Fellow Ostomate Responds to Matthew Perry's Article

Hey everyone, happy Halloween!

I just wanted to share this article I just read. It was linked from the r/ostomy subreddit. It was written by a fellow ostomate for The Daily Beast, and it's in response to Matthew Perry's now-infamous article:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/keanu-reeves-isnt-the-only-one-matthew-perry-offended-recently-those-with-ostomy-bags-are-upset

Do people really lead their lives by what someone says in an article? I guess I'm out of the loop if I'm supposed to go by what others say. &zwj

Nope, but we could be in the minority. Just "over the moon" with your reply, K.

Don't you know that, if you read it in an article, it must be true?  No different than believing all the self-aggrandizing lies some politician says.  Some people just seem to lack intellectual filters.  Plus, it's easier that way, I guess.  

Mathew Perry?  I've never heard of him.
Why would what he might have to say have any meaningful relevance to anyone other than himself? 

In the past, there have been plenty of people who have shared their feelings on this site, expressing how they had difficulty coming to terms with their stomas. This is surely a valid perspective (especially for the uninitiated). Hopefully, we can help them towards a more positive perspective. I think we should not condemn people for having negative thoughts, but simply view it as a 'choice'. It seems that this guy has made a few bad choices in his life prior to his stoma, which indicates that perhaps someone else needed to make the choice for him, otherwise it may have been a case of RIP Mathew.

Best wishes

Bill

Staying Hydrated with an Ostomy with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

What's wrong with him saying he hated his colostomy? Hasn't he got the right to say how he felt about it? I'm just pleased to hear he's well; I don't wish ill on anyone.

When I see people saying how wrong he is, or anyone else that says they hate/hated their stoma, I think it's them who really has the problem and haven't accepted their own stoma, taking their own anger out on them.

Just read on any ostomy group and you will read lots of members saying they hate their ostomy. Some learn to accept them, others never can, however long they have one. Sad but true, others try to hide how they really feel by making fun of their ostomy with jokes about it. With experience, we can all see straight through them, but it's just their way of coping.

I think it's more how he said it than him saying he hated his. And of course in today's society, there has to be something wrong with anything said.

He obviously didn't think before he spoke.

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I agree with many sentiments already expressed here. First of all, who the hell is Matthew Perry and why would anyone care what he thinks? OK, full disclosure, I do know who he is, just by osmosis I guess, because I've never watched any show he has been in, but the point is, he's just some guy, whether he has lots of money and fame, or not. And really, is he really perpetuating the negative attitude towards ostomies? From what I can gather, he was giving examples of how dire his health was due to his drug and alcohol abuse, and having a temporary colostomy was one of those examples. It sounds as though it was a choice of death, or having an ostomy, a choice many of us on this site have made. I mean, really, it's not a lifestyle choice. None of us would have chosen it, if there were a better alternative. So, what's the big deal? Was he supposed to talk about how much fun it was to have his temporary ostomy? He was just being honest.

Terry

Matthew Perry has spent 90 million trying to kick his addiction to drugs, but having an ostomy bag made him finally stop the drugs. Good for him. Most of us do not have that choice; an ostomy bag was our chance to live a normal life. Social media is usually garage talk, just headlines trying to grab your attention. Perry is a man who has wasted a lifetime of making very poor, terrible choices... it shows on his face.

Hated his colostomy but never said a negative thing about his drug addiction, very mixed up priorities IMO.

I've had an ileostomy almost all my adult life, problem-free, and then had a temporary jejunostomy stoma for 18 months. They're rarely done, so I know if you've never had one, you won't understand how they work. I would describe that as hellish too. I even told doctors they should have left me to die. When having the reversal back to ileo, I told them if they couldn't do the reversal, not to bring me back around, so I must be a bad person too.

Maybe you are, I don't know.