Hello Wantoks,
WANTOK, which in our national language (Pidgin), literally means "speaking the same language" and is also commonly translated as "friend". Although I joined MeetAnOstoMate a year or so ago, I haven't been able to read or share my own experiences mainly due to lack of internet services in our country. When I joined this group, it was through an internet cafe, which later closed because it was too expensive to run in a country where the internet and internet cafes, for that matter, are a new phenomenon.
I had this opportunity to travel overseas and have the access to internet and have been reading all the experiences that my wantok ostomates are sharing. Being the only one from my country, I find it a little lonely. Coming online and seeing all the ostomates sharing freely has made me feel I have come home and found my wantoks speaking the ostomate language.
It has been three years since my surgery. I had never heard of a colostomy, ileostomy, urostomy, or ostomate in my life until I became one. Since I was diagnosed with the cancer of the rectum and at stage four, it had to be removed. The doctors had given me two weeks of life.
Now, with God's miraculous wonders, He has given me 3+ years and I'm so thankful to Him. He receives all my praise and all the friends and family members who made it possible for me to have surgery overseas. Though we have surgeons, there are no specialists in this type of major surgery, so I sought neighboring countries' services. A private hospital of our closest neighboring country fees were unaffordable and I was giving up hope.
An overseas mission heard of my plight and sent my medical reports to a Christian Hospital. Within days of my arrival, on the 7th of July, I had my life-saving surgery. I thank Chang-Hua Christian Hospital Superintendent, the Board Members, and the doctors who made a decision to meet all the costs of my surgery. I had a colostomy within 11 hours. That is why now I know more about the "STOMY" words. I live with it.
After surgery, I was so depressed I just wanted to die. Coming from a society that believes in superstition and sorcery, I knew society back home would not accept me into the community. Stigmatizing was my greatest fear. I didn't know how my own family members would react to my new condition.
As for caring for the stoma, I was introduced to dressing the stoma with only gauze and surgical tape that a lot of times I had disasters. Sometimes I had to rush back to the house since we don't have public restrooms in our country. In the developed countries, the state provides access for disabilities so you are able to move freely with the rest of the community.
I searched the net for colostomy pouches and SALTS HEALTHCARE LTD came to my rescue. They have kindly supplied me pouches for the last two years. Since these pouches are not easily accessible in our country, I have to order them from overseas.
I didn't want to sit back and feel sorry for myself. I wanted to have an awareness campaign about this sickness and I got the media to tell my story. After reading my story, I received so many calls from people who were suffering silently from this sickness.
There was one young woman who called me because she didn't have any pouches to use for her stoma. Now I knew I wasn't the only one in the country. I gave her five months of supply from the donations made by SALTS HEALTHCARE to me.
At the end of last year, I went to the General Hospital to find out if the hospital had any endoscope as I had not gone back for my review. I discovered that the machine they had was giving blurry pictures so the doctors couldn't diagnose the sickness. As I was about to leave, the doctor asked me to see a patient he was reviewing. He was a small two-year-old who had a stoma. The mother had only a towel nappy to cover the stoma. It was such a sad sight it brought tears to my eyes. It can very easily get infected. The doctor told me there are twenty other children who live with the same condition.
Most of our people are subsistence farmers and cannot afford to get pouches for their little children. These families come from the poor communities.
I have been searching the net for children's pouches but so far only had one response. I am also seeking any returnables or any overstocked supplies that you don't need anymore. It can be children or adult pouches. Early March, the staff at the hospital told me there were two patients with colostomy. I wrote a letter to the CEO for his approval for me to visit and am still awaiting his response. There are several others which I learned recently but due to their privacy rights, I respect and leave them be.
I have registered the PAPUA NEW GUINEA STOMA ASSOCIATION and am looking forward to launching it on the 8th of June. It was registered 2 years ago as part of my awareness campaign and for the future generation. It will also be a place where ostomates can freely come together to share the difficulties faced or to share ideas for a better living. It will also be a place where ostomates can come to collect their medical supplies. Since the hospital cannot accommodate the needs for ostomates, this would be an ideal place for them to go to.
This is a CHARITY ORGANIZATION. I don't know how long I may live, so I feel this is a start for any current or future ostomates of this country, Papua New Guinea.
Thank you WANTOK OSTOMATES for reading my long story.
