Fun Fact 3: An ostomy is not the end of the world.
This one is more a stigma that I’m debunking—a stigma I myself was guilty of. To quote an article by the United Ostomy Association of America (UOAA). “Ostomy bags are not tragedies… Ostomies make it possible for people to keep living when illness, injury, or pain have tried to take that away.”
When I first started down this road, I said a colostomy bag would be the “worst-case scenario.” I said I wasn’t old enough to have an ostomy bag. My doctor told me she has a 7 year old patient with one and didn’t I feel like a chump.
My ostomy improved my life in ways I didn’t expect. It’s true that I never felt pain from my rectal polyp, but what I did feel and did not even realize was constant bloating and discomfort. Those of you with glasses, remember when you first put them on and realized the world wasn’t supposed to look that way? It’s the same kind of feeling. I didn’t realize my body wasn’t healthy, until it was.
I no longer have to keep track of where the bathrooms are in a public place because I may need to go now. I don’t have the constant worry that public outings will end in embarrassment.
Is it an adjustment? Of course. Are there days of frustration and sadness? Absolutely. But those are natural moments we all have to deal with in life. And in hindsight, I think those moments will be fewer and far between than the ones I’ve already overcome.
I try to keep all things related to my health and medical issues on the side blog, but I felt the need to amplify this one—in case there’s someone out there, like me, who really needed to hear it. 💕
