Last night I went to my local Calgary chapter United Ostomy meeting. It was really great.

What was so cool last night was that ConvaTec had samples of thier, Moldable Skin Barrier. This is so great because you custom roll back the opening right before you use it. This way your fit is snug, minimizing the risk of effluent coming in contact with skin, which we all know reduces the burning and irritation. It expands and contracts along with the stoma to help maintain a gapless fit.

There were sample for us to try, it was so easy. Now the need to sit down with the scissors and cut all the bags for the month predicting what size I will be needed is gone. Plus traveling without the concern of forgetting your scissors in your carry on Ostomy supply bag will be gone.

It was really great to see quite a few new comers out. I spoke with one gentle man who had just come through Prostrate Cancer, and ended up with a Urostomy. This was only a few months ago and he seemed to be doing really well with it. It’s good to meet people who are new to this to remind us older ostomates how far we have come.

Being a good sport about it all, I could still feel the pain of what he is going through. Interesting how we can really feel the pain of another, have pushed it back for our self’s.

Just glad to be a part of a such a loving and supportive group.

Love Love Sheri

http://www.ostomy-medical-supplies.com/

It’s amazing how comfortable I am now with my life with an Ostomy. I have come along way. Being 23 when I became severely ill and needing to go to hospital, the thought of an Ostomy scared me so much that by the time I would let my self go, I was almost dead. So scared of having an Ostomy I did not know how I could ever go through life like that.

Another part of my problem too was that I felt that going through with this kind of surgery would make me a failure. Reading Louse Hay and all that self help stuff, I thought that what they were teaching was that if you can not heal your self, then you are a failure. This misunderstanding added to my illness with the burden of judgment on my self and others which in no way is beneficial to any one dealing with disease.

Now that I am older I have found that there is a fine line in this teaching around this and there are a lot of people confused. For me, I found that love and acceptance of one self is really the Journey. When I meet people who still are at the other point of the understanding and have this kind of judgment for themselves and others, I know in my heart that they have not pulled through in their understanding of a Journey, since this is where I started it is easy to accept them.

To all of you at the beginning of this Journey, remember it is actually quite an interesting one. One day you will be amazed how comfortable you are with it all, maybe even thankful that you were given this to become the person you are today. I am.

S.

http://www.ostomy-medical-supplies.com/