Hi, my name is Krista and I’ve been an ostomate since April 2018. 

My ostomy story began in February 2018. I had been suffering from debilitating symptoms from my Crohn’s disease for nearly 20 years before I begged my doctors and surgeon to take out my diseased colon and in result would leave me with an ileostomy bag. I was 26 years old and getting married in 5 months when I proposed this idea to my medical team. 

Some call me brave but I was desperate to feel better. I was desperate to gain back a quality of life that was worth living. I was tired of being 26 years old and having to wear an adult diaper every day— not having control over my own body was humiliating and exhausting. The constant nausea, the vomiting, the rectal pain and bleeding, the abdominal pain, the weight loss, the incontinence, left me in a dark mental state. 

5 months before my wedding day, I begged my GI team and surgeon to perform surgery to remove my diseased colon even if that meant leaving me with a temporary ileostomy as the after math. 

Hesitant because of my age, my doctors weren’t certain that ostomy surgery would be a successful in treating my Crohn’s disease. But went forward with the surgery because it’s something I really wanted. 

I just wanted to feel even just a little bit better. Any relief of the symptoms I was experiencing was better than no relief at all. 

I woke up from surgery and felt better instantly. The only pain I had was from surgery and the trauma that my body had just gone through but it wasn’t from a diseased colon anymore. 

I spent weeks and months healing and learning how to adapt to normal life again with my stoma. 

Learning how to change my appliance, how to eat/drink, how to dress my new body, etc There was so many first to overcome but the more I did these everyday things the more normal it became with my stoma. 

Now, 3.5 years with my stoma and I can’t even imagine what my life would be without it. 

It’s given be back so much freedom again to allow me to live my very best life and live life to the very fullest.

 I’m so grateful to be where I am today because of my ostomy giving me back so much life 

Next Saturday, October 2nd, I’ll be walking for myself, and so many special people in my life who also have ostomies 💜

I’d be so grateful for any donation towards my walk where funds will go towards to the Canada Ostomy Society to better lives of those who live with conditions who require ostomies, like me. 

Thank you!