Greetings Fellow Earthlings,
Well it's the end of summer and back to work for your hard slogging editor. Would you believe medium hard slogging? Would you believe not slogging at all? I knew you would.
The theme of this month's newsletter is life with an ostomy, or as I like to call it, having my health back. Apart from a tricky knee I consider myself in pretty good condition. I am fending off that one thing no one can avoid - aging - and winning most of the skirmishes, well so far anyway.
Jenny's camp report, featured after our fearless leader's two bits, talks about the boy our group sponsored to camp this summer. He was hesitant about going at first but ended up having a really good time. As I was reading I realized that even though you go into something new (like an ostomy) with a bit of trepidation, after a while and with a positive attitude, things can work out well.
Even temporary ostomies can take some time to get used to. Because temporary ostomies are usually made to relieve an acute medical condition the recipient usually faces an unexpected change in body image. This can cause psychological stresses in addition to the usual challenges facing new ostomates. There is also the temptation to not deal with the psychological stresses because the condition is temporary. However the stresses are current and real and if not addressed can cause secondary tensions with family and friends. It is always better to actively make things better today than to wait for it to get better tomorrow. As a wise man once said, "Life is what happens to you while you are waiting for things to improve."
My hope for you is that as you read through these articles you can charge up your positives and give the negatives a good zap. Keep a copy of Dr Philips article on coping with an ostomy around and review it when you need a boost. Come out to the meetings and interact with people like yourself who have been there, who can empathize and can give you a hand up when you need it.
So until next time
Stay well
Bob |
