The leaves are starting to turn a shade of beauty that only comes once a year. I am looking out and know that the weather is changing. The air is starting to get cooler during the day and Fall is in the air. This means some of the best times of the year are ahead for me. I love going out in the woods almost as much as anything on the planet. It is a time for me to share experiences with my family and friends and simply find peace outside. Having a stoma can sometimes get in the way of things that I like to do. But I was determined to never let my stoma stop my joy of being outdoors and it really hasn't. The hunting season is upon us now and my stoma doesn't hold me back and it shouldn't hold you back either.
Now you don't have to be a hunter to enjoy the great outdoors. Hiking, backpacking, and many other outdoor sports are huge and all involve being outside. Heck, even bushcrafting is a big thing to do now and that only has to do with creating things from the woods and surviving like the pilgrims of old. It really is cool all the things you can do and do them with the right ostomy gear. I am a pretty big gear guy and finding the right piece for any situation is simply fun to me. It is part of my life and making sure I was going to be able to rock the outdoors without worrying about my stoma was a big search in my life.
To go out and enjoy the woods I started by simply learning all I could about being active with a stoma. I ran into awesome stories of people who had ostomy surgery and still did incredible things. The first one that usually came upon a google search was a man a few years ago that ran an Iron Man competition. Not only did he swim two miles, run 24, and bike over a hundred miles, but he did it with a stoma and in less than 11 hours. WOW. This was incredible to know that it could be done and it flat out gave me hope. I know this man has given hope to thousands of people and for many different reasons. For me, he let me know I could go out and be active in the woods and still spend that time with my family.
Now the way to do this was to learn what others had done first before me. I am not stupid enough to believe I am the first person to want to be active and in the woods and learning from scratch is simply stupid. So take advice from those who have tried, and even failed before you. The failures that they have chosen to share have helped thousands and even me. Now if I make a mistake I share it with everyone in my situation to they can learn and not have to go through it. With that being said, we have such amazing ostomy gear these days that failures are very rare and usually only happen when we forget steps or get busy. So take heart, do your research, and go and enjoy this beautiful fall weather outside!
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