I spent my week before surgery trying to come up with a name for my future stoma. I thought a name would help me get more familiar with it. I knew I wanted a female name. I could not imagine my stoma being male. My surgery was May 17, 2001. I kept myself busy coming up with the perfect name. It had to be no more than two or three syllables and had to flow with the word stoma. I was so caught up in my search that I forgot to worry about the surgery. Sally and I had a rough start but we make a good team. It helps me during unpleasant times to talk to Sally. I scold her when she makes a mess and I praise her when she holds a seal tight. Being able to speak to her during changes makes things easier.
I thought sharing this with individuals with ostomies of all ages might help. If you can release your feelings, nothing stays pent up inside you.
I even take it one-step further. At those embarrassing moments when your stoma needs to release gas, rather then getting flustered, I tell her to quiet down. The moment passes and it makes the people around me a little more comfortable.
