The weather is turning cool and the best time of the year is fast approaching.  This means that I am beyond getting excited.  Every year I look forward to a specific season.  This season brings me immense joy and allows me to get back in touch with nature and feel refreshed.  There is so much more to it then just fun, but manliness as well.  I think I enjoy this season the most because I take off a week from work and spend that time with great friends and family or alone in the woods.  It brings lots of memories and allows me to spiritually reconnect and reflect on the year. The time I am able to take to do this allows me to get a new look on life and is flat out spiritual

This is hunting season and more specifically deer season.  I say all these things because I want you to know how important it was for me to be able to continue to do this successfully with an ostomy.  There is so much more to life than an ostomy I was incredibly worried that my favorite part of the year would be destroyed by my own body.  It hurts to think of it that way and it was psychologically troubling and worrying for me. It is because it is such an important refreshing time for me.  This is my time to talk to God and be alone with life.  Guess what I didn’t need to worry about it at all and neither do you.  So how am I able to do this with an ostomy. Let me give you a few tips.

There are a lot of aspects to think about when hunting and things to plan for that make it challenging.  One thing to know is that when hunting scent is everything.  It is the area in deer hunting that humans are the most deficient in.  We have a much lower sense of smell than most animals and especially deer. So hunters for centuries have attempted to mask their smell.  This worried me because I was literally carrying my human feces around in a bag that was most likely more open to being smelled than it would be without.  This terrified me as a hunter.  So I took to researching what to do.  I found the idea that getting the best ostomy supplies and gear that gave me the best adhesion and seals would be a start.  So I found a company that offered free samples of  Ostomy Supplies and I got to work.  I tried lots of products until I found one that would allow me to move in the woods silently and with the perfect seal. This was a godsend and I was so happy to find a great company to help me. 

So fight for what you love to do and don’t give up on enjoying life to its fullest. There is so much more than simply giving up on things you love.   It is worth finding gear that fits your life instead of simpyl giving it all up.  Work hard for what you want and try to overcome it all as a challenge. That is what I find fun about hunting and now about keeping up with my stoma. 

This is my favorite time of year when it comes to being outside. Many people would think that I would enjoy the summer or warmer months, but it is the cooler seasons that I enjoy the most.  It is simply because I enjoy being outside and doing active things.  Being active in the cold is much more enjoyable to me than being active in the summer. I am not a big fan of all the sweat and nastiness that comes along with it.  I especially enjoy being outside and being active with my stoma in the winter because I am able to wear super baggy and comfortable clothing and not be judged at all.  It is a cool thing that I enjoy doing.

Just last year I was able to do a big canoe trip in Canada.  It was a really incredible time to spend in the boundary waters.  It was planned to be with about 10 guys which turned out to be 11 in the end.  We had to put a third person in a canoe which made things a little interesting.  But it was nice to have an extra person for all the portages.  But many people thought it was unwise fo me to be able to go with a stoma and all my ostomy gear.  It simply baffled me that anyone would think that would stop me from being able to go out and enjoy a full life and a nice fishing vacation.

When you have major plans in life I am not one to simply stop doing things that I love for my stoma.  Having an ostomy was not the end of my life, but the ability to enjoy it much more.  It is my best advice to anyone who just got an ostomy to instantly to thinking that you may not be able to do something.  Instead think of all the things that are a bit wild and crazy and make plans to go and do them.  Your stoma will not hold you back if you don’t let it.  There really is no reason to not plan on doing what you normally do.  I enjoy being outside and fishing and enjoying the great outdoors.  Canoeing long distances and portaging is something that is 100% possible with a stoma.  I will admit that I probably trained more than any of the people who went on the adventure with me, but that was simply because I didn’t want anything bad to happen because of me.  My stoma does make me a little more conscious of being in shape and not getting into hernia issues due to my own weakness.

So if anything my stoma keeps me in better shape than just about everyone I know.  It keeps me in the gym working on getting my body into a great physical condition to be able to adventure worry-free.  That is my main goal is to get good ostomy gear that keeps me from worrying about my seal or ostomy bag having any issues.  So I would suggest finding gear that works really well with your body.  Ask pharmacists and doctors about new things that are out that may help your body type.  I always try to keep up with gear so I can keep up with my adventures.

There are a lot of things in life that are not normal.  But we all have things that we have to do every day and in a way that brings us all together.  Stomas and ostomy care are something most people are not even aware of in their daily lives. I also had no idea what they were until my mom had to undergo surgery to correct her irregular bowel movements.  It was scary, but a thing that saved her joy in life.

