I often write about all the things I can do now that I have an ostomy – so many things that I couldn’t do when I was sick. But sometimes, pictures can do more than words. Here are a few pics from my last two months in San Diego:
An early morning bird-watching walk with my dad on the beach. After the walk: coffee.
On the Fourth of July we hiked down the cliff to the beach and cooked out and made margaritas…. and when it was too dark to see, I emptied my pouch into a ziploc, double-bagged it, and packed it out. Gross if you think about it, but really, no problem.
Going body surfing in the ocean – there’s nothing like it! I’m careful when I jump on that board and let the wave ride me in because I don’t want to impact my stoma too hard, but so far I’ve had no trouble. I usually wear waterproof tape around the flange when I’m in salt water. I might not need it, but I feel more confident with it.
We hiked from 6,000 ft up to 8,000 ft and enjoyed lunch on top. Some Immodium helped to make this a comfortable hike.
To be up early in the morning and running on a beach like this is something I couldn’t imagine doing when I was sick. I never thought surgery would allow this kind of experience back into my life.
… not to mention the energy and the strength it takes to jog up the cliff. This is what health looks like.
Thanks for posting these photos! I live in Colorado and love to hike, backpack, snowboard, rock climb, do yoga and trail run. Though my surgeon assures me that I will be able to do all these things again eventually, it is still so hard to picture when I am still recovering from my permanent ileostomy surgery in November. I have had some complications with my incision healing and had to get a couple more minor surgeries (due to rejecting some sutures deep in my muscle wall) but am finally on the mend. My surgeon said he may okay me to hike some rougher trails in a few weeks. Yahoo! Have you had any worries about developing a hernia doing more strenuous stuff? That is my one concern, but I am willing to hold off on really strenuous activity for years if I have to. I am just so happy that I will be able to hike again soon! Your photos are reminder of what is to come once I am fully healed. Thanks again!
By: Heidi on February 13, 2011
at 11:34 am
I’m so glad the pictures have had their intended effect! I really don’t worry about hernias. I half-worried about them for a while, but I’m coming up on three years since my surgery, and I have engaged in a lot of different kinds of activity with no problems. I know that something like this could occur, but I’ve decided that I can’t spend energy worrying about it. I try to stay in tune with my body day by day, understanding that I may have different strengths and weaknesses on different days, and modify my activity accordingly. But these tend to be pretty light modifications – like slightly adjusting something in yoga, or holding myself a little light and low on my board when I’m body surfing. But I’ve certainly lifted weight, done situps, yada yada, and so far, so good. Of course, we are all different, and I hope that everybody listens closely to their own body.
By: Emily York on February 13, 2011
at 7:37 pm
I have been healing exponentially since my comment above and am back to snowboarding, swimming and even went on an overnight backpacking trip (with a pretty light load) in April. Your site helped me so much as I prepared for and recovered from surgery. I still come back to it again and again to look up different things. I also just created a blog, Ostomy Outdoors, which features films and writings on getting back into outdoor activities with an ostomy.
http://ostomyoutdoors.wordpress.com/
Thanks again for the inspiring site!
By: Heidi on May 11, 2011
at 8:25 pm
Great! Thanks for the feedback. I added your link to my Ostomy links. Yay!
By: Emily York on May 11, 2011
at 8:34 pm