Wantok (Friend)
WANTOK, which in our national language (Pidgin), literally means "speaking the same language" and is also commonly translated as "friend". Although I joined MeetAnOstoMate a year or so ago, I haven't been able to read or share my own experiences mainly due to lack of internet services in our country. When I joined this group, it was through an internet cafe, which later closed because it was too expensive to run in a country where the internet and internet cafes, for that matter, are a new phenomenon.
I had this opportunity to travel overseas and have the access to internet and have been reading all the experiences that my wantok ostomates are sharing. Being the only one from my country, I find it a little lonely. Coming online and seeing all the ostomates sharing freely has made me feel I have come home and found my wantoks speaking the ostomate language.
It has been three years since my surgery. I had never heard of a colostomy, ileostomy, urostomy, or ostomate in my life until I became one. Since I was diagnosed with the cancer of the rectum and at stage four, it had to be removed. The doctors had given me two weeks of life.
Now, with God's miraculous wonders, He has given me 3+ years and I'm so thankful to Him. He receives all my praise and all the friends and family members who made it possible for me to have surgery overseas. Though we have surgeons, there are no specialists in this type of major surgery, so I sought neighboring countries' services. A private hospital of our closest neighboring country fees were unaffordable and I was giving up hope.
An overseas mission heard of my plight and sent my medical reports to a Christian Hospital. Within days of my arrival, on the 7th of July, I had my life-saving surgery. I thank Chang-Hua Christian Hospital Superintendent, the Board Members, and the doctors who made a decision to meet all the costs of my surgery. I had a colostomy within 11 hours. That is why now I know more about the "STOMY" words. I live with it.
After surgery, I was so depressed I just wanted to die. Coming from a society that believes in superstition and sorcery, I knew society back home would not accept me into the community. Stigmatizing was my greatest fear. I didn't know how my own family members would react to my new condition.
As for caring for the stoma, I was introduced to dressing the stoma with only gauze and surgical tape that a lot of times I had disasters. Sometimes I had to rush back to the house since we don't have public restrooms in our country. In the developed countries, the state provides access for disabilities so you are able to move freely with the rest of the community.
I searched the net for colostomy pouches and SALTS HEALTHCARE LTD came to my rescue. They have kindly supplied me pouches for the last two years. Since these pouches are not easily accessible in our country, I have to order them from overseas.
I didn't want to sit back and feel sorry for myself. I wanted to have an awareness campaign about this sickness and I got the media to tell my story. After reading my story, I received so many calls from people who were suffering silently from this sickness.
There was one young woman who called me because she didn't have any pouches to use for her stoma. Now I knew I wasn't the only one in the country. I gave her five months of supply from the donations made by SALTS HEALTHCARE to me.
At the end of last year, I went to the General Hospital to find out if the hospital had any endoscope as I had not gone back for my review. I discovered that the machine they had was giving blurry pictures so the doctors couldn't diagnose the sickness. As I was about to leave, the doctor asked me to see a patient he was reviewing. He was a small two-year-old who had a stoma. The mother had only a towel nappy to cover the stoma. It was such a sad sight it brought tears to my eyes. It can very easily get infected. The doctor told me there are twenty other children who live with the same condition.
Most of our people are subsistence farmers and cannot afford to get pouches for their little children. These families come from the poor communities.
I have been searching the net for children's pouches but so far only had one response. I am also seeking any returnables or any overstocked supplies that you don't need anymore. It can be children or adult pouches. Early March, the staff at the hospital told me there were two patients with colostomy. I wrote a letter to the CEO for his approval for me to visit and am still awaiting his response. There are several others which I learned recently but due to their privacy rights, I respect and leave them be.
I have registered the PAPUA NEW GUINEA STOMA ASSOCIATION and am looking forward to launching it on the 8th of June. It was registered 2 years ago as part of my awareness campaign and for the future generation. It will also be a place where ostomates can freely come together to share the difficulties faced or to share ideas for a better living. It will also be a place where ostomates can come to collect their medical supplies. Since the hospital cannot accommodate the needs for ostomates, this would be an ideal place for them to go to.
This is a CHARITY ORGANIZATION. I don't know how long I may live, so I feel this is a start for any current or future ostomates of this country, Papua New Guinea.
Thank you WANTOK OSTOMATES for reading my long story.
Wantok (Friend)
