RennFaireMom's Journey with Colorectal (Colon) Cancer

It is weird, having the bag near my stomach area, and having to monitor it. Also, having it leak at the most inoportune time can make life interesting. It makes things a challange. Knowing that eventually it will be reversed makes it a bit easier, but I am still looking forward to that time.

I had two/thirds of my large intesting removed along with an abcess that formed. I was going to have the ileostomy reversed at the same time, but I was too sick for that to happen. The recovery is slow, but I am alive, and that helps me move forward. I spent almost two weeks in ICU, and another two weeks getting back to eating and having my ileostomy output where it should be. Keeping the output stable is rough for me right now. It's hot in the south and I can't always stay as cool as I need to.

This is the worst of the side effects, because I need to eat to get my strength back, and if I feel sick, I don't want to eat. The anti-nausea meds help, but it's a pain until they kick in.

This hits every once and a while. I work hard at keeping a positive attitude, but I am smart enough to know when I need to cry. I got anxiety attacks when I was in ICU for so long. I was told that is normal, but it still scared me. I'm over them for now, but know how to deal with them if it happens again.