March/April 2001
Page 1
More Precious Than Gold - The Value Of An Ostomy Visitor
There are times when a certain person can make a difference that no one else can make... so it is with the ostomy visitor! Your value is literally beyond measure. It's like dropping a pebble into a pool. It may seem like a small thing to those of you who volunteer... yet the rippling effect is expansive. Who knows how far it might go? You help someone at a time when they are very vulnerable. They in turn might be the visitors of the future. Do you remember your ostomy visitor? Just when you thought that you couldn't possibly deal with this operation, a friendly face appeared at your hospital door (or home). This person assured you that he or she had once been the patient in the bed. They could also empathize with your aches and pains, your depression, your fear of the future. You can reflect back on your questions when you first had surgery. Am I still lovable? How will I ever wear clothes? Will there be an odour? Won't the pouch leak at an embarrassing moment? How well you probably remember these feelings. The visitor somehow made you feel loveable. The idea dawned that if he or she could make it, you would too. The possibility of participating in your own ostomy care didn't seem quite so overwhelming. Perhaps you could begin learning... one small step at a time. Yes, you might be thinking, wasn't that visit the beginning of a turning point? There was much to be done and perhaps miles to go but that was the 'First Step.' You are living proof that life goes on. You are out there doing the very thing that the new patient wonders about. You are indeed a Symbol of Hope in the midst of their pain, confusion and fear. Making a visit may seem like a small thing to you. It is like Lighting a Candle in the midst of darkness. It is Helping Them to Help Themselves. Your generosity of time and caring is indeed "More Precious Than Gold." If you weren't blessed with an ostomy visitor then remember the struggle you had to find the answers to your questions before you could become one who was "More Precious Than Gold" to the person with a new ostomy.
Via Evansville Indiana Chapter UOA "Re-Route" and Ostomy Toronto, March 2000, via Inside Out On-line Mar/Apr 2001.
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