There is so much to life and even in 2021 when people are starting to vacation again we all go through lots of hard times.  It was certainly a crazy year, but the reason you are probably here is that it is your stoma.  I know that this year may be a little different.  But the fact is that once you get past the basics and get into a regular routine, your own life will pretty much return to normal.  That is more of a gift of hope than anything.  It is crazy to think that so many people believe their joy in life will end when they get a stoma. We are all looking forward to living like it’s 2019 again.

To me being active and enjoying fun things is important.  I am not in the best of shape, but I enjoy being outside and enjoying nature.  For me, that means keeping in pretty good cardio shape and also learning to keep extra ostomy gear on me.  I am now a professional at keeping my gear dry and I know that it sounds like a weird thing to say.  But I love hiking and to me keeping my ostomy gear safe and secure is important because even though I live a pretty normal life, my gear makes me feel safe.  Don’t be afraid to go out and hike or be active outside.

I worked hard to get into the shape to do this.  It didn’t happen overnight and instead, it took me time to get my body in shape enough to be active.  It is no great feat, but I spend a few months slowly working in the gym to make sure I was building muscle and doing it safely.  I was so afraid of hernias and getting injured, but I think starting slow is a good thing to do.  Being active and happy is part of what brings joy to my life.  I think they go hand in hand so I wanted to make sure I didn’t ruin anything.  So I started to walk and walk inclined.  It was a bit hard to do that at first, but I learned to build muscle in my abs and start really rocking the incline.  

Months in a gym was how it all started. But soon after I was out doing my favorite things in the woods.  I had some issues and I did not trust my gear.  I was really fearful of something happening in the woods.  For that part of my journey, I simply started asking for help.  I talked to my local pharmacist who gave me all his knowledge on how to be active with a stoma and related many stories he had been told during his time of selling ostomy gear.  It was great to hear all of that information and then he told me to call big companies and ask them about gear made specifically for that task.  I was still a little afraid, but I decided to finally do it one day and learned of specialized gear and other ways to stay safe outside. I like using a stoma guard to ensure I am safe. But you do what works best for you and you will be OK!

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