As an adult, can you imagine what it would be like to undergo
bowel or bladder diversion surgery? Can you picture yourself having to wear an ostomy pouch on your abdomen to empty your bodily waste? How about imagining yourself as a child, who either was born with a congenital birth defect or has had ostomy surgery because of accident or disease?

This is the reality of over 70,000 Canadians, myself included.

You might think this has made life difficult for many when in reality ostomy surgery is where many lives actually begin.

The Ostomy Canada Society (OCS) is the voice of all Canadians
living with an ostomy. Through local ostomy chapters and support groups, OSC provides training programs that train volunteers to help new ostomates adjust to life with an ostomy. Every summer OCS sends children, from across Canada who have an ostomy or suffer with bowel or bladder issues to an amazing camp located in the foothills of the majestic Rocky Mountains. Yep, these kids get to do ‘normal’ camp things like sleep outs, zip lines, rock climbing, arts and
crafts, and archery. This amazing camp opportunity also includes shooting down the mighty Kananaskis River in a rubber boat! They also produce a pretty kick-ass Ostomy Canada magazine that along with medical and lifestyle articles highlight all the amazing things ostomates can do, reducing the stigma of ostomy surgery.

On October 2, 2021 as part of World Ostomy Day, ostomates and
their families and friends will walk, run, roll, slide, hop, dance, sashay,
prance, bike, jump, strut, twirl, skip, chill, play cards or whatever to raise funds during ‘Step Up For Ostomy’. 

Although Mike and I can’t climb mountains or participate in Iron
Man competitions like some of the ostomates we’ve read about in the Ostomy Canada Magazine, we, on behalf of our local ostomy support group (Hamilton & District Ostomy Association) have decided that for the time leading up to World Ostomy Day we would pick a random activity and do it for at least 20 minutes per day. 

 Instead of stepping up for ostomy in a single
day, Mike and I are spreading the event over 12 weeks  (84 days total). For us, it is a daily reminder that there is a plethora of needs that must be met among Canadian ostomates. There are 84 active members in the Hamilton & District Ostomy Association, besides Mike, our daughter Joelle and myself. We chose 84 days of activity to have each day represent one of our members.

We need your help!  Help us to help OCS meet those needs. Donate to ‘Step Up For Ostomy’ today!

P.S. You can follow our daily progress on Instagram:   www.instagram.com/hamiltonostomy or on Tik Tok   www.tiktok.com/@ostomyhamiltonor a weekly update on our Facebook page www.facebook/com/ostomy.hamilton

With tremendous thanks,

Janet and Mike Paquet

Co-Presidents, Hamilton & District Ostomy Association