There are some things in life that are simply not worth giving up. For me, I try to keep the things that I love an open possibility no matter what the cost. But if you find out that an ostomy surgery is going to be scheduled and it is for you, your mind starts to wonder. If this is you I want you to know that you most likely won't have to wonder about the possibility of going out and being active outside again. I was totally afraid that my outdoor life would end once I got my stoma, but in fact, I was totally wrong. I had a lot of fears that were not necessary and completely wrong. This was a wonderful thing to find out, but a lot of it was more along the lines of me learning the hard way. I had seen many people simply give up and live a sedentary lifestyle with a stoma in I was totally not a fan of it at all. That is why I decided to step up my writing game and my availability to talk to those who are new to having a stoma. My goal has been to give a truthful account of what it is like to get a stoma and how you can completely live an amazingly active and even wild lifestyle with a stoma.
The ability to go outside and enjoy the great outdoors was a part of my life that I didn't want to lose. I have always been an avid hiker, backpacker, and jogger. These things are what give me joy on a daily basis and something that I really like to do. So to me letting them go was not going to be a possibility unless there was no other choice. My journey to being outside has been just that a journey. It takes a little time to go from the hospital to the great outdoors. And for me, it took lots of research and time.
I first looked up what others had done and their advice was to get back into the gym or into the outdoor activities slowly. Even if your body is still in great shape it's important to make sure the rest of your body that just got through surgery catches up. You are now more prone to having hernias and no one wants that to happen. So for me, it was a process of heading to the gym and walking on the treadmill. This was a huge step because it was outside my home and neighborhood and had a possibility of bad things happening in public. So that is why I started slow and just walked for some time. After a week, I added elevation and then slowly moved into doing ellipticals too. It took me a few months to feel confident in my gear and in my ability to jog in public. But each step was a psychological win and helped me move into a place that I could feel safe and be confident.
I highly suggest hopping into social media and finding people with stoma's who workout and enjoy the outdoors. Look at what they do and how they live. It is really important to be able to do this and enjoy their journey and share yours with them as well.
