So......how have you "bag" people been?

I've been too busy lately at my new job as Director of Sales for an OCR  software company to spend any quality time here lately.  I just wanted to check in and see how my ostomy friends are doing.  What have you accomplished lately that you never thought you would be  able to prior to your surgery? How's your summer going? What plans have you made?  How's LIFE???  Don't be afraid to brag or elaborate!!!

BTW, it goes against my grain to say "bag" instead of pouch, but....what the heck!

Life is great!  Motherhood is GREAT!  Being able to help take care of my sister after a surgery she had has been wonderful.  I adore the feeling of running full speed ahead without having to look back...which is what I always had to do while sick...that I couldn't even keep up with my fast pace life while sick.  Well, now I'm striving to stay one step ahead, and succeeding for the post part.

We're going to Colorado in a few weeks to spend time in a cabin deep in the Rocky's in the Frying Pan River Valley.  I'm taking my son on walks and hikes.  I want to go white water rafting with my husband either this or next.  None of this could I have done with the UC. 

Oh, and I'm sure you men could care less, but one my most favorite part of being better?!

I CAN WEAR HEELS AGAIN!!!!!!     No more prednisone...no more flats!  I have so many new shoes it's borderline addiction.  I have everthing from kitten heels to 4" heels.  LOVE THEM!!!

 

Peggy,  I've been working my butt off since I started with this company in March.  Due to budget cuts,  I'm not travelling as much as I did for the first 2 months, but I typically work 15 hours a day nevertheless! They hired me to develop our new legal sales division.  Due to this economy it's been a challenge. For those who are new here...I'm a former sales executive and sales manager with Xerox;  then later spent 15 years as an executive with 2 different legal publishing companies.  And, yeah...I've had an ostomy the whole time!!! A lot of jobs are riding on the success that I can bring to this company.  That, to me, is the real pressure!  But, for what it's worth, no one here knows that I have an ostomy.  I guess that's the message I want to send to the newbies here.  Eventually, your ostomy will become a normal part of you that will be a normal part of your everyday life. YOU CAN DO, AND BECOME, ANYTHING YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME....with or without your ostomy! The choice is yours.....and yours alone!!!

And, at the expense of sounding the like the capatalist that I am...I'm still shopping around for a Lamborghini Diablo. 

Peggy-Thanks for asking!

BTW....you sound happy! You made my day!

Post Edited (vette guy) : 7/8/2009 9:49:23 PM (GMT-6)

Life is ALWAYS good here:) We've done some travelling with more to do this summer and we are looking for a puppy!!! I think we've decided on a rescue puppy of a mix yet to be determined and I am hoping to convince my family to use one of my "patriotic" names...like Liberty(Libby), Patriot(Patty), Star...you get the idea:)

Sounds like your job has its chanllenges and you are enjoying it...that's half the battle! I hope you post a picture when you find that dream car:)

I'm still happily living the single life with my two kitties - my 'timid' child and my 'adhd' child :) They keep me happy and make me laugh so much. I'm also helping moderate a forum by Coloplast that asks for user input in what they want in an appliance which I feel is a very worthwhile thing for all ostomates, as well as still running my own ostomy site and forum.

I don't think I'll ever get married - I'm much too selfish and used to being on my own. I can do what I want, when I want without having to worry about anyone else.

I'm loving my job (admin co-ordinator at a hearing clinic) It's sooooo good to see people who have had Cochlear Implants and the like to have them actually hearing again (maybe not 'hearing' in the same sense as most of you and I hear but much more than they've experienced before). Even those who get hearing aids after not hearing for so long say it's so good just to go out into the carpark and actually hear the bitumen crunching under their feet for the first time.

vette guy said...


BTW, it goes against my grain to say "bag" instead of pouch, but....what the heck!

Actually the UOAA would prefer us call them a prosthesis as a lot of insurance companies in the US tend to treat ostomy supplies as "disposables" and in the same category as tape and gauze and therefore won't cover them. Most other countries won't have to worry about what they call them though cos they get their supplies for free but if you're in the US, maybe it's time to start calling them a prosthesis?

Quote: Unfortunately, in the future, if you want your insurance company or Medicare to cover the costs of these, you are going to have to be aware that they are listed/noted as "prosthetics' and will be more widely accepted in the DME category as such. When they are listed as 'appliances' or 'pouching sytems' they become something that is know as expendable. Well, I sure know that mine is not expendable. I cannot function on a day to day basis without it. If I did not have it, would I be able to leave my house? NO. Would I be able to do anything but sit in the bathroom leaned over a toilet 24/7 ? NO.
Personally, I need this prosthetic to live a normal life. I need this to replace the anus I used to have, but no longer do. I need this to replace the control that was provided by the sphincter at the end of the anus that is now gone. Therefore, to me, I will call it what it is. It is a prosthetic, and it is also a pouch/bag/appliance.......whatever the needs be . But, when I am dealing with my insurance and such, it will be noted as a prosthetic, and I will do so to continue to attempt to get coverage of these very expensive items.