SURGERY DAY (Loop Ileostomy)

On July 16th, I had surgery at Mayo Clinic (Rochester Methodist Hospital) to create a loop ileostomy! The procedure was a short 45 mins, simply pulling a piece of my small intestine through my abdomen and creating two openings. I stayed in the hospital for 2 days, and then spent an extra day in the hotel before flying home. Having to wear a bag that collects poop, for the next who know's how many months/years, was obviously not an easy decision to make, but given my deteriorating condition, I was left with no other choice. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to meet another girl, around the same age, who went through many GI struggles and lived happily with an ileostomy for a year and a half. I first came across her through YouTube, where I discovered a channel she started , documenting her life with Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis, and an ileostomy. Her positivity amazed me and we quickly became good friends. She helped me through the many struggles before surgery and continued to support me after surgery.  Seeing my stoma for the first time was a very weird experience. I definitely wasn't angry, more like nervous and excited for the life this new stoma can give me. My family and I were apprehensive, but looking forward to living life without so much pain and discomfort. Although I had seen videos of other people's stomas in the past, it was nothing like looking down and seeing a part of MY intestine hanging out of MY body. Although the surgery seemed to be a simple, straightforward procedure, it proved to be anything but that in the upcoming weeks. Immediately after surgery, my surgeon noticed I had a peristomal hernia and instructed me to wear a 4-inch NuHope belt to prevent the hernia from getting larger. A stoma nurse met with me and taught me how to manage my ostomy both days I was in the hospital. She also set up a homecare nurse to come  and help me with appliance changes in the beginning as well. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good after surgery and was discharged from the hospital on a soft diet and returned to my hotel room. Later that night I experienced extreme abdominal pain and my stoma stopped excreting any output. After speaking with the surgeon on-call and following her instructions, the blockage/obstruction was resolved 8 hrs later.