I remember the first time that things went wrong with my ostomy and I wondered to myself ‘How am I ever going to feel comfortable with this? How am I ever going to be okay with this?’ I’ve felt similarly when it comes to my IBD, when things didn’t go the way they or myself had hoped or planned they…
Today we celebrate love. A single day devoting to telling whomever we love, that we love them. We shower them with gifts, affection and kind words. I am doing that today too. But for my stoma. Yes, you read that correctly; my stoma. My stoma used to be that elephant in the room, the alien living under my top, a living…
Something I have been unable to share about – until now! – is my involvement with Coloplast and their Brava Protective Seal. I reviewed this product earlier on – read more here – but I was also approached by Coloplast HQ in Denmark to do a testimonial for the product too not long after that review went live. This would…
So, knowing I was going to be in town today for a dental check up, I decided to do some writing in a local coffee shop. Got a loyalty freebie so I was all set. But my stoma had other plans. I was just finishing up my coffee and got my notebook out, and pain shoots through my bag. My…
No, seriously, how? Maybe the question should be ‘CAN I hate something that has saved my life?” or even “Can I hate something that has CHANGED my life?” Because, I can hate the fact that my disease was so bad, they had no other option than to remove my colon and give me my ileostomy. I can hate that fact…
Following my subtotal colectomy in August; my IBD team recommended returning to Vedolizumab. I had already tried Vedolizumab; receiving the three loading infusions last winter. This is where I was and how I was feeling as 2015 turned into 2016: “… So, it hasn’t gotten any worse, but the past year’s drug choices haven’t made it any better. I’m on…
It’s not unusual to spend time at the hospital for back to back appointments. But when they happen at different hospitals, it gets abit more complicated. We spent the morning travelling across the city to Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QE) for my liver check-up. I’ve been attending this particular clinic for almost three years since some routine blood tests revealed very…
Tuesday 23rd August (cont’d) “I’ve got a space for you on the end of the emergency list today, could be this afternoon, probably this evening though.” Ward round this morning and surgeon is keen to remove my colon today. Despite being busy, he will stay and do my surgery when his list is complete. Turned out that meant waiting all…