When I turned sixteen, I announced to my best friend that I wasn’t going to have kids. It was just something I wasn’t interested in becoming a mom, raising children wasn’t any part of the life I had planned for myself. She laughed, quite amused by my statement. How can you know that at sixteen?! She asked me, confused. I bet you change your mind. In fact, I bet you’re…
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Surgical Review – 12.12.16
This is my surgical review for both my surgeries I had done this year. I had my Right Hemicolectomy in May and my Subtotal Colectomy in August. The second surgery superseded the first by giving me my ileostomy. I was sort of expecting to be on the way to being discharged at this appointment but I knew deep down that this probably wasn’t possible. It’s only been three months post-op…
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REVIEW: Coloplast NEW Brava Protective Seal
At the end of November, I was invited to Coloplast HQ in Peterborough to find out more about their new Brava Protective Seal and of course sample the product too! Why the new product? Coloplast wanted to improve on their exisiting Brava Moudlable Ring and provide a more comprehensive variety, to fit better with more sizes of stomas. Feedback from their customers lead them to look for three improvements: 1.…
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Travelling Solo with an Ostomy
So last week I travelled alone. Not unheard of right? Some thing people do all the time; without hesitation, without thought, just ordinary and normal. Not for me. I’d always loved travelling – I spent a year living and studying on Vancouver Island, Canada as part of my degree, I travelled to and from university a lot and I generally got out and about when I could. But when the IBD struck…
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Remaining Positive in the Face of [Chronic] Illness
Once the battle of being diagnosed with an illness, be it chronic or not, has passed – with elation, fear, and exhaustion – it is not long before the next battle comes. For me this was “finding my feet”. I spent six weeks or so in hospital over the space of four months, as we sorted out my medications and relieving my symptoms. Once I was on an upward path,…
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What I’ve Learnt after Three Months with an Ileostomy
Yes, it’s already been THREE MONTHS! Can you even believe it?! I know that three months is nothing in the scheme of things, and even three months out of 2016 doesn’t feel like an incredibly long time, but to me three months is a lifetime. When things don’t go right or you have problem after problem, even a week can feel like an eternity. That’s what I was experiencing before…
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Going Medication free..? Is this *the* IBD dream?
I received correspondence from my GI yesterday, following my clinic appointment with him last Tuesday. It made for an interesting read: “I am sorry you came to separate surgeries, initially an extended right hemicolectomy and then a subtotal colectomy. We have still got you on Vedolizumab and I am not a hundred percent sure this is the right choice for you at present. In theory you have been completely down staged…
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Old versus the Present
Let me set a scene for you: It’s raining. Drizzling. My favourite. I’m walking home from town. It’s getting dark. I’ve got my hood up, headphones in my ears, music pumping around my head. I start to hum the tune of the songs, moving into singing while walking. I’ve got a definite spring in my step, walking tall and proud. I can’t feel the spotlight of the headlights of cars stuck…
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GI Clinic – 15.11.16
I last saw my consultant the day I was admitted to hospital in mid August. I remember how disappointed he looked when he had to leave – he was going on annual leave for the rest of the month – and looked anxious. With good reason too, I would say goodbye to my bastard colon 11 days later. So today when we nodded to each other in acknowledgment before my…