IMAGINE A STROKE AND STOMA

IMAGINE A STROKE AND STOMA.


To put this rhyme in some context
imagine what in life comes next
if we had a stoma and
a stroke, to take away one hand.


I have pondered implications
of this unwelcome situation
because, like many other folk
I know I’m at-risk of a stroke.


I’ve seen what strokes have done to folk,
and I must say it is no joke
to see how hard it is for them
coping with the stroke’s mayhem.


Paralysis of leg and arm
is often not the only harm
a stroke inflicts on humankind,
for it can also hit the mind.


Some strokes cause dysphasia,
and some create amnesia
which can be quite significant
for a sick communicant.


Imagine trying to explain
all that angst and complex pain
accompanying stomas and
getting folk to understand.


When managing my stoma I
need both hands and mind as I apply
my bags, or empty them when full,
if I am to be successful.


Imagine what it might be like
if a major stroke should strike
and we do then not have the skills
to cater to our multi-ills.


                                     Be Withers 2022

Hi Bill, when I had resection surgery a few years ago and the surgeon came in to look at the incision, he decided to change the wafer and look at the stoma. I told him my worst nightmare was to be incapacitated and not able to do my own change, and I made the mistake of saying I'd rather be dead than live like that. Boy, did that piss him off! He told me he didn't want to hear any talk like that.

Sorry Ron.
That was not the rhyme I intended to post in reply. However, there does not seem to be a delete or edit button , so I'll post my intended rhyme below:
Best wishes
Bill


A STROKE OF INCONVENIENCE.

If you're incontinent you'll know
that inconvenience will show
in lots of very different ways
and skill to manage always pays.

Depending on severity,
it often takes dexterity
to manage all the mess that's made
with our incontinence displayed.

When people are incontinent
they may find it convenient
to get themselves a stoma so,
they manage better when they go.

The stoma puts pooh in a bag
so they dispose of all this swag
in whatever way they like
at home or even on a hike.

The process is much cleaner than
incontinence with absent pan,
where, what we have often found
is that one's waste is spread around.

Whether one's waste comes from one's bum
or is extruded from one's tum,
we need to have our faculties
to help avoid catastrophes.

So what of those who've had a stroke
and have to bear that heavy yoke
of physical paralysis?
Does this become their nemesis?

How do folks manage continence
when we all know that incidents
can happen to us anywhere
when there is no one there to care?

A stroke when you're incontinent
is bloody inconvenient!

Be Withers 2022

Thanks for sharing your prose. Food for thought and compassion.

The RA in my hands is getting progressively worse, as is my MS physical and cognitive status. These changes scare me as I work with my stoma and equipment problems. I truly wish I'd just had that large damaged segment of damaged sigmoid removed and skipped the colostomy. Sure, I might have ended up pooping a lot every morning, but I can't go anywhere or do anything anyhow. Sure wish someone had looked down my road when decisions were made in the present.

Hello Itsinthebagnow.
Thank you for sharing your own predicament. I too suffer from progressively debilitating RA and wonder whether the end result might be akin to the effects of stroke that I allude to in the rhymes. I recall having an elderly client whose fingers were bent backwards at more than 90degrees with Osteoarthritis. When asked how he managed, his simple response was 'with difficulty', and yet he did manage and managed to keep his sense of humour despite being in obvious severe pain. He seemed to be a role-model and an inspiration for anyone who might be facing similar problems.
Best wishes
Bill

Living with Your Ostomy | Hollister