The last time I wrote on, or much less visited, this site was due to my ileostomy reversal surgery in January 2015. Since then I’ve been hospitalized three times and undergone an additional surgery. Perhaps I avoided it because it was an acknowledgment of my problem new way of life? Maybe I didn’t want to regurgitate the inner […]

What will hopefully be my last surgery will be performed in three days.  The surgeon will be reversing my ileostomy, and I can’t stress enough how ready I am to rid myself of this bag.  I know folks live with these; however, they live with a properly-placed stoma.  During the first surgery my stoma was […]

“Belly Button Window” is a Jimi Hendrix song, but my use is much different than his.  My belly button window is referencing my “ileostomy appliance”(aka: “my bag” – to learn more take a gander).  The bag is a clear plastic.  I can peek at it and see what my food looks like immediately after leaving the […]

I was chatting with a good friend of mine the other day, and he sheepishly admitted that he was reading some previous posts on this very site while sitting on the toilet at home.  Apologizing in advance, he told me that after seeing what I have been through with Ulcerative Colitis it dawned on him that […]

We put a man on the moon.  We landed a probe on a comet traveling 84,000 miles an hour.  We can build a perfectly engineered pyramid 481 feet tall without the use of modern technology.  We can do all these things; however, we have yet to develop a better way to evacuate waste from a […]

My goal each day is to feel good for as long as possible.  I had two good days in a row this past week.  I’ve had some skin irritation related to my ileostomy bag, learning the quirks of each bag type poses various hurdles and it is a steady effort to balance my caloric intake.  If I […]

My Aunt Colinda jokingly said today that she hopes she is never admitted to a hospital for exhaustion, because she may never be able to leave.  She and my Uncle Frank stopped by the house today for a visit.  To make sure I am real, alive, healthy, breathing and can still crack a smile.  I […]

It’s where I was supposed to be already.  Like. . . . by Friday.  Due to a sudden and mysterious fever spike,my chances of heading home were swiped, and still remain elusive.  We have yet to determine what caused the spike, but the surgeon thinks it was the removal of the drainage line from one of […]