We make wishes on fallen eyelashes, on birthday candles, and shooting stars. Having recently watched Aladdin and The Wizard of Oz, it makes me wonder what I would wish for if I had a genie or a wizard.
The obvious wish: a cure for IBD. But no passive wish will take away the disease that has changed my life forever.
Today I participated in an ostomy visitor training program, so when someone has an ostomy surgery, I'm called to go and speak with them and hear their concerns. At the training, we each had to introduce ourselves and why we wanted to be a visitor. I expressed my belief that people with ostomies can do anything and everything and that once they believe it, they can do it. Having an ostomy is a severely traumatic experience, no matter how prepared you are for it. I was so relieved to have mine done and so happy for it, but it was terribly painful and it was frightening, I had to relearn how to walk, it felt like my entire abdomen had been ripped apart - because it had. I was the youngest in the training session by several decades, but we all shared an unspeakable and unbreakable bond - we are all bag people.
And so, my wish is not only to let new ostomates know that their lives will be amazing, but to let everyone know that an ostomy doesn't mean anything besides the fact that you poop in a bag. There are so many advantages to having an ostomy, and life after all, comes to those who live it.
Jennie
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