World Ostomy Day 2015

Hey!

October 3rd marks World Ostomy Day 2015. This year there has been more media awareness about stomas and bags, much more than there was five years ago when I woke up from emergency, life saving surgery.  I was open about my bag from the get go- yeah I wallowed in self pity for fucking months, all through my month and a half in hospital and even when I was allowed to go home. I lost 4 stone and had to learn to walk again, all because my useless large intestine split and decided to kill me (FYI- I died on the operating table and the wonderful surgeon and doctors saved my life, shoutout to those amazing people and the NHS you wonderful things, you!)

My stoma is such an important part of my life, I had to learn to do things again and become comfortable with my body.. even after five years I'm still not 'there' yet, I have my off days, like everyone. A few months after surgery I had an interview with Bizarre Magazine and had a small piece in the 'Proud To Be Different' section, complete with photos- This was great for 2010 as I hadn't seen anything about bags before this, let alone something in an Alternative magazine.

Without my bag I would still spend most of my days in crippling pain, running to the toilet, feeling lethargic and trying to avoid having accidents. No one really knew I was having these issues, I tried my best to ignore symptoms and just get on with it, for years I ignored this and the end result is this. It's not the worst thing that could happen, yeah my time in Hospital wasn't the greatest but I am alive and well (most of the time) and have the Royal Berks Hospital to thank for that, as well as my bag. Thanks Krang, you're tha best.