(photo is not my stomach...its an example)
It has been a while since I posted, but a lot has happened. This summer we discovered that I had a fistula between the rectum and vagina. It led to discharge no one wants. We didn't know what caused the fistula (hole) if it was chemo or cancer growing, but it needed to be dealt with.
In September I reached out to my Fargo Surgeon, he looked at all my various scans and reports and he called me one day during lunch. We talked and he informed me he was operating on me the following week. Ok! He said he was doing a diverting colostomy to help the fistula heal.
September 13th we head to Fargo. I do pre-op and check in early on the 14th. The surgery took place, I woke up in the ICU. My blood pressure was wacky. The fistula was caused by cancer eating away again inside me. It was attacking what was left of my colon, it was growing on the scar tissue covering my belly button area, Dr. Sticca removed what he could and put in a colostomy.
Let's jump to now....life with a colostomy. I now poop into a bag attached to my left belly area. It takes a bit of time to learn how to attach, how to empty, how to keep it clean etc. And let's not forget that my diet changes. There are now foods I am no longer able to eat as they will not go through my intestines into my bag. NO MORE POPCORN!!
I feel food go through my insides, I feel it go in the bag. But at night, I feel the bag fill 3 to 4 times a night. I am scared that it will leak, so I get up to empty it, clean the opening, etc. This process takes about 20 minutes, at 4x a night, and it makes for tired days. I am still regaining strength and healing ( 2 little holes opened up on my incision line) and have stopped chemotherapy until I am fully healed. It is a slow process.
I am still fighting, just a bit slower right now. Be thankful for the life you have, it can change in a moment.