Hello all my ostomates! How is everything???
I do post on a regular basis to see what everyone has written and how your lives are progressing, but I have been absent lately.
The 27th of this month will be my 3rd-year anniversary of my massive surgery, leaving behind an ileostomy which was a very traumatic day for me that I will never forget!
I find myself adjusting and coping with my ever-present "pouch". I believe all will go well because I have nerve and want to make my life a prosperous one!
I often find myself at the Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, MD when I take my bf there to get treatment (military).
Honestly, I have never seen so many young people with their arms, legs, ears blown off due to the course of action fighting for our country. Although we are all war veterans, I've seen it firsthand and it makes me sad to see our very young resourceful living beings being disfigured as such! We collectively have been to war and back, and that we cannot deny.
We do what we have to do to survive, we're still alive and incredible people that everyone should meet because we have soooo much to offer!!!!
Santabelle
It is very hard for me to walk into that hospital and see everything firsthand, but it makes me realize after all we are all heroes!
Santabelle
I was sliced and diced, my intestine was ripped from my body altering my "normal" life forever. However, seeing these warriors in the prime of their lives with so much adversity to follow, I believe they are my true heroes!

This is a remarkable community of 40,911 members.
You will get real advice from fellow ostomates who truly understand you - things you won't find in the books.
And it's not all about ostomy - there is friendship and relationships too.
Privacy is very important - your profile is not visible to the outside world.
iMacG5
When I found this web site, I didn't think its name had anything to do with actually meeting an ostomate but I later learned there were some folks who did meet and develop relationships. How good is that? That wasn't my intention. I definitely didn't want anyone to meet me. I felt broken and wasn't prepared to express those feelings. I thought it was a place where ostomates wrote about themselves, posed questions, shared thoughts, told jokes and, sometimes, just vented. I thought of it as a community of folks with similar interests and various degrees of experience. Mostly I found some of the most caring, selfless, wise and understanding people I ever imagined. I was so impressed with some of the writings; not because of their literary value but the way in which they addressed such a very complex environment. I read hundreds of exchanges and admired the way folks cared for each other. I became hopeful with my own situation and looked forward to the next day's offerings. Certainly some contributors stood out with their experience or particular skills in addressing some things but it seemed like a total effort with synergistic results. I felt blessed to have found this site. I still do.
Mike
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