At the age of 77, I have lived my entire adult life with an ostomy. At 21, the surgery put me into shock. I suffered several months of PTSD before I’d even heard that term. But I eventually came out of it when I realized that by suffering my perceived strangeness, my deviancy, if you will, I was tilting at windmills. How could I be abnormal if there is no normal? It is a make-believe standard and overrated, at that. What is normal for one person may not be normal for another. It is entirely subjective. So I came out of my surgically-induced abyss, got used to it, and carried on. Ultimately, if there was an inherent strength there, it was my sense of humor, paired with my common sense. Clive James once wrote: "Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing." So I'm still dancing, 56 years later.
Why Join MeetAnOstoMate?
First off, this is a pretty cool site with 33,097 members. Get inside and you will see.
We're not all about ostomy. Everything is being discussed in the forums.
It's a very special community, embracing all ages and backgrounds. People are honest and truly care.
Privacy is very important - the website has many features that are only visible to members.
Create an account and you will be amazed.
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Hollister
Your stoma doesn't have to get in the way of sampling local cuisine and activities when you're on vacation.
Check out our travel tips on diet and fitness.
Check out our travel tips on diet and fitness.