October 2022
I said a see you later to my corporate job in London and embarked on a 6-month adventure around the world. My 70L backpack full of all the belongings I needed. This included a hefty bag of all my stoma supplies; 12 weeks’ worth to be exact, knowing that I was coming home in between my two big trips. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2018, and following many failed immunosuppressant medications, I had a subtotal colectomy surgery in May 2021 to form an ileostomy giving me my new identity as an ostomate. After this experience, I had a desire to see the world, something I couldn’t do during my active UC flare ups.
Was I nervous? Definitely. Packing for a trip is difficult and when it includes a bunch of medical supplies, it makes it that little more complicated. But I was also so excited to push myself out of my comfort zone and experience new adventures. The trip did just that. The girl, who just 18 months previously couldn’t leave the house for fear of having an accident, was following her dreams.
I climbed up and emptied my stoma bag on an active volcano in Guatemala, spent hours snorkeling around the barrier reef in Belize, and completed four days trekking through Patagonia. I felt exhilarated!
Ruby Bryant
Blog Author & Person Living with Ulcerative Colitis
Throughout all of this, my travelling motto was to be open and curious to new opportunities, whilst not focusing on the outcome. This meant that I didn’t think about the end goal, whether that was seeing the nurse sharks in Belize or the lava come out of the active volcano in Guatemala, but instead the journey to get there. This helped me to take it one step at time, and to not be harsh on myself if I couldn’t get to that end goal, but to test out my limits with my stoma bag.
The activity that tested this motto the most was surfing. I’ve always been interested in learning to surf but I also have a small fear of open water and now combined with a stoma bag, it seemed scarier and completely out of reach. How would it even work lying on my stomach and stoma for two hours?! However, when I was given the opportunity to do a class as part of my yoga teacher training in Bali, I said yes. I knew I could always back out on the day if I didn’t feel like it or even just sit on the surf board in the water.
The day of the lesson arrived. It was a beautiful sunny day and the waves were perfect for a beginner like myself. I introduced myself to the surf instructor, put on a rash vest and got into the water. Open and curious. Don’t overthink this Ruby, it will all be OK. I took it one step at a time, focusing on getting out of my mind and any negative commentary I had, and into the open water. I even rode the waves a few times!
Fast forward two hours, and I emerged from the sea feeling exhausted and elated all at once! Was my stoma bag half hanging onto me? Yep. Was the bag very full? Yep. But did it stop me? Absolutely not.
My favourite part of the lesson was sitting on the surf board looking over the ocean to the shore. The sun shining down on my face, I had an overwhelming sense of love and gratitude, for the world around me and these new experiences. But also for myself, the fact that I did it! I went surfing with my stoma bag and it was more than OK, it was amazing!
This was the ultimate proof to myself that my ileostomy does not need to stop me from trying out everything I want to. This is my story and of course everyone’s experiences are different. But if it’s surfing, snorkelling, climbing a volcano or anything else you’d like to do, I hope this can give you the courage to do whatever you set your mind to.
My top tips for surfing with a stoma:
- Try to avoid a large meal before surfing – you are lying on your stomach a lot and it feels more comfortable not having a full bag.
- Change your bag just before getting into the water – this will maximise the adhesion to the skin. I used a Salts Confidence BE ileostomy bag and it lasted the entire lesson.
- Bring some electrolytes for afterwards – you’re out in the sun and it’s easy to become dehydrated. Coconut water or an electrolyte solution can replenish your body with those much needed minerals.
- Be kind to yourself. Just by embarking on that journey is enough. You’ve got this!
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