Writer with an ostomy bag

I can’t tell you the exact moment that reading became an obsession for me, but it was early on.  I can remember my mom always saying to us, “reading is the magic key to take you where you want to be.”  Oh, how very true that was.  As the years went on and as the pages continued to turn, I found that I specifically liked to read Christian Fiction novels.  I decided to write my first novel at 25.  That began a career and life that I never imagined.  Dr. Suess says, “oh the places we will go.”  I went a lot of places that was for sure.  

Interestingly enough I chose that genre to write about and not about my own experiences.  I had learned over the years that a lot of writers like to write about things that are a little closer to home, but I found this avenue to be an actual escape from my present reality.  I love creating stories about spies, FBI agents, CIA agents, Marshalls, a billionaire, and the list could go on forever. These heroes were always caught up in some kind of trouble, but in the end, they always found a way through the struggle.  The also always learned something about themselves and others through their experience.

I could write an 800 page novel about other people’s lives, but I often struggle to come to grips with the outcome that has been written for me.  I was fitted with an ostomy bag when I was 30.  Life was moving fast, and pages were being generated astonishingly fast. It was during that time period that I started to experience quite a bit of pain in my abdomen.  It was gradual, so it didn’t concern me at first, but over the next few months, it got to the point where I was often doubling over in pain on multiple occasions.  So, I did what most people my age would do.  I waited another week before going to the doctor.  What a bad idea that was.  I was rushed to surgery to try and fix a tare in my urinary system.  I woke from that surgery to find that I had an extra appendage, if you will, attached to me.  Wow I wasn’t expecting that.  The stoma and ostomy bag was put into place to make sure that the urine output had somewhere to go.  I had slowly begun to become blocked and that is what was causing the pain and discomfort.  As the healing began, I started to evaluate what I was doing with my life, if it needed to change at all, and I couldn’t help but have that little question floating around as to why this had to happen.

I would have to say that the why is still a question that I don’t have a really concrete answer to, but It doesn’t bother me so much anymore.  I’m ok to just ride the wave and see where it takes me.  Through all the doctor’s appointments, the weening off any medicine, and just and overall healing of my body, I continued to write.  As I indicated in the beginning, my books were a fantastic outlet for me to get lost in another world, and after my surgery, I would say they continued to fill that same void of escape that I so desperately needed.

My medical experience didn’t change my life drastically, but what it did do for me was remind me how important it is to listen to your body.  When It is trying to tell you something, don’t ignore or put it off.  I’m so thankful for the medical professionals that were put in my path from beginning till end.  I will continue to educate myself on my procedure and how I can make everyday living that much better.