Its World IBD Day on Monday! Again!
Funny - its a year since I started writing this blog! World IBD day has come round again and I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the last year ....
A year ago I started writing the blog as an outlet for me to share my experiences of living with a stoma, and to help raise awareness of IBD. It has become a way for me to work through some of the issues that I have had to face as well as being a way into the wonderful online support network that exists for ostomates.
Through writing the blog I have learnt to rationalise many of the day to day issues that come with having an ileostomy - it has been a way for me to express how I feel whether anger and frustration or nerves and uncertainty. I have become more confident and less self conscious about my Stoma and I have found away of sharing the ups and downs with my friends. After I published my first blog posts I had several friends respond sharing some of their own experiences with bowel conditions.
I have discovered a wonderful world of online support whether on Facebook, Twitter, websites or other blogs and I have become part of that. I feel privileged to have come into to contact with some amazing and inspirational people .... Who are fighting and showing incredible strength every day.
I began the blog to start to help raise awareness of IBD, with my husband's help we then designed and published our website www.stom-life.co.uk that shares both our experiences with Colitis. I wouldn't wish our experiences on anyone else but if in some small way we can raise awareness and share some limited support then maybe our experiences will make someone else's easier!
Tomorrow for World IBD Day I will be selling cakes in the staff workroom at work. Most of the people I work with know about my illness but some don't... So I have linked the fliers and emails to the website to help them understand...and maybe just maybe the information they read will help someone else?
A year ago I hadn't run round the Olympic park, I was a long way from making a decision about having my final op and I was much less confident about dealing with my Stoma...today I am much more confident about living with a Stoma, have climbed and swung through trees, changed my bag in a portaloo and I'm a blogger! What will the nest year bring? Who knows.... Hopefully a final operation to remove my rectal stump, and medically at least closure to that part of my story, there will be lots more ups and some downs, bags will leak, people will make comments or judgements I don't like or that upset me... But life will go on.
Tomorrow is world IBD Day... What will you do to help raise awareness? Wear purple, share a blog or tweet, tell someone else....even just talk about poo! Tell your story: #myccukstory
A year ago I started writing the blog as an outlet for me to share my experiences of living with a stoma, and to help raise awareness of IBD. It has become a way for me to work through some of the issues that I have had to face as well as being a way into the wonderful online support network that exists for ostomates.
Through writing the blog I have learnt to rationalise many of the day to day issues that come with having an ileostomy - it has been a way for me to express how I feel whether anger and frustration or nerves and uncertainty. I have become more confident and less self conscious about my Stoma and I have found away of sharing the ups and downs with my friends. After I published my first blog posts I had several friends respond sharing some of their own experiences with bowel conditions.
I have discovered a wonderful world of online support whether on Facebook, Twitter, websites or other blogs and I have become part of that. I feel privileged to have come into to contact with some amazing and inspirational people .... Who are fighting and showing incredible strength every day.
I began the blog to start to help raise awareness of IBD, with my husband's help we then designed and published our website www.stom-life.co.uk that shares both our experiences with Colitis. I wouldn't wish our experiences on anyone else but if in some small way we can raise awareness and share some limited support then maybe our experiences will make someone else's easier!
Tomorrow for World IBD Day I will be selling cakes in the staff workroom at work. Most of the people I work with know about my illness but some don't... So I have linked the fliers and emails to the website to help them understand...and maybe just maybe the information they read will help someone else?
A year ago I hadn't run round the Olympic park, I was a long way from making a decision about having my final op and I was much less confident about dealing with my Stoma...today I am much more confident about living with a Stoma, have climbed and swung through trees, changed my bag in a portaloo and I'm a blogger! What will the nest year bring? Who knows.... Hopefully a final operation to remove my rectal stump, and medically at least closure to that part of my story, there will be lots more ups and some downs, bags will leak, people will make comments or judgements I don't like or that upset me... But life will go on.
Tomorrow is world IBD Day... What will you do to help raise awareness? Wear purple, share a blog or tweet, tell someone else....even just talk about poo! Tell your story: #myccukstory
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