J-pouch Life

These excellent 4 part illustrations from John Hopkins Colon Cancer Center clearly explain the Restorative Proctocolectomy (Ileoanal Pouch Procedure) that Mark had.  The surgery is also called IPAA for short, and the Ileoanal Pouch is the long name for Jpouch.
Hopefully, these clear drawings will help you understand the procedure, and the John Hopkins Colon Cancer [...]

9 months after my “takedown” surgery, here is an update on my status. My life 9 months with my jpouch now is completely normal, I don’t think about being sick. I don’t worry about what I eat (like UC days) like pizza, in my UC days I would eat pizza but I do it knowing [...]

Here is some food for thought for those heading in to or pondering “elective surgery.” Instead of pondering and dwelling on what are all the possible complications of surgery, why not consider what is the BEST CASE SCENARIO?  Why do we always see the “worst case scenario” and why was it a revelation to me [...]

Below is a photo of Mandy and her friend simply having fun and NOT letting her ostomy get in the way of water skiing and living life. 
“haha all taped up and ready to go!  my friends taped my bag to my stomach so it wouldn’t fly around…and my friend Kevin taped his stomach so I [...]

July 12, 2008:  Tony Snow has died from colon cancer, he was 53 years old.  Tony Snow served as White House Press Secretary for Bush, and other republican political ties. This post isn’t about politics, but the politics of IBD rather. This post is about the fact that he UC for 25 years.  After living [...]

 Looks like “times they are a’ chaning” if CCFA is posting billboards to bring disease awareness.  Hopefully you’ll be able to see the billboard details, but the female in the photo is sitting on the toilet and resting her head against the wall with her eyes closed.  It’s a pretty powerful image.  The text reads [...]

THREE CHEERS TO RENEWED HEALTH!
“Every event, every situation in which you may find yourself has a positive value, even the dramas, even the tragedies, even the thunderbolt from a calm sky.” – Arnud Desjardins
 

I have my step 1 one year anniversary today, July 6th, 2007. And feeling incredibly well, with low BMs and overall feeling of good [...]

   WEBCAST: No One Understands My Pain: Communicating about Crohn’s & Colitis
Health Take has offered a very good webcast on how to talk to others about the disease you are living with.  The webcast especially addresses how with these diseases we often look “fine or healthy” but we are not.
“Often when you’re suffering from painful Crohn’s [...]

Instead of Providing you with ONLY photos of Mark’s Temporary Loop Ileostomy, we’ve started asking others to contribute their stoma photos. Now, please note, these are Loop Ileostomies, which means that they are likely temporary. There are other types of ileostomies like end ileo, we do not have any pictures of those.
Below is Ashely, she [...]