NOVEMBER/DECEMER PRESIDENTS MESSAGE What a great way to start our after-summer support groups break as our September meeting had about 40 people in attendance. Dr. Brown, who has been one of our medical advisors for a long time, did an open question and answer presentation which went over really well, and it was great to see him again. I hear that the meeting room was a bit small. I am so sorry about that, but Porters is almost done with their reconstruction of the convention area. Unfortunately, we may still have the small room for the next meeting also, but please don’t let that deter you from coming to the meeting. We will do the best we can to arrange the room so that everyone doesn’t feel squashed, like moving the donated supplies to the hall. It is so exciting to have so many new members, so our efforts to get the word out about our existence seems to becoming more successful. We are going to keep reaching out so that ostomates can benefit from the amazing group that we have. CU med center WOCN’s had their first support group meeting and I am happy to report that it was quite successful. They will be having their support group meetings on the third (3rd) Wednesday of each month except there will be no meeting in November. Time: 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. Location: Anschutz Health and Wellness Center 12348 E Montview Blvd. ,Aurora, CO 80045 3rd floor Benson Board Room #3008
Our speaker for the November 27 support group meeting is Cindy…. She is an inspirational speaker who we have had the honor of having come to several past meetings. Having seen many of her presentations, I find that I get something new out of every one. We try to have Cindy come to every November meeting. If you only attend one meeting through the whole year, we encourage you to come to this one. We will not further elaborate on her talk as it will ruin the impact that it has. George Owino update: George is a 47-year-old man who was born and raised in Kenya. For those who do not know his story, here is a short version. He is married and has two great kids. He is a counselor for people with AIDS (big crisis in his village), instructor on how to prevent AIDS and works for a national physician organization who come to his village to help with AIDS crisis. He had horrible ulcerative colitis and when he got to 85 pounds they decided to give him an ileostomy which He was done at a major hospital 300 miles from home. The surgeon told him he could do the surgery but knew nothing about the aftercare and they discharged him with 2 bags and wafers. Purchasing supplies is very expensive; buying one bag is $6. One of the physician members here in Denver, Dr Lisa Abuogi contacted us for help with supplies. Karlene Martin with Shield helped supplement the supplies we had on hand, and one of the doctors took them to Kenya, but not being colo-rectal docs, they had no idea how to help him deal with an ostomy. So, I started Skyping with George and talked him through it. He is handling having an ostomy well but has the same issues we all have had. He has gained weight and doing well. It has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Explaining to him what a marshmallow is was hysterical so we sent him a bunch, and now his kids love marshmallows. Can you imagine living somewhere where you have to boil all your water to drink and wash with? Add an ileostomy to that. George’s attitude is amazing and he really would like to belong to an ostomy support group (us). I skype with him every couple of days and so far, Roger Pomainville, Pat Searcy and John Vasu have skyped with him also. If you would like to skype with George, please let me know. I will set up a 3 way call and then you can call him anytime you want (they are 9 hours ahead of us). Please consider helping to be his support group. Remember, we do not have a meeting in December. Have a wonderful holiday season. Hugs, Eileen
Why come to a meeting? Quotes from members- “From the first meeting I went to before my surgery I have been so blessed to meet such open, honest and caring people. People who I can share my worries, concerns & triumphs of my ostomy. I can't imagine going through this journey without all of them. One can't possibly go to a meeting and feel like you don't fit in. Not only does it feel good to go and get advice, but I think it feels even better to go and give to someone just starting out on the journey.” Tracey Sloan (member) "One of the most important things that helped me was the magazine for ostomates called The Phoenix, (I was sent home from the hospital with an issue, but too afraid to even open the folder that would tell me of ‘all’ the things that, at that time, were disgusting to me). I didn’t open that folder for over a month after my surgery. When I did open it and begin to read ‘everything’ that was in it, I couldn’t stop, I couldn’t believe all this information was written down, and much of it was exactly what I was feeling! I read that issue of The Phoenix from cover to cover, and then went online to the UOAA. So much information was available to me! I called the local support group, and talked to Steve Johnson, (the President) who took at least 45 minutes of his precious time to talk and share with me. He, too, had a colostomy. Hearing him talk openly of something I was so ashamed of was very comforting. He encouraged me to attend a meeting, and meet others who have also been there and who are currently there. The support group was invaluable to me! Debbie Conway (member) See her entire article Several years ago, during a visit with my physician, he asked me, “What kind of exercise are you getting?” I said, “I’m playing on a softball team for guys 45 and over.” To which he replied, “Softball! That’s not exercise….that’s’ a social event!” I couldn’t really argue with him and we both chuckled about it. Not long after this humorous exchange with my doctor, I came down with a very nasty case of Ulcerative Colitis. Jim Folsom article (member) See his entire article
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