Updating you all on my progress from my SECOND of 3 surgeries in this 2011 roller coaster ride that I’ve been on.
So it’s about 2 months after my second surgery and things are going better than I ever would have imagined. I am back working at my normal summer job at La Jolla Kayak, even though I’m just working the counter and answering phones instead of my normal job as a tour guide, but it has made me feel normal again. Truth is, I hardly even notice that I have the colostomy bag anymore, I’ve gotten so used to having it that it is just a part of daily life now. My final surgery is scheduled for September 21 and I feel like it’s going to be weird getting used to not having the bag anymore, I might miss it!
Anywho, I have been doing a lot of stand up paddle boarding and I’ve even started surfing again. I am really out of surfing shape but it feels good to be out in
Trying on Clothes at the thrift shop
the water like normal. I haven’t had any complications thus far with my ileostomy or colostomy bag so that is good news! It is so nice to be working again and hanging out with friends and feeling like I used to feel before this disease came and tried to take me down. I hope that anyone out there who is thinking about surgery reads my stories because even though I didn’t have a choice whether or not to have surgery, I’m glad it happened and if I could go back and have a choice between surgery and medications, I would choose surgery. I never imagined that I would be feeling this good after everything that happened to me at the beginning of this year
I am looking for ways to help people and also to help raise money for the CCFA (Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America) and my brother is putting on this art show in September. He has been wanting to do an art show for a while now, even before I came down with this disease. Now that he has gotten the ball rolling on it and picked a date and has a bunch of artists and bands lined up for the event he has decided to have 20% of all proceeds of this art show be donated to the CCFA. I think that is really cool of him to do in my honor and it’s going to be a really fun night. Here is the link to the facebook events page that he made. If anyone wants to make a donation to the CCFA but can’t come to the event (I don’t expect anyone to because I don’t know if anyone lives in San Diego) but you can mail a check to my brothers house and it will be added in full to the total amount.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=212930845419200
I am really excited about this event and I can’t wait. I could have my surgery in August but since I am feeling so good and working again I wanted to be able to feel normal for a while before I start a new kind of recovery after the last surgery, and also so I could make it to the art show and show off my bag for anyone who wants to see it.
Here is my brothers website for the event too
If you click on the “About Free Lunch” in the top right corner you can read his little write up about the event.
me making some shirts for my Dad's swim event.
I hope everyone is doing well and is finding something that works for them and I hope that anyone who is considering surgery will read my story and see that life isn’t over with a colostomy bag! A lot of my friends are fascinated by it and want to see it and no one looks at me differently or anything like that which feels great. If any of you are feeling self conscious about having a bag, let me tell you that I haven’t been looked at differently by any of my friends or family or co-workers…most people don’t even know!
If you would like to talk to me you can send me an email or add me on facebook!
Current Medications: ZIP, ZERO, NADA, ZILCH, NONE!
Story Submitted by Curtis in the Colitis Venting Area
You Can Read ALL of Curtis’ stories HERE to find out about how his progress with colon surgery has gone so far.
Curtis is a young guy who developed a very rapid case of severe ulcerative colitis symptoms in early 2011. Shortly afterwards as when medications were failing to solve his problems, he had only one option left which was surgery, and he is hanging in there and doing great. Curtis is an expert soccer player and has his own line of T-Shirts he creates too.
