Ostomate2 first logged onto the site on the 22nd of June 2010 (damn I’m good). One of the first things she did was leave a comment on my blog basically saying hi and she noticed I was from the UK and we had a lot of similar things in common. By the time I got to speak to her the CrazyLady had basically told her Im an axe murderer but luckily for me Ostomate2 saw her for what she was (mostly because she completely freaked her out within minutes of meeting her by trying to get her to marry her 30 year old son and offering to pay for her medical treatment!!!). We chatted a few times over the next few months and we added each other on facebook. Then 1 day in November she told me that there was an ostomy conference in Worthing on the 20th of November and she might be going. Up to that point I hasn’t been to any ostomy events and there wasn’t any information on events in my area. Those of you who have kept up to date with my story will know I haven’t been very well so a nice little holiday in Worthing and a chance to meet a few other people with ostomys as well as a chance to meet Ostomate2. So I rushed off to the travel agents and booked a train and a hotel. The day before I’m due to leave she messages me and tells me she got the date wrong the conference was actually on the 10th of December (a mistake anybody could have made). Luckily they were able to change the date for a small charge of £15 (theiving bastartds!!!).
So I arrived in Worthing on the 9th. The journey was uneventful apart from not being able to find a lift on the London underground. I was hoping to meet Ostomate2 at the train station but that didn’t happen so I went to the hotel. (I should say at this point Ostomate2 hasnt been having the best time lately so she should be forgiven for not being the most relyable person at the moment) I quickly discovered that there aren’t very many young people in Worthing. The average age of the people in the hotel was about 60. At this point I texted Ostomate2 to let her know I had arrived and see if she wanted to meet up before I went to bed. Unsurprisingly (but understandably) I didn’t get a reply that night so I decided on an early night (didn’t have much choice since I didn’t know where I was). Next morning I woke up and had some breakfast. I was a bit disappointed that I hadn’t heard from Ostomate2 but then I remembered the main reason I was there which was to meet some new people at the conference and hopefully find some solutions to my problems. I called for a taxi to take me to the venue and as I looked at my phone I got a text saying she would see me there.
So I made my way there. What I was expecting was a big room with stalls and people modelling cloths and maybe some kind of a floor show or somebody giving a speech. Similar to what I’ve seen when I’ve been to careers fairs. I also imagined that people of all ages and from all over the country would be there and there would be doctors who could answer my questions and give me some help. That could not have been further from the truth. There was a room and stalls with people displaying things but it wasn’t a very big room and there wasn’t very much of interest on offer apart from some free samples and these weird pants with a pocket for the bag (why?). I let Ostomate2 know that I had arrived and she texted me to let me know she would be about 15 minutes late. So I took the opportunity to have a good look around and hopefully find someone else my age. Unfortunately the people at the conference were old enough to be the people at the hotel’s parents. When Ostomate2 arrived she had her mum with her as backup (I am not an axe murderer!). After we had another good look round we sat down and had a little chat and sampled the buffet (snack tray). I have to say although Ostomate2’s mum is a very nice lady and I did enjoy our chat it would have been nice if I could have spent a bit more of time talking to the person who I’ve come all this way to see. Although an opportunity did present itself when I was invited to her house for lunch before I leave. Unfortunately the offer was Later retracted due to a scheduling issue (the thought was nice though). After our chat they were kind enough to drop me off at the hotel before heading home.
That evening I decided to go and see a pantomime, Aladdin which was nice. Then I went to bed and overslept so I missed breakfast. I decided to text Ostomate2 one more time to let her know I was going. I was hoping she might want to see me before I left but it wasn’t to be. So I took the train home.
All things considered the meeting itself went well but I would be lying if I didn’t say that the trip was a bit of a disappointment. The conference wasn’t all I had expected it to be, it wasn’t even that much of a break because it was way too short, I would have liked to have seen more of Ostomate2 but through no fault of hers that didn’t happen. Another slightly disappointing thing which I later found out was that there was an ostomy conference in Wigan a few days later so I made the journey for nothing (Damn!!!). Looking back it was mostly my fault things didnt go as well as i thought. If i could have done it again i would have took my time in planning it. Maybe shoped round and got a better deal so that i could have spent more time there instead of rushing into it and spending my money on the first thing i saw.
