I get to be an Ostomate Visitor!

When I was in the hospital, one of my “roommates” was a girl my age who had just gone through her 2nd stage of 3 in her quest for a j-pouch.  She had had her first step (a temporary ostomy) done a few months prior, this surgery was to build her j-pouch and give her a loop ileostomy, and then planned to return for her takedown surgery a couple months later.  Having her in my room ended up being invaluable to me. I hadn’t yet decided/been approved for a colectomy and she could identify with my misery from as well as vouch that life after surgery was not half bad.  She let me ask her questions and answered them patiently. She told me about her experiences with ulcerative colitis and how/why she’d decided to have surgery.  Seeing how active she was, walking around on her own only a day after surgery vs. how not-active I was before surgery (I couldn’t make it further than bed to commode and commode to bed, if that) was eye-opening.   We exchanged numbers and have kept in touch, making each other aware of accomplishments and asking “is this normal?” questions as we healed from our respective surgeries.  

While I was ordering my food one day, struggling to find something appetizing that met the hospitals dietary restrictions, the lady I was on the phone with asked if I had ulcerative colitis, totally on a whim. I said yes and she told me she did too, and had had an ostomy for 20+ years.  She offered to come visit me when she got off work and talk to me and I said yes please.  She ended up spending an hour with me after she got off work. Told me her story, showed me her ostomy, and promised to continue checking up on me (which she has!).

Both of these interactions made a difficult decision so much easier.  Being as sick as I was is scary and having a body-image-life-changing surgery is even more scary. Their support (as well as the support of the other hospital staff and my amazing friends and family) meant more than I express and is part of the reason I built this website.

I want to give back and it wasn’t long before I heard that one of the support groups I attend was holding an ostomy visitor training class. Attending this training would allow me to meet with future and brand new ostomates and offer support.  I signed up and confirmed with the organizer multiple times.  Yesterday was the class and I’m so excited to get started visiting people!  There was about 20 of us in the class and I was the youngest one by a long shot.  I’m starting to get used to being the only young person at local ostomy gatherings, but I’m hoping that by visiting other patients in my age group, I’ll be able to convince some of them to start coming too.  I really value the importance of support and am hopeful to be able to make a positive impact on as many people as I can.

Originally written in January 2014.

Share your thoughts!