Hi, Welcome to the site.. My nam e is Marsha, an d I've had my ileostomy for more than 50+ years, since I w as a kid of 15 Unlike many, I never named my stoma, and honestly I don't know why. I tend to think of " her " as a she...b ut no clue why. I w as very active in the NYC ostomy assoc...at 15, and when I found a bunch of young adults and teens, we fo unded our own " group", that lasted for about 4 years... There was so m uch that we younger people wanted to talk about ( sex) without the parents and old folks hanging around.. At the time, we also worked with ostomy supply co's and helped test supplies.. aT the time, we were really in the dark ages.. today, there are so many more options than there was back then. Most of my familiy's friends and neighbors new my story, so by the time I married (a
man w ho also had an ostomy) and moved to NJ , I wanted some annonymity. But I still worked ( with little success) to start an ostomy group near home).. After awhile, I gave up on that and was busy living life, returning to school, and raising my kids ( who are now married adults raising kids of t heir own). When I found this group ( mostly Australians at t he time) I thought I had little need for it, since I had been living successfully with the ostomy for over 40 years.. But I joined anyway, and it felt like coming home... I decided to pay the permanent memebership....since my ostomy is permanent, and I've enjoyed the friendship, help and support I've gotten, and received over the years... I wish you the best of luck.. feel free to ask questions, post ideas, or share ideas and thoughts...we're all here to listen, and to help when needed... Marsha
