WARNING- STOMA PICS
Having a purpose – My life has changed dramatically these last two years, firstly having an awful flare of ulcerative colitis that left me in such a bad way I needed emergency surgery. That in turn left me with major complications that are still a nuisance today. But despite all the bad bad times, I can now say that I feel I have a purpose.
That purpose is to spread the information about IBD and stomas. I started with a free blog site that I tailor made for Tomas, and decided to be very candid about my experiences. I couldn’t see the point of just sugar coating it as that would not cut the mustard. I am very sure my friends and aquaintances were surprised and maybe even slightly grossed out at first, I know I was, but it is like having a phobia, the more exposure, the less of a problem it is. I am sure if a friend of mine decided to write a blog about her rectum and poo styles , I would be surprised yet intrigued at the same time.
I would honestly have thought that if you had said two years ago that I would be writing about my bowel and poo at every opportunity, AND including photos, I would have laughed in your face. Absurd.
After quite a few months writing the blog and getting the odd hit here and there , I decided to step it up a notch and blow the cobwebs from my purse and pay for a half decent site with the name of my choice .co.uk. I was very excited as this meant I could use videos and links. So as soon as I was up and running I decided to post a video of my stoma moving, I know, I know, my husband said ” surely you can leave some things to the imagination ? “. But I knew this was what I needed to do. The traffic to my blog really began to grow, people made lovely comments and I felt I was making a difference. I won’t lie, it is a thrill when I get a lovely comment from someone going through a similar experience, but it is also disappointing not to get one on some posts, I don’t know if those particular posts are not as interesting or just that there is no need to comment. Either way, I will continue with my musings if only for that one person who needs it.
Oh and I am attending my first Ileostomy association meeting next week for Notts and Derby region, excited.
I am now nearly two years post ileostomy and I blog for my site, also for “A bigger life ” ( stoma information site run by TG Eakin, this is worth a look not just for my posts, although of course they are worth a peek too 🙂 ) I tweet, and have joined many forums and sites. Although I haven’t met the people on them they feel like new friends. We all have that one thing in common that helps us all accept who we are now. Life does have it’s ups and downs, make no mistake about that, but generally speaking my life is much better and I almost feel it was all a dream in the hospital ( until of course, my stoma farts or leaks, and I remember that my tummy is no longer svelte and smooth). I may be one of lucky ones that have been able to overcome the fact that I have a permanent stoma, and use it for my help and the help of others who may not have such a great time. Every single one of us is different with different needs and different issues so the help and support will be there for those ( including myself at times) who needs it. ( sounds like Gryffindor’s sword is going to appear).
I would also like to add my daughter’s song which she wrote and performed as a present for me during the hard times. I am immensely proud and absolutely love the song, I hope you do too. I am having a tattoo to represent who I am now and the song is based on that. I know I am plugging this too 😉 but if you fancy having a look at more from her, please follow on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJjPp6hrjmO-WI9duUWlvNQ
I will warn of stoma pictures etc, but I will not apologise for them. This is me, and this is my story warts ‘n all.
