Keep It Simple Stupid
I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I feel relief knowing that I have made a decision that will help me let go of the past and move forward with my life. I find myself looking forward to surgery and taking the future oriented energy of choice and possibility and grounding it in a reality free of the risk of colon cancer.
There is also a certain, and albeit, surreal quality to my life at the moment knowing that my days of sitting on the throne are numbered; that one of my bodily rhythms will be forever altered and the satisfaction of a good old fashioned BM will be forever lost...
On the plus side though no one will ever be able to accuse me of letting one rip :)
I am also grateful for those who helped me through a week long crash course in living with an ileostomy. In less than a week several people with ileostomies themselves and/or those who know people with ileostomies have generously taken time out of their day to speak with me and help me work through my fear that people with ileostomies spend their days on the couch hiding from the light of day, wearing baggy clothes and feeling sorry for themselves.
Thankfully this turns out to be quite the opposite of the truth. You can ead a physically active life while wearing the same wardrobe and have a well adjusted social, family, and professional life.
And I get that I have yet to have the surgery and that talking is one thing and living with it is another. I also know that there will be an adjustment period AND with all of this I know that I will be okay.
The surgery is still set for Monday December 1st at Saint Paul's Hospital. I will find out the time tomorrow and if the recuperating period is anything like my last surgery I will probably feel like an old old man for most of December... So I will spend my time between now and Monday running odd errands, finishing my Christmas shopping, decorating the tree (yes I know it's still November) and doing anything else that does not fit with the lifestyle of an 80 year old man.
I will also make a concerted effort to eat copious amounts of obnoxious food that cannot be transformed into baby food via a blender --> which is what I imagine my diet will be like for the next month or so.
- Reduce complexity of surgery
- Reduce number of surgeries required
- Choose a design that is the least prone to failure.
I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I feel relief knowing that I have made a decision that will help me let go of the past and move forward with my life. I find myself looking forward to surgery and taking the future oriented energy of choice and possibility and grounding it in a reality free of the risk of colon cancer.
There is also a certain, and albeit, surreal quality to my life at the moment knowing that my days of sitting on the throne are numbered; that one of my bodily rhythms will be forever altered and the satisfaction of a good old fashioned BM will be forever lost...
On the plus side though no one will ever be able to accuse me of letting one rip :)
I am also grateful for those who helped me through a week long crash course in living with an ileostomy. In less than a week several people with ileostomies themselves and/or those who know people with ileostomies have generously taken time out of their day to speak with me and help me work through my fear that people with ileostomies spend their days on the couch hiding from the light of day, wearing baggy clothes and feeling sorry for themselves.
Thankfully this turns out to be quite the opposite of the truth. You can ead a physically active life while wearing the same wardrobe and have a well adjusted social, family, and professional life.
And I get that I have yet to have the surgery and that talking is one thing and living with it is another. I also know that there will be an adjustment period AND with all of this I know that I will be okay.
The surgery is still set for Monday December 1st at Saint Paul's Hospital. I will find out the time tomorrow and if the recuperating period is anything like my last surgery I will probably feel like an old old man for most of December... So I will spend my time between now and Monday running odd errands, finishing my Christmas shopping, decorating the tree (yes I know it's still November) and doing anything else that does not fit with the lifestyle of an 80 year old man.
I will also make a concerted effort to eat copious amounts of obnoxious food that cannot be transformed into baby food via a blender --> which is what I imagine my diet will be like for the next month or so.