Overcoming 10k Leakage - A Story of Resilience

So it's been a long time since I've posted on here but I feel my experience yesterday was worthy of sharing.

Since the end of last year, I have been getting more and more into my fitness. Firstly by starting to run - parkrun is fantastic for this and highly recommended - and then by joining a gym in January, which I attend 3 times a week, once with a personal trainer. This is not something I would have believed possible a couple of years ago. I believed that because of my ileostomy, my days of physical activity were behind me.

Yesterday, I attended Steeplechase in Norwich, which is a 5, 10, or 15km obstacle course. I went for the 10k - not quite up to the standard of 15k yet, unfortunately, but I'm working on it. It was hard work, but I managed to get across the finish line for the 10k - by "get across," I mean practically crawl.

A few minutes after completion, I discovered that I was having a leakage from my bag and sod's law, my sister's boyfriend, whom I had attended the event with, stayed on to complete the 15k and had the keys to his car, where my bag was with my emergency supplies. The leak wasn't hugely noticeable to the naked eye, so I stayed calm and waited at the finish line for him. Upon his completion, I congratulated him on his achievement and then told him I urgently needed his key - being quite close to him, he immediately knew what I was getting at. I got my bag from the car and proceeded to the toilets to calmly change my bag. I then found my sister's boyfriend for us to have a victory photo. See below.

The reason that I wanted to put this story out there is that if this had happened to me a couple of years ago, it would have seriously affected my mental well-being. I would have been upset for days (best-case scenario), and I think it would have been the end of my newfound passion for running and fitness. The fact that I found myself in this position and was able to deal with it calmly in a crowded area and brush it off as 'just something that happened' is a massive step forward for me, and I'm pleased to say that it has not deterred me in any way from running or doing another race - in fact, I can't wait for the next one and am considering which one to take part in. Perhaps I'll make sure I have access to my emergency bag next time though!

If there is anyone out there - particularly people that have recent ostomies - that have similar thoughts to what I had previously, such as 'I will never do anything physically demanding again,' I hope this will act as inspiration that despite living with a bag, we can do anything we want, and even if there is a setback, it is easily manageable and not the horror story you play in your head a million times before attending something.

🔒 Login to see image

Hello Daz1985.

Congratulations on your running success and your inspirational story.

The last 10k run I did was the Royston fun run, my brother had to help me for the last 50 yards to the finish line because my legs suddenly went like jelly and I was in danger of complete meltdown.  Having a stoma had absolutely nothing to do with that but I decided that old age did and it was time to hang up my running shoes and take to cycling and walking instead.

I do find that the glue on the wafer turns to a guey slimy mess after a period of sweating and has little to no chance of staying stuck to my body so I usually wear a hernia belt which keeps an imcontinence pad in place over the top of the wafer.

Best wishes in your future races

Bill    

Congratulations and best wishes for future races. Your story is very inspirational. Thank you for sharing with all of us. It is good to hear these situations and how people face the challenge of a leak, appliance malfunction, and anything related to life with an ostomy. Thank you again and please let us know when you are participating in another race. Good luck! Sincerely, LH

How wonderful! I actually walked 9.33 miles for the AIDS Walk/Run in Boston yesterday (Sunday). The weather was perfect, there was water at every rest stop and (most importantly) porta-potties!! I think I inhaled at least four liters of water, and took my time walking instead of having to keep up with a group. I'm very proud of myself, yet rather sore. In spite of that, I may walk with my company for the Pride parade on Saturday. We shall see...

Oh, and I did change the bag last night. I could see the little bubbles of sweat, and decided that just can't be a good thing!

MMM - 3/6/17 urostomy surgery

Thanks for posting. I have had my ileostomy for more than 50 years (since I was 15), and with childlike innocence, once I was well, I wanted to do the things I wanted to do. I'd been sick and in hospitals for 4 years, so once I was well, anything was possible. Skiing was my first endeavor, and I flopped miserably on my belly, waiting for someone to pick me up. I did better learning to ice skate, but my sister's idea was to drag me out to the middle of the rink and leave me there. In the following years, I traveled extensively, swam in the Dead Sea (in Israel) which was a disaster. The 5x normal salinity of the water made my two-piece ostomy system pop apart, so you can just imagine the mess I found when I pulled down my bathing suit. And... I didn't have fresh supplies with me in the locker room. Those were inaccessible on the bus... But I survived. I found the best thing to keep with me at all times is tape. I flew around the country for 7 years (USA), Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and even to Haiti, in a single-engine plane (no bathroom). But the best of all was snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. We never know what we're capable of doing... until we do it.

If you will it, it's no dream... Best regards to all, Marsha

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Great news, so inspirational,