Hello fellow ostomates.
Recently, I agreed to write a few rhymes for my wife's weekly 'stroke-group' and it occurred to me that anyone with a stoma would be so much worse off if they were to suffer a stroke and be left with the typical after-effects of :
1) Having one hand/arm useless
2) Having one leg dysfunctional
3) Having cognitive impairment
4) Having speech impediment ( 0aphasia)
The rhyme (below) tries to envisage what it might be like to be struck down with a stroke and be left with the after effects, if the sufferer was also an ostomate.
Best wishes
Bill
AT A STROKE (2).
It should be said I have no bum
so all waste food comes from my tum,
through what is called a ‘stoma’ hole,
which helps me try to keep control.
There’re many things I need to do
to manage what is wayward poo,
I need my hands and arms for this
if I am not to come amiss.
I also need a functioning brain
to make sure poo and pee will drain
from my stoma to the loo
without a mess from wayward poo.
In days gone by my legs were good
so, I had little doubt I could
get to the toilet in good time
to manage all that grime and slime.
But, at a stroke, my life would change,
my mind and body became strange
and would not work the way it had
which made my life both sad and bad.
At a stroke, I found I landed
in a world where single-handed
seemed simply to be not enough
to manage all my stoma stuff.
On top of that, I could not think
how I could manage not to stink
when I could not get to the loo
to rid myself of wayward poo.
Having a stoma is no joke,
yet there are those who, at a stroke
might find themselves in deeper shit
whilst trying hard to manage it.
Be Withers 2022
Recently, I agreed to write a few rhymes for my wife's weekly 'stroke-group' and it occurred to me that anyone with a stoma would be so much worse off if they were to suffer a stroke and be left with the typical after-effects of :
1) Having one hand/arm useless
2) Having one leg dysfunctional
3) Having cognitive impairment
4) Having speech impediment ( 0aphasia)
The rhyme (below) tries to envisage what it might be like to be struck down with a stroke and be left with the after effects, if the sufferer was also an ostomate.
Best wishes
Bill
AT A STROKE (2).
It should be said I have no bum
so all waste food comes from my tum,
through what is called a ‘stoma’ hole,
which helps me try to keep control.
There’re many things I need to do
to manage what is wayward poo,
I need my hands and arms for this
if I am not to come amiss.
I also need a functioning brain
to make sure poo and pee will drain
from my stoma to the loo
without a mess from wayward poo.
In days gone by my legs were good
so, I had little doubt I could
get to the toilet in good time
to manage all that grime and slime.
But, at a stroke, my life would change,
my mind and body became strange
and would not work the way it had
which made my life both sad and bad.
At a stroke, I found I landed
in a world where single-handed
seemed simply to be not enough
to manage all my stoma stuff.
On top of that, I could not think
how I could manage not to stink
when I could not get to the loo
to rid myself of wayward poo.
Having a stoma is no joke,
yet there are those who, at a stroke
might find themselves in deeper shit
whilst trying hard to manage it.
Be Withers 2022
