A Life Lived Half-full!
I grew up in the town of Redditt, Ontario, nineteen miles north of Kenora in Northern Ontario. When I was a teenager, I developed chronic diarrhea. As a result, I experienced six years of severe illness, missing my schooling for three of those years. I went to a doctor in Kenora who was unable to diagnose or resolve the problem. I was referred to Winnipeg where wild strawberry extract was recommended as treatment for my diarrhea. I also tried several diets, all to no avail. These were very hard times for me. I was young and my life was restricted, painful and downright miserable. In 1945, my father, frustrated by the lack of effective treatment, called the Mayo Clinic in Rochester who referred me to the Winnipeg Clinic where I have been going ever since. At the Winnipeg Clinic, I was finally diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. One of my original doctors there was Dr. Paul Thorlakson. When he stopped practicing I came under the care of his son, Dr. Robert Thorlakson, who I still see today.
I had a “temporary” ileostomy on March 4, 1946 at the Winnipeg General Hospital, to allow my colon to rest. I weighed only 79 lbs after my surgery and I was very weak from years of being ill. I was sent home from the hospital with no supplies, just a big binder and cotton wool, which was piled up over the stoma and strapped on with the binder. No pouches were available at this time and this system was the best they could offer! It didn’t work very well, as you can imagine. The pain was gone, but now I was an invalid in a new way. I wondered what kind of life I could have wrapped in bandages and needing messy changes every few hours?
A month after my return home, my father had had enough of watching me suffer. He contacted a medical supply company in Winnipeg and they got hold of some Davol pouches for me. These were made of rubber and were sealed with an inflated rubber donut which was pumped up at each fitting. The pouches had an inch and a half wide elastic belt which was quite uncomfortable. The bags had to be scrubbed once a day and after a few months, the “donut” would expand to such a size that a new one was required. Compared to having no appliance at all, they were a massive improvement - no bandages and no mess (usually). I had my life back again!
In 1948, a year and a half after my surgery, my doctors decided to finalize my ileostomy as the Ulcerative Colitis was still active. I had my colon and rectum removed and the ileostomy made permanent. I took a long time to recover and had several surgeries on my rectum before it healed properly. This was another very frustrating time in my life. I wondered if the surgeries, pain and frustration would ever end. But it did! This ileostomy lasted over forty years, until 1991, when I had a revision - quite the life span!
Ten years after the ileostomy was made permanent, in 1958, I discovered that I could order Nu-Kumfort appliances from the United States. These appliances had a steel plate which attached to a regular plastic bag. The funny part about these appliances was that every time I went through security before flying, the metal detector would buzz! I wore a big belt, with metal hooks to keep the bag in place. It might still sound very primitive, but it had no bags to scrub and no “donut” to blow up. It was also much flatter than the Davol pouch, so it was not as obvious under my clothes. I liked these pouches much better and they made my life a lot easier. My life just kept getting better. In 1967 I got married and moved to Thief River Falls in Minnesota with my husband. We came back to Winnipeg in 1971 when my husband retired from his Area Store Manager job and we lived in Winnipeg, working together as apartment caretakers until my husband died in 1991.
I wore the Davol appliances until joining the Winnipeg Ostomy Association (WOA) in 1972. It was at the WOA, with the institution of the Manitoba Ostomy Program by the provincial government through the WOA’s lobbying efforts, that I discovered “modern” appliances. These modern appliances are super! No odour, no leaking, except on rare occasions, as we’ve all experienced. They are very flat and fit under clothes very well and they are very easy to change. They even look good with either the mesh covering on some pouches or a fabric pouch cover. I have great respect for those involved in starting the WOA. It was through the hard work of people like Ab Foreman, Margaret Hurl, Hilda Kemp, Bill Logan and others that the WOA began. Their efforts greatly enhanced the lives of Manitoba ostomates. In gratitude for what the WOA did for me and because I wanted to help others in the same position, I have been an active member of the WOA ever since. I attend meetings regularly and was involved with the “New Horizons” group that was set up by the WOA especially for seniors. We would have a luncheon meeting every week. It was a nice social event but the group is, sadly, no longer functioning. I have been a Social Convener and served on the Refreshments committee for many years. I have gone to several conferences, have twice been a fashion model for special events and regularly volunteer whenever help is needed, whether it’s World Ostomy Days, the WOA Christmas Party or the Annual Wine and Cheese. I really enjoy meeting people at the meetings, whether they are long-time friends or new ostomates. I think this is why I have been a member of the WOA for so long.
I am retired, but sometimes feel that I am more active now than when I was working. I certainly am a lot more active than when I suffered from Ulcerative Colitis as a teenager. This contrast shows how debilitating Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) can be. As an octogenarian, my life is fuller and more active than it was when I was in my teens! In addition to my WOA activities, I joined the Optimists in 1993. I am on the South Winnipeg Optimist Club Board and keep very busy with our yearly events such as the Optimist’s Band Festival, the circus, Buffalo Barbeque and other special events. I really enjoy staying active, meeting people and feeling useful. My volunteer work lets me do this and help others as well.
Despite the poor appliances and surgical problems with which I began, I strongly believe that my ileostomy has had a very positive effect on my life. I have lived a full, active life and enjoyed good health. I could not have done this without having my ileostomy surgery. My Ulcerative Colitis was totally debilitating and my ileostomy cured me and let me live again. My experiences certainly demonstrate the medical advances made in ostomy equipment over the last fifty-nine years. From being discharged from hospital to an isolated Northern Ontario town swaddled in bandages, followed by years of primitive, but partially effective pouches, through the formation of the Winnipeg Ostomy Association bringing with it the Manitoba Ostomy Program and the availability of modern appliances, continuing on to my current very active life as an octogenarian. These advances have impacted my enjoyment of life in a very positive way allowing me to live life to the fullest. I like to think that I am a positive living example for ostomates, showing that ostomy surgery not only saves lives but greatly enhances quality of life as well.
(Evelyn Waldera submitted her story to ConvaTec’s “Renaissance Award” competition in June 2005. She will celebrate 60 years as an ostomate on March 4, 2006.) SOURCE: Evelyn Waldera with the assistance of Mike Leverick, Webmaster WOA, Via Inside Out, Jan/Feb 2006.
