Tomorrow is…

time for my post-op appointment with the Professor who led my operation. I remember thinking just over 6 weeks ago when I had had my operation that I just couldn’t imagine what life would be like 6 weeks from then & I really couldn’t imagine myself as well as I am now, but it just shows, here I am! 🙂 Going to see one of the Stoma Nurses who looked after me in hospital as well just to get my stoma size checked etc as my main Stoma Nurse is away. Will keep you all posted on how it goes!

I’ve achieved more again this week 🙂 Drove for the first time post-op, it felt amazing seriously, I felt such a nerd! Haha! Also went to one of the Dansac ‘Voice’ roadshows for ‘ostomates’ at York Racecourse, had a fantastic day and met some truly inspirational people. I even had my nails done & eyebrows waxed for free! 😀 Went around the ostomy stands, got lots of freebies and products to try and even got asked for my details by a few people on a few stands regarding me possibly doing my own section on a website in future for young people with an ileostomy. I didn’t meet any other people around my age with an ileostomy at the event, I think I was the 2nd youngest there altogether, but I guess people have work and they may not have been able to make their own way there if parents were working or they had school, for example. Will also hopefully be signing up to the Ileostomy Association (IA) online soon and going to the York IA Meet towards the end of October 🙂

The roadshow put on a play all about from before the diagnosis of the main character’s IBD, right the way through her terrible journey with the disease and followed her through her surgery experience and how her life changed and the adaptations she made afterwards to embrace her new body and ileostomy and ileostomy bag – What a truly moving play! It was like the past 12/13 years of my journey with IBD condensed into 1 single hour – just about every thing I could relate to and I got great relief from knowing that it is perfectly normal to have your emotions all over the place and feel totally at war with yourself when every thing seems like it could not get much worse at certain times on the IBD rollercoaster! I went with my Dad, & he was very emotional throughout it as the play also demonstrated what it was like for family & those around the main character & that they too were very affected even though they were not suffering in the same way as the main character. They too had their own type of suffering & it was their journey too. My Dad was nearly in tears on a number of occasions because the play was so close to home.

It just shows that even though I could never imagine myself being able to cope before I had had my op when I knew it was all set in stone (even before I had the date set tbh), that with positivity and amazing support, WE ALL CAN DO IT 🙂 & the play highlighted that just because you have to have an ostomy formed, it does not mean it is the end of your life but it is infact the start of a new better life, probably a life which you have never had before to such a good quality – pain-free, enjoying your food and not spending hours in the bathroom in crippling agony or being on loads of pills which give you endless side effects and you still feel as fatigued as ever even when doing absolutely nothing because you physically and mentally can’t!

Take Care Everyone!

And I may even post a video soon when I get a spare hour or so.