The harsh part of life was that she would literally go weeks without producing a bowel movement.  This is simply awful. She would be in so much pain and her stomach and colon would be so swollen. Like many other people with this problem, she assumed it was just bad eating habits or an ailment that would eventually correct itself. But this was not normal and not her fault.  After years of pain she consulted a doctor about what the real issue could be. This should have been done so much sooner.

It took a specialist to really get things back on track. My mom’s gastrologists recommended different medications and stretching exercises to try to relieve her colon and help with her pain. Again, months passed and not much had changed. The gastrologist ran more tests and determined her colon was much larger than it should be. Normal colons are about five feet in length while hers actually ended up measuring over 8 feet long! That made for a big problem even though I didn’t know why at the time.

Now at least we knew that this was the issue. Her colon was too long and curvy for anything to properly exit. He decided surgery was obviously the best bet. He was going to remove her excess colon and then re-attach it to her small intestine. First, though, he had to create a stoma to ensure the surgery was working properly. So now the learning curve had to start.  This meant my mom had to learn ostomy care and make sure everything stayed nice, clean, and sterile. They were unsure if this would be a temporary or permanent solution. But ti was time to step up and go all the way.

Understanding is really important in this time especially when things get wierd.  My mom was at one time a nurse’s aide so she understood the importance of sterilization and cleaning numerous times a day. She also was not grossed out by bodily fluids, so that was a plus. I would imagine most people would be grossed out by the fact of having to handle feces multiple times a day. My mom was just relieved her stomach was not swollen and she was not in pain anymore. She said she honestly would’ve kept her stoma until the day that she died if that meant no more pain.

But this for her was not a permanent thing. The doctor decided to reconnect the small and large intestine to the bowel and she could continue living a normal life. Her stoma was a stepping stone on the path to a pain free life. She said she would like everyone with a stoma and ostomy bag to know that it really does get easier and it is not that big of a deal. Which was fantastic.

There are a few things that matter when you are born.  Who you are and who you will become are vastly dependent on where you live.  It is amazing the culture that influences our lives.  Even if you have a medical condition like a stoma your culture will totally change who you will become and put a bit of influence on you.  I grew up in the Midwest United States.  Now for some, that means I grew up around corn, politeness, and the bible belt. What it means to most of the people in sports is that I grew up in basketball country.  Myself, I come from the Hoosier state and that means everyone plays basketball.  It is a natural sport that everyone knows how to play.  I spent days, weeks, and literally months of my life playing basketball. 

I found it kept me healthy and gave me many life lessons.  Winning, losing, and working with a team of different people teaches lots of lessons.  Now I find myself playing basketball a little less and with a little more ostomy gear.  Yes, I have a stoma and I still play basketball.  It is a contact sport, but there are some incredible prodcuts that help overcome any issues.  You can now get shields that block damage or leaks from happening.  I use this with an amazing belt and have never had an issue.  Because of this, never for a minute did I think I would stop having fun just because I have to take a bag around with me on my abdomen. So I wanted to share a few tips on things I have noticed help the most when I lace up my basketball shoes and get to hooping. 

But just like having a shield is probably the most important part of a contact sport there are other areas that are also helpful to make sports amazing.  Make sure you are wearing the right clothing.  So does this mean I need to wear armor when I am on the basketball court? No, not at all. Instead just wear loose clothing, like most people do when they play basketball.  I prefer moisture wicking t-shirts and regular elastic basketball shorts.  Now I will try to purchase all my ostomy supplies in materials to match.  If my ostomy bag is not moisture-wicking then it will get very sweaty and leave a huge sweat stain on my shirt.  That is just a little weird and people will play the game differently when they are around you.  They won’t guard you as hard and it’s just annoying and everyone will make a fuss about it.  

Now all my friends would never play me any differently, but new people are new and will always hesitate to guard a guy who may be carrying a bag of poo with him.  Honestly, I don’t blame anyone and I keep my spirits up and most people laughing.  Because hey, life and why not.  But I still like to avoid that situation and just play ball like normal and lose fitting moisture-wicking clothes help a lot.  I also add a belt to my attire. No not a dress belt or anything but it’s basically a body band that goes around my abdomen to keep everything in place.  Find a good one and you will be able to run around just like normal.  Be safe and have fun.