20 Years and 2,000 Pouch Changes

20 years ago, waking up from surgery groggy and unaware that I was now a person with an ostomy, I never could have imagined where this 20 year journey was going to take me.

A few weeks ago, in the daily business and blur that is the life of a working Mom, I realized that I had reached a pretty big ostomy milestone, I had been living life, along with my ileostomy for twenty years!

A quick calculation of my 2 times a week changing schedule, I get a five-day wear time from my Convatec Durahesive® wafer, and the result was, over TWO THOUSAND pouch changes!

Seeing that number stopped me in my tracks, could it have been that many? Indeed, it has.

Any time we reach a major landmark in any journey, it gives us pause and allows us to reflect on what we have learned and accomplished.

For someone who has not faced ostomy surgery, they may not truly understand the fact that when I look at those 2,000 pouch changes, I look at them with a true sense of gratitude.

Dr. Brooks created the first Ileostomy in 1850, however the ability to successfully manage our ostomies took a lot of innovation and ingenuity. If only Dr. Brooks, his patients, and the people who lived with ostomies in the first part of the twentieth century could see us now!

When I first was adjusting to life with my ileostomy there was so much to learn and figure out. I relied heavily on my home health nurses, my nurse at Convatec, and other ostomates that were further along in their Ostomy journey.

By the time I celebrated my first Stomaversary managing my stoma, doing pouch changes, and understanding how my stoma was reacting to different foods had become part of my daily life. I had changed my pouch over 100 times by then, it had moved from being a daily challenge to just being part of my hygiene routine; washing my hair, shaving my legs, brushing my teeth, changing my ostomy appliance all fell under the same umbrella.

I was regularly attending support group meetings and was helping newer ostomates as they set out on their journey. Soon I would become Vice President of my local chapter, and even attended my first National Conference and met other ostomates from around the Country, even other younger people, which allowed me to make friendships I hold dear to this day.

By the time I had reached 200 pouch changes, I was a woman in my late twenties with a toddler. I am now in my late forties with an emerging adult son. If not for my life-saving surgery, I would not have been able to give my son the childhood that we all enjoyed so much. Our days were not consumed by my illness, instead they were filled with fun, adventure and experiences that just would not have possible for me when I was struggling through my Ulcerative Colitis diagnosis.

With the unique insight and perspective that these 20 years, and 2,000 pouch changes have provided, I am now looking towards the next chapter in my own ostomy journey.

You can happily find me most days in my role at Ostomysecrets®, where my first-hand insights and perspective helps me offer peer-to-peer to support to our customers. Being able to share what I have learned to help people find success and, with the help of our wonderful products, to create their own stories and life the life they choose.

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