Simon

Life is full of surprises. Life is not a return to normal. Life is not full of us who can apparently easily deal with a stoma. Good for people who can but let’s get realistic. The whole business can be messy, degrading, and at least partly limiting. Less than two years ago I had to have a permanent stoma. I named it after a colleague who was full of crap but once did me a massive favour. Loud farting was the first of many embarrassing events but not so funny are the occasional accidents – which shouldn’t happen but are common with having to wear a hernia belt. These aren’t funny especially if they happen somewhere difficult or at work. Cleaning up is usually not a problem but the smell and leakage are. Some foods and drinks are to be avoided – anything fizzy remains as such. Holidays are good – though insurance is difficult – and lacking in confidence means I wear special high waisted swimming trunks.

So in short I still struggle at times with my stoma but 18 months of experience has helped. If only it wasn’t for the damned hernia, the massive plastic surgery on my bum and a cancer spread to my lung all would be perfect.