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Growing up, I was a spry child. I loved to be active and hang out with my friends and spend time with my family. Regardless of my situation, I always made the best of things. I was born needing an ostomy procedure to ensure I live a happy, healthy life. I am going to tell you about why I needed an ostomy as well as how my life was growing up. I hope you take the time and listen. 

When I was born, I was born with an imperforate anus. This is a birth defect that affects about one out of every fifty people. This defect generally causes someone to be born without an anal opening or bladder opening. Mainly an anal opening. I was born without an anal opening. When I was born, the doctors told my parents that I would need an ostomy procedure if I wanted to have a good life. Obviously, they said yes without a second thought. I know if I was in their position, I would have done the same thing and would have been horrified to hear that. The procedure did not take all that long, according to my parents, maybe one hour. I’m sure they were petrified in that one hour, however. 

My parents explained all of this to me when I was about ten years old. Obviously, I did not understand much of it, but as I have grown up, I have done my own research to learn more about my situation. In school, I never really got bullied, and I’m grateful for that. Every time I read an article about ostomy, the people who had it would be bullied. I made sure to only tell a select few people about my situation, and they never looked or talked to me any differently. I am glad to have been surrounded by such great people. I was a hard worker in school. I made sure to apply myself to each and every lesson that I learned, mainly because I could not play any sports. Regardless of my not being able to participate in school sports, I was still active by working out, skateboarding, and even snowboarding. I always need to make sure I am careful, though, as I do not want to take a hit to my stoma or ostomy bag. 

I went to college and made sure to apply myself to all my classes. I wanted to become a doctor to help people who are in need of an ostomy procedure like myself. I was dedicated to making sure I could help people that were like me. When I was finally done with school, I got a job almost immediately at a nearby hospital specializing in ostomy surgeries. As a surgeon with an ostomy, it really helps my patients feel confident about getting the procedure as well. 

Growing up with an ostomy bag has not been as rough as some may think. I do feel that I was pretty fortunate to have had it as easy as I did. I never really was bullied, and I was able to stay very active even after my procedure. Going to school to become an ostomy surgeon was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I love helping people who are in a similar situation as me. I have grown to be very confident with my ostomy bag. 

Physical feet with the human body are everywhere.  There are so many incredible stories of people overcoming a myriad of complications and hard times.  I can always be inspired by the great people who have had injuries or surgeries and live with disabilities and still succeed at life.  Many people feel that when they get an ostomy surgery their lives are now finished.  The joy and fun things that they used to do are now somehow not able to be done.  I want to talk about the story of a Mr. Morten.  This man was a professional athlete and his life came crashing down when he found out he had to have his colon removed.

Mr. Morten was a professional bicyclist.  He was an amazing athlete and was at the top of his game-winning many Dutch competitions.  The thought of him stopping his professional career and doing the things he loved the most was abhorrent to him.  Instead of simply giving up on his dreams and his normal life he fought for a new way to live.  Now his main fight was to not give up on his passions and family life.  The idea of not being normal all due to an ostomy bag seemed like defeat and simply silly to him.  So he did not throw in the towel but instead decided to embrace his stoma and learn to overcome any hardship it may cause.  He worked even harder and found the right ostomy gear to work well with his body.

The search for the right ostomy gear is what usually ends up bringing confidence to a person with a stoma.  Finding gear that you trust and that allows you to be active is really important. I think that confidence in your gear allows you to forget you have a stoma and allows you to focus on the things in life that matter.  Mr. Morten decided he was going to be confident and enter an Iron Man Competition.  Not only did he plan to enter one but he planned to compete at a professional level at the highest level of physical fitness in the world.

His goal was to finish in under 11 hours.  His training commenced and in the end, his own training was almost exactly the same as before the stoma.  It really was all in the gear chosen and the timeline to get his body in shape.  He didn’t work too hard to fast and he was able to train nearly the same after the initial workup after his surgery.  So the ability to do great things is in determination and so much of that comes from the heart.  Don’t ever give up on winning or living.  Life can still be incredible and you can overcome so many obstacles even when you think a disability is going to bring you down.

Mr. Morten now has a blog that is always talking about fitness and how to live with an ostomy.  The best way to overcome something hard in my opinion is to not do it alone.  I always suggest finding others in your situation or who have been where you are and learning from them and going through it together.  Even if you are only attached through social media or a blog, you can connect and know that you are not truly alone.