Living with Charlie

Who's Charlie you ask?  Charlie was my stoma.  I first met Charlie on September 12, 2010, the day after my total colectomy.  I didn't know what to think of him at first.  I mean he was pooping into a bag that was stuck to my belly.  I knew we were going to have to become fast friends to make this work.

In case you're not to familiar with what an ileostomy is, it is part of the small intestine pulled through the stomach to protrude outside of the body and divert stool away from the remaining digestive track.  Here's some pics.

                   

I didn't name Charlie until I came home from the hospital.  My home health nurse told me it may be helpful to name my stoma.  I chose Charlie, in place of Chuck, short for Up-Chuck because Charlie was always up chucking something.  Charlie and I quickly got to know each other.

Most times I didn't mind living with Charlie, but like all men, he had his moments.  I had no control over Charlie, and he would do whatever he wanted to do.  First of all, Charlie had no social etiquette.  He would "fart" any time any where.  And it could be loud!  Next Charlie never stopped spewing.  It didn't matter what or when I ate, Charlie was doing his thing all the time.  This meant I had to empty the bag on a regular basis including overnight.

To keep Charlie contained I had to wear an ileostomy bag.  This had it's own problems and was the most difficult for me to get used to.  The part that sticks the bag to your skin, the wafer, took up the entire right side of my stomach.  Just image having a plastic sticker stuck on the whole side of your belly 24/7.  It soon became uncomfortable and irritated my skin.  Fortunately, I was given some powder to help relieve this irritation, and it helped.  The other downfall of the ileostomy bag in the leaks.  I was thankful and only had two leaks with Charlie.  Once I developed a system, I was able to get a good seal and keep the same bag on for about 5 days.

Charlie was amazing and taught me a lot about my body.  I got to see how fast crappy food moved through me.  How ruffage comes out just like it went in.  And how food changes the color of your poop.  I could watch him working and was amazed by what he did.

Charlie and I were only were together for 3 short months.  There were days I would find myself crying in the bathroom because I couldn't get the wafer on just right.  But most of the time, you would never know that Charlie was with me.  Though our time together was short, Charlie will never be forgotten.