The Grand Reveal

Hello! So, I have recently decided to become a little more open about my health. Most of my friends and family probably assumed I have already been pretty open especially since I often talk about my left kidney gradually failing on me or the fact that I used to have tons of bowel obstructions growing up. But still, I always kept one fact tightly under wraps because I was afraid of people judging me the wrong way. As a kid, I had one little accident and I figured from that moment on a few classmates thought I was gross and weird because of that accident. I chose not to tell most people outside of my family about this part of my health until this year. One day, I revealed it to one friend as they drove me home from a church activity. I do not recall exactly how the conversation went but it was along these lines:

Me: I wish I can just get out there and date without any worries. But there's...something... that holds me back when I really like anyone..
Friend: What do you mean?
Me: Um.. I have no large intestines.
Friend: And?
Me: I have an ileostomy.
Friend: Your point?
Me: It's a poop bag. Nobody will like me once he finds out I have a poop bag.
Friend: People don't really mind.

I was surprised with my friend's reaction to the news. Turns out people are actually a lot more accepting as adults. Imagine that. Well, most are, there's still some groups that are against certain things but we won't go into that here. I tested this theory with yet another friend, who happened to be studying to be a dietician at the time. I was trying my hand at the renal diet for the first time back around April of this year and it was driving me absolutely nuts! I was with a friend at this one place called The Institute of Religion (a building owned by my faith where people can learn from the Bible, work on their college studies in a cool library, take naps on one of the many couches, and even make food for themselves in a kitchen). As I unpacked my food, this is how the conversation went:

Friend: Okay, let's see what you brought this time. Did you get some fresh fruit this time?
Me: Yup. But this whole thing is so hard to manage! Especially since everything goes through me so fast... Considering the fact that I have no large intestines.
Friend: Wait, how do you poop??
Me (taken-aback): Um.. I have an.. ileostomy?
Friend: Cool!

I think at that point my friendship with this person just grew stronger just by talking about poop. Folks! If you want to create everlasting friendships, talk about poop!

With that said, I have gradually told a couple of more friends over the following months. Another friend wasn't surprised. "I had a feeling you had one." She saw me adjust my bag underneath my pants at one point and she also happens to be a nurse. Normally I keep my bag pretty well concealed so I guess only those with a trained eye actually notice it. Then a few volunteers and nurses in the hospital have encouraged me to create a blog where I may impart some wisdom about having an ileostomy and all the adventures I have had related to it in one way or another. I did a lot of deep thinking and research. I was hesitant at first because I felt like there were already plenty of other fantastic ostomy blogs and I also wanted to reveal this part of my condition to a few more friends in person first.

Then one day I read 1 Corinthians 12. It talks about arms, legs, eyes, all that stuff that we humans love and cherish. Verse 18 reads, "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him." In other words, even though there may already be lots of ostomy blogs out there, each person still has their own perspective in having an ostomy. Who knows, maybe there might be some reader (hi reader!) who is up late at night, feeling pretty frazzled, and just wants a nice, curse-free, informative, and upbeat blog about having an ostomy so they can manage their new life with one.

Stay tuned for my next post! Here is a funny comic to tie you over for now.



Comic credit goes to The Awkward Yeti. My large intestines and portions of small intestines weren't removed because of constipation but it's pretty similar.