Whatever it was that I did, or failed to do, that brought upon me the ulcerative colitis, determining what it was seemed to mystify the doctors that I saw. It’s psychosomatic, several of them announced. As far as I was concerned, given the pain that I was in, I put that diagnosis on a par with the Monty Python knight who, having just had his arm wacked off, kept insisting that it was “just a flesh wound.” It took me several years after ileostomy surgery in 1964 to throw off the shroud of disability that I’d wrapped myself in, and then I was okay. I finished school, got married, and by 1977 I was working hard, we had a two-year old daughter, and another on the way. Through the entirety of my illness, no one had mentioned that smoking wasn’t good for me and that, as a general good health measure, I ought to cut it out. I was smoking two to three packs of Camel cigarettes per day and enjoying each and every one of them. One day I was working late and, once I got off, rushed toward home hoping to get there in time to read my usual bedtime story to my little girl. I knew that I only had one cigarette left in the pack, but getting home quickly was too important to stop and buy another pack. Then – hooray – she was still up, whereupon I sat her on my lap on the couch and started to read the evening’s story. What happened next still amazes and bothers me, but—in hindsight – it was fortunate that it happened. I ignorantly and selfishly lit up that last smoke and, naturally, under the circumstances, with my daughter in my lap, smoke got into her face. “Oh papa,” she complained, “that’s pooey.” I haven’t had a cigarette since. [BTW, the cost of a pack then was fifty cents.]
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Hollister
Resuming your personal and work life after ostomy surgery can be challenging to adjust to a new life.
Learn ways to adjust to life after ostomy surgery.
Learn ways to adjust to life after ostomy surgery.
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Hollister
Returning to work after ostomy surgery should not be rushed.
Check out our 4 necessities before getting back on the job, and our other workplace tips.
Check out our 4 necessities before getting back on the job, and our other workplace tips.