Since then we’ve kept in contact on facebook and hopefully me and Ostomate1 will get the chance to have a more productive and more organised meeting with Ostomate2 at a later date. I would also like to wish Ostomate2 a speedy recovery and hope she is feeling a lot better by time we meet again.
See my next blog to find out what happened with Ostomate3…
So I arrived in Worthing on the 9th. The journey was uneventful apart from not being able to find a lift on the London underground. I was hoping to meet Ostomate2 at the train station but that didn’t happen so I went to the hotel. (I should say at this point Ostomate2 hasnt been having the best time lately so she should be forgiven for not being the most relyable person at the moment) I quickly discovered that there aren’t very many young people in Worthing. The average age of the people in the hotel was about 60. At this point I texted Ostomate2 to let her know I had arrived and see if she wanted to meet up before I went to bed. Unsurprisingly (but understandably) I didn’t get a reply that night so I decided on an early night (didn’t have much choice since I didn’t know where I was). Next morning I woke up and had some breakfast. I was a bit disappointed that I hadn’t heard from Ostomate2 but then I remembered the main reason I was there which was to meet some new people at the conference and hopefully find some solutions to my problems. I called for a taxi to take me to the venue and as I looked at my phone I got a text saying she would see me there.
So I made my way there. What I was expecting was a big room with stalls and people modelling cloths and maybe some kind of a floor show or somebody giving a speech. Similar to what I’ve seen when I’ve been to careers fairs. I also imagined that people of all ages and from all over the country would be there and there would be doctors who could answer my questions and give me some help. That could not have been further from the truth. There was a room and stalls with people displaying things but it wasn’t a very big room and there wasn’t very much of interest on offer apart from some free samples and these weird pants with a pocket for the bag (why?). I let Ostomate2 know that I had arrived and she texted me to let me know she would be about 15 minutes late. So I took the opportunity to have a good look around and hopefully find someone else my age. Unfortunately the people at the conference were old enough to be the people at the hotel’s parents. When Ostomate2 arrived she had her mum with her as backup (I am not an axe murderer!). After we had another good look round we sat down and had a little chat and sampled the buffet (snack tray). I have to say although Ostomate2’s mum is a very nice lady and I did enjoy our chat it would have been nice if I could have spent a bit more of time talking to the person who I’ve come all this way to see. Although an opportunity did present itself when I was invited to her house for lunch before I leave. Unfortunately the offer was Later retracted due to a scheduling issue (the thought was nice though). After our chat they were kind enough to drop me off at the hotel before heading home.
That evening I decided to go and see a pantomime, Aladdin which was nice. Then I went to bed and overslept so I missed breakfast. I decided to text Ostomate2 one more time to let her know I was going. I was hoping she might want to see me before I left but it wasn’t to be. So I took the train home.
All things considered the meeting itself went well but I would be lying if I didn’t say that the trip was a bit of a disappointment. The conference wasn’t all I had expected it to be, it wasn’t even that much of a break because it was way too short, I would have liked to have seen more of Ostomate2 but through no fault of hers that didn’t happen. Another slightly disappointing thing which I later found out was that there was an ostomy conference in Wigan a few days later so I made the journey for nothing (Damn!!!). Looking back it was mostly my fault things didnt go as well as i thought. If i could have done it again i would have took my time in planning it. Maybe shoped round and got a better deal so that i could have spent more time there instead of rushing into it and spending my money on the first thing i saw.
Since then we’ve kept in contact on facebook and hopefully me and Ostomate1 will get the chance to have a more productive and more organised meeting with Ostomate2 at a later date. I would also like to wish Ostomate2 a speedy recovery and hope she is feeling a lot better by time we meet again.
See my next blog to find out what happened with Ostomate3…
