Ostomy & Pouch patient & carer support charity group for all. “Ostomy Mates” is a trademark of Swindon-IA+ Reg. Charity 1038734
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Living with an ostomy gives us the opportunity to lead lives we would never have had without them. Be it work, family, holiday, sport and friendship. All of these images have been donated to show the lives many ostomists feel they have been given. Look up their Twitter handles.
If you have a photo you are proud of, please do send us copy to publish!
Work & education with an ostomy,
We know of so many occupations, indeed just about every job out there probably has ostomists doing it!
From our memories, the list includes firefighters, police (including armed response), ambulance, nurses (even stoma nurses!), ICU nurses, doctors, landscape gardener, undertaker (!), fitness trainer, lab technicians, school teaching, further and higher education, engineer… email us with yours!
Getting qualifications?: Everything goes… GCSEs, A levels, degