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Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
In your bag you've got lipstick,
In mine I've got poo.

Row of Handbags

Row of Handbags

Monday 27 March 2017

Kermit’s Second Birthday!

Today it is exactly two years since I had my bowel cancer surgery when my colon was removed and my permanent ileostomy (Kermit) was created. Really I don’t know where the time has gone. Two years!

Unfortunately, in view of my more recent surgery, I have not had the energy or time to hold a birthday party for him. I would like to have invited my two friends whom I met when we were all in hospital together two years ago, and I would like to have made Kermit a birthday cake like I did last year, but it wasn’t to be!

Here’s a picture of the cake I made last year to celebrate Kermit’s first birthday. Hope he enjoys the virtual version this year – I’ll try and do better next year!

10 Kermit's Birthday Cake

What a journey this two years has been. 2015 was a year out of my life really, dealing with the cancer diagnosis and the emotional upheaval as I prepared for surgery (the operation was postponed twice and I was under severe emotional stress for family reasons – thank goodness for my wonderful hubby who saw me through it all!) and then came the physical recovery and adjusting to my new way of life with a stoma. Once I was sufficiently recovered from the operation, I had to undergo 6 months of intensive chemo which really took it out of me, and by the time that was finished, I had the autumn to begin recovering, with my cancer all-clear being given at the end of November. What a rollercoaster! You can read the whole journey on My Cancer Diary on my other blog.

2016 was a good year all round, with my taking up several activities which I had given up several years ago because of ill health, thinking they were part of my past. These include singing and playing the guitar, restarting a Bible study group, and baking! These have all brought me a lot of pleasure, especially the baking! I have been able to keep my art going throughout all this, with periods when my creative mojo disappeared, but it’s always there for me when I am feeling well.

This year I was looking forward to settling back into a normal life – if a different sort of normal from before! However, I had to face emergency surgery at the beginning of February for an intestinal obstruction caused by my parastomal hernia. This has now been temporarily repaired and I face further surgery to create a more permanent solution.

I am very, very happy to have Kermit. Before he came, I was struggling with ulcerative colitis which, although horrible, was probably never going to be bad enough to necessitate a stoma, so I’d have had to put up with it for the rest of my life, with medication. However, when the cancer happened, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the whole inflamed colon was removed and for the first time for years, I found myself in control, and once I’d learnt to manage Kermit and his bag, realised that even if it were possible, I’d never go back to how I was before! Kermit has changed my life, no doubt about it.

Anyone facing what I went through, I would say, be encouraged – it’s not nearly as bad as you think. Yes, you have to get through it all – the surgery, the treatment, adjusting to a new way of doing things, but once you are through that process, life is good!