This comes from Doctor Grahame Howard. This is another subject that is dear to my heart as I had ulcerative colitis many years ago. So when this was presented, I felt that I had to share it with you. You can contact Dr. Howard at: g.howard455@btinternet.com, and his web site is www.stomacare.org.uk.


When I first realised that I would have to have an ileostomy, I was horrified. I felt like my life was over, In fact, it was only just beginning.
Living with a bowel condition is not easy as many can testify. Frequent visits to the toilet and many accidents can leave a person feeling very insecure and frightened to even leave their homes. Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease can be very cruel to live with. For many, stoma surgery is the only answer.
However, stoma surgery may be performed because of Bowel Cancer or because of an accident, where a person has had no time to prepare for the life they now find themselves living.
StomaCare is here to try and help support anyone who is living with a bowel condition and may have to face stoma surgery, or those who have had the surgery and are now attempting to cope with life as an ostomist.
It is not easy but it is achievable with a positive outlook on life. Perhaps life will never be the same again. However, it has got to be better than living life wondering where the next toilet is and coping with the endless, humiliating accidents. There’s life out there. It’s a matter of finding it and living it for however long that life may be! Life with a stoma takes some working at but
the important thing is you still have life and you only have one crack at it.



In my book, ALL BAGGED UP you will find a helpful account of my life from the day I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and onward following my ileostomy. The book gives an honest account of how I felt living with UC, the depression and anger that it caused me at the time and how I began to cope with it. I then take you into being told I would need stoma surgery, my time in hospital and how I began to cope with my new life. The book is packed with helpful hints that I have learnt together with suggestions that I know you will find helpful.
My Christian faith was probably the mainstay in my life and the one thing that helped me through. Although my faith is obvious throughout the book, it is not written to try and convert anyone. It is designed to show you, the reader, that at times, it helps to have someone or something to meet our spiritual needs as we are going through dark times. As well as speaking about the Christian faith, I give a chapter of alternatives that may meet a persons needs such as aroma therapy and other complimentary therapies.

Whether you are suffering from a bowel condition or you are facing stoma surgery for a colostomy or ileostomy formation, this book is for you and will help you.
StomaCare is here to support you. Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments that you may have. Please remember, you are not alone!