Well, poop!!!

This post might be TMI for some people.  But it's my reality, so sometimes I will talk about different things.  I found this picture: 

This is what I will post at the beginning of any post that might contain TMI for some people.  I think I need a name for this guy.  Any suggestions???

 

 

So, ya'll know I LOVE my nephews.  They are such a joy to me!!  I'm so thankful for them during the last 5 months!!! 

 

The other day, I was playing with both of them and I smelled poop.  I had to laugh because I wasn't sure if it was one of them or ME!!!  I feel so much like Thing 2 most days.  He's 10 months old and we mostly worry about his eating, his pooping, and his sleeping.  Those are the main things I worry about these days too!  HA!     

 

 This whole ostomy thing ...... well, I hate it!  I hate always having the fear that there will be a leak.  I hate having to change it regularly!  (I have to change it every 4-7 days)  Whenever I roll over during the night, I hate constantly having to feel my ostomy to make sure it's not full.  Sometimes it's so full of air, it'll pop.  REALLY?!  Are you freakin' kidding me?!?!  Yep, so I have explosive poop-- just like Lil L.  It sucks to have to change your sheets in the middle of the night!! 

 

I've learned a lot about how my guts work throughout the day.  Did you know that sucking on a mint puts a lot of air in your guts?  I didn't either until I had to deal with it directly!!!  I know more than I want to know about air in my guts!!! 

 

Showering is another thing I have to think about now.  The only time I feel perfectly normal is when I can shower without the ostomy bag.  I always shower right before I put on a new bag.  That's when I have the chance to clean my stoma, check the skin around it and make sure it's not breaking down, and really try to get all of the medical tape off of my stomach!!  I can shower with the ostomy bag on and do often.  It just isn't a normal experience.  Think about hanging a ziploc bag on your stomach with super strong medical tape.  Yep, fun times!!

 

I thought about it tonight that, originally, I wasn't supposed to have an Ostomy.  The original plan was to remove the tumor and reconnect my intestine.  Well, because one side was normal size and the other size was SO swollen, they weren't the same size and couldn't be reconnected. 

 

I have learned though, just how many people have ostomies for their whole life!  It's amazing.  I guarantee that you probably know someone who has a permanent ostomy and you don't even know it.  It really is amazing!  I mean, as much as I hate it, if I didn't have it what would I do?  What did people do before them? 

 

So, little plastic bag on my stomach, I hate that I have to think about you so much.  But I guess I'm really thankful that you're there!!