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Stoma

Podcasts are undoubtably a brilliant form of self care. Putting those headphones in and escaping from the outside world, you can curate what you need in that moment. I listen mostly when I am doing something arduous like making dinner, ironing or running a long distance. In this blog I am sharing some of my favourites, covering a varied spectrum of topics. These topics serve me well through education, mindfulness and laughter. If you have any recommendations don’t hesitate to message me over on Instagram @gutsymum I would love to hear what you listen to! The POODCAST @the_poodcast Now this is one for the drive home where after a long and stressful day, you literally need to laugh out loud....

October was a very special time for me as I entered my first 10K race in Cardiff, South Wales. Whatever possessed me to do it you ask? How many of you who are reading this with a chronic illness have found they can’t be as active as they once were? For me it was like a light switch was flicked and I couldn’t do anything without being in pain anymore. Its debilitating, demoralising and can lead you down a dark path mentally with the mental health benefits you loose over night. My health journey has been quite the fair ground ride. Born with Hirschsprungs Disease, multiple surgeries, 3 stomas and having a child which has the same yet more severely,...

Tomorrow (Saturday 2nd October) is World Ostomy Day. This post, I thought I'd share with you some stoma facts (thanks to many great resources & my experience). What better time to share some facts than around World Ostomy Day?!

It feels like it was only yesterday that my Instagram feed was glittered with beautiful photos of ostomates across the world, showing what World Ostomy Day means to them. For most of us who use the platform to document their journey living with an ostomy, its a daily occurrence, yet what is it about World Ostomy Day that makes it that much more special? I’ll share with you what it means to me. It means seeing everyone the same as me, rocking their bag, being raw and relatable, sharing the positives and the negatives. I feel seen. I feel my five year old ostomate is seen. That is the power of this day. It doesn’t make the content shared less...

I have spoken a lot about how following social media pages of ostomates leading up to my surgery last Summer really helped me feel prepared for life with a stoma bag. For all the negativity that social media use is spoken of, the positives have more than outweighed them for myself. I started my account to share life as a mum with a baby ostomate, then not having a stoma personally. I used the platforms to connect with other parents in the same position, and look for practical advice where life experience from others provided answers that the medical world could not. Life experience is like a precious diamond. A small call for advice on a closed parents group on...

I’m back again guys following a lovely holiday with my family! We have always stayed in the UK since we had our baby ostomate now 5 years old, so current circumstances haven’t made any difference to us choosing to visit the beautiful Exmouth in Devon. Despite a few wet days at the start, parts of the UK entered a heatwave with temperatures entering late 20s/early 30s. This was my first holiday as an ostomate, but going on staycations for five years with my little one Jake meant you would think there wouldn’t be many surprises. I felt pretty organised with the only difference being myself to care for during bag leaks, hoping that Jakes stoma didn’t feel left out and...

I started blogging about having a little one with a stoma in 2016. I used Instagram as a platform to share my story in the hope of helping in the way many had for me by sharing the highs and the lows of having a baby with Hirschsprungs Disease. The bowel disease which affects 1 in 5000 babies a year in the UK, is caused by the nerve cells in the intestines needed to move stool along into the rectum for toileting (known as ganglion cells) not being present. This causes the body unable to remove its own waste, with the tummy starting to distend and very little to no poo being passed. Surgery is essential with bowel washouts required...

As soon as your child expresses an interest in going to the same club as their best mate, the search begins to secure a taster session, work out how it will fit around your schedule, and if it is affordable. If your child doesn’t have an additional learning need or special need have you ever stopped to consider the risks in them doing it anyway? Starting such a thing takes a gigantic leap of faith as a parent. The protective instinct for a child you have watched go through multiple health issues and maybe surgeries burns strong, and part of you may not want them to enter such activities. Despite this, deep down you know that if they are at...

I had the phone call a few weeks in advance for my ileostomy surgery last Summer during lockdown. We had to isolate as a family for 10 days and I was in no means mentally prepared. With Covid I didn’t expect to have the surgery anytime soon giving us all quite the shock! A few weeks is much more than some people get with many stomas formed as the result of an emergency surgery where patients wake up to find one without even know what a stoma is. Having a son with one already and having one as a baby temporarily meant I was no stranger to stomas.  I went in to surgery thinking I knew exactly what to expect...

Hey! My name is Charlie, I am 28 and have been part of the Comfizz Team for over 10 years and this is my J-pouch story. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) in 2009 which resulted in me having my colon removed and having a temporary ileostomy (for about 18 months) I will not go into too much detail about this as I am here to speak about my J-pouch. I had three surgeries in total, first one to remove my colon, second one to create the J-pouch and the third one to connect everything together. It was not a difficult decision for me to agree to the J-pouch surgery. I was only 16 at the time and felt...