Hello everyone!  I hope everything is going well your way!  I took a bit of hiatus but I am back again!  I just wanted to catch ya’ll up on what’s been going on for the last several months I have not been in touch…

Well, after the major hemorrhage that I had back in April, I had a couple more, however, not quite as major.  For some reason that the doctors still can’t figure out, my RBCs (red blood cell) counts keep dipping on the low side.  I have been either admitted to the hospital or been in the ER at least two to three times after I had the big one.  I just can’t seem to keep my bone marrow producing the blood cells like it should be!  There was this last instance when I was outside planting bushes and my doctors kept calling me and telling me that I should get to the ER and get a blood transfusion because my level was at a 7.3. (The normal level is 12-15) way lower than it should have been.  I thought the reason I was feeling dizzy was due to being dehydrated because of my Crohn’s Disease.  Anyhoo, I told the doctors they would have to wait until I finished planting my bushes or they would die!  It really had gotten that routine it was just a nuisance every time I had to drop everything and go!

I do have some great news for a change…I just got my catheter out last week!  I had mixed feelings before I departed with the catheter because it had been a part of me for 2 1/2 years and kept me hydrated and well.  I still have a little anxiety over this ordeal but I am going to only try and think positive thoughts and I can do this, I know I can!  I was thinking the other day that now I will be able to shower instead of bathe, I can wear bras with straps instead of my strapless bras and I will be able to continue doing yoga!

About 2 weeks ago, my father had a bad wreck so I was down there helping him out.  The day I was to leave and go back home, I changed my bag that morning.  It later turned out to be a big mistake!  Anyhoo, I had been on the road for about an hour when I had to pull over at a gas station and go to the bathroom.  When I got in there, I noticed that my bag had busted because the paste from changing my bag earlier hadn’t cured yet and my seatbelt had been on top of it causing the bust.  I drained the bag and prayed that I could make it home without too much of a mess.  When I got about 30 minutes down the road, my bag was really getting full and I knew I was going to have to pull over and change the whole thing..never done this in public before.

Likely I had brought a couple of extra bags just in case.  I pulled over and brought a couple of things to the bathroom with me.  My plan was to pull my bag off, clean myself up and hurry up and put another one on.  Well, it didn’t go as planned unfortunately.  As soon as I pulled my bag off, the bag overflowed all over the floor and toilet!  I hurried up and put the bag in a ziploc and threw it in the trash.  Then I had placed some supplies where I could get to them to wipe myself off and before I could get there, I was pooping everywhere!!  All over the floor again, my pants and my shirt!  I was literally freaking out at this point!  I hurried up and put the new bag on then had to clean up the mess.  When I walked out, I felt like everyone was staring at me…I figured I pooped on myself and missed something while cleaning it up.

I went straight to my car and didn’t get out again until I was home.  I called and warned my family beforehand that I was going right to the bathroom and clean myself up and put another bag on and get in the bath!  I immediately took my clothes off and put them in the wash and I was a whole new person afterwards.  It did, however, wear me out because I couldn’t rest after that 3 1/2 hour drive.

I’m not sure I will ever change my bag in public again but I do know not to change my bag before going on a long trip!  I should have just waited til I got home.  Another lesson has been learned!  After almost 5 years with my colostomy bag, I still have to take it one day at a time and learn from my experiences what to do and what not to do.  I just hope this helps someone who may be new to all this ostomy stuff not to panic, and they are not out there alone.  We all have troubles and feel down at times, even the people who have had ostomies for a while.  I tell you one thing, I have to laugh at my mishaps because if i didn’t, I would cry.  I may not laugh when it is actually happening, but after I think about it for a bit, and think of how I could have done something differently and how it probably looked like, I have to find some kind of humor to it but learn from it too.

Chow for now!