.  There is nothing worse than actually being in trouble for not planning ahead and taking care of an area that I know I should. So for me, I like to make sure I have the right equipment on when I know I am going to be outside a little more or it's going to be a litt

le hotter.  This means for me that I will likely put a bag on that has belt loops.  This allows me to then get an ostomy belt and protective cover to go around the bag and hold it tighter to my body.  I do a lot of hardcore things so protection matters to me.  It may sound a bit strange but to me, there is nothing better than knowing my body is looking sleek during the summer.  Being able to strap my bag down helps it from moving around and allows me to wear slightly tighter fitting clothing.  Not that is not the most important part but making sure my ostomy care gear is also water moisture wicking is a big deal. I don't like those sweat stains or sticking on my bag and body.

I really don’t like my skin sweating and feeling gross all the time.  So It really matters to me to get some really good moisture-wicking gear. This has always mattered to me though way before I had an ostomy.  Being able to be comfortable in warmer weather is important and you don’t want to rub to occur in areas causing extra friction, especially if you have a stoma.  So rock the summer body and find the right gear that fits your body.  If you don’t have good moisture wicking gear and are getting rashes, you need to contact your healthcare provider to figure out a better solution or simply a safe solution.