I just returned from a Red Hat convention in Montana. I went with a non-ostomate whom I have traveled with three times before. When we arrived at our destination, she decided we had to eat NOW. The restaurant in the Hilton where we stayed was, of course, not cheap. On the way down the elevator, she saw an ad for a 2 for $35 special at the restaurant we were en route to. She asked if we qualified and the waitress said no. In front of a group of acquaintances who had invited us to join them, she proceeded to explain to the waitress that we are gay NOT. The other people at our table were very quiet as she proceeded to tell this young waitress that discrimination was not prudent. This woman is 65 and very wealthy. She was successful and only later turned to our companions and said we are not gay really.
Later, I was having a problem with gas building up in my pouch. The filter was not masking the odor well. I did everything I could, including changing the pouch and using an air freshener. She got a can of air freshener from the maid and proceeded to read her book and spray in my direction every few minutes. This woman is an employee of a homecare business dealing with sick and elderly people on a daily basis.
At the border, she was driving my new car. Despite the fact that we had not spent anything near our limit on US goods or alcohol, she glibly lied to the customs officer.
I travel a lot and she always wants to come with me. She is very dependent and could not read a map or find a hotel if her life depended on it. After harassing me about using my GPS, I turned it on and she could not follow that either. On the way home, she nonchalantly wanted to know what was wrong with my pouch that it did that. I finally lost it and told her that I had done everything humanly possible and was in a fair amount of pain at the time. She wanted to know why I did not tell her! I told her that was pointless because neither of us could do anything. This is the last time I go anywhere with her. I think I know why her children and her siblings will not speak to her. They screen their calls and hang up if she manages to get them to answer the phone. She claims she does not enjoy her own company because she does not "like herself". After this trip, I have to agree with her.
I hope no one else ever encounters an ignorant moron like this on a "holiday".
In retrospect, I should have told her in front of the waitress that I would pay for her food if she didn't have the money, and I should have gone down and gotten a room of my own that last night. I am going to have a very hard time being polite when I run into her in the future.
I am absolutely furious.
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Resuming your personal and work life after ostomy surgery can be challenging to adjust to a new life.
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Follow our 9-point hospital discharge checklist.