Our Next Meeting Will Be Tuesday, Febuary 9th

Our next meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9th, at O'Connor Hospital's Sister Rosalie Rendu Conference Room. Persons who have recently experienced surgery or are about to undergo surgery are encouraged to attend.

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What Happened at our January 12th Meeting

We again met at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 12, at O'Connor Hospital.  It was a dreary, rainy.  Yet, we had thirty two people in attendance.  Two persons were here for the first time since their surgery.  We also had several persons who were at the early stages of their recovery.  After about 45 minutes of meeting as a total group, we then divided into sections based upon the type of surgery (ileostomy, colostomy or urostomy) so persons needing advise could speak directly with others who had been through the same type of surgery that they themselves had recently experienced. 

What Happened at Our November 10th Meeting

At 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10th, we met at O'Connor Hospital's Sister Rosalie Rendu Conference Room. Thirty-seven people were in attendance at the meeting, including three who attended for the first time, one of whom  came in preparation for Ileostomy Surgery next week.

Ed Primeau & Robyn Home from Coloplast (see photo) were with us for the meeting.  They updated us on the latest new products available from Coloplast, and answered questions raised by the attendees.  Robyn made the main presentation.  She is a recent import from Australia (arriving 2 1/2 months ago) where she has worked in the same capacity since 1978.  The presentation was very well done.

We also held an open forum where attendees brought concerns to the group to be addressed by more experienced ostomates.

Since the meeting, Robyn Home has sent us two articles that address questions raised by members during the open forum time:

• Basic Ostomy Skin Care - published by the Wound, Ostomy and Continency Nurses Society
• Skin Prep and Ostomy Barriers - Coloplast Recommendations

What Happened at our October 13th Meeting

It was a dark and rainy night with the first winter storm blowing across our region, but we had a surprising good turnout, giving the conditions outside. For this meeting we planned to have a show and tell period, when people could show and demonstrate resources that have helped us to live better lives.

Two of those in attendance were here for the first time, one having had a colostomy and one having had an ileostomy.  One other had been here for the first time, last month, and several days after that meeting he had a colostomy, and was with us again. We spent a good amount of our time responding to those new ostomates question's, and never got to the show and tell.

April 09 UOAA UPDATE via Houston TX OA

Rumor has it that the doctor removed one of your parts.  The same rumor said that they didn’t take out your heart.  So you can still love.  Also, none of your mind was removed, so you can still dream of sunshine and flowers.  Apparently, they left your family and friends.  So you still have someone to care for and someone to care for you.  Did the surgeon remove your grandchildren’s laughter? Did he leave you your lips to smile with, your nose to smell the morning air, your ears to hear the birds singing, your eyes to see the evening sunset surely, he didn’t touch your soul. That belongs to God.  If he left you all of these things, did he remove anything really important?  Remember what Hubert Humphrey, also an ostomate, once said, “It isn’t what they take away from you that matters, it’s what you do with what you have left that counts.”

Aug. 7-11, 2011

Highlights of Our 2008 Meetings click here

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photo credit: Todd Chambers

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IOA TODAY First Quarter 2009 Newsletter