A Year Gone By

One year ago today, I was having an IR drain removed, being readmitted to the hospital, ultimately removing my jpouch, and receiving a permanent ileostomy.  The nervousness about the situation, it's direness, and pain that went with it was truly the most trying time in my life.  I typically don't honor anniversaries with nary a nod, as I feel each day is it's own celebration, but somehow, this feels slightly different.  The severity of how sick I was, the time pulling through ICU, and the long recovery even after returning home has kept my mind quite busy over the past few weeks.


Life has returned to normal - at least what we consider normal, and we spend more time looking forward than looking backwards or looking into just the next day or the next week.  I have little regret about the decision to moving to a permanent ileostomy and have been able to do all the things I had done before - including being less tied to a bathroom.  Bike riding, working out, even rock climbing - and other than making sure I've emptied my bag, there is no urgency and "Uh oh", and more focus on the tasks at hand.

I thank all the family and friends that helped me through the past two years, and most importantly, my wife who has been with me through the thick of it all.  As much as I love to write, I find it unnecessary to send updates as frequently as I had (as can be easily seen from the past few months) and usually don't have much to say except that things continue to be well.  I hope that this finds those that are suffering through their own personal trials on a road to recovery or a bit of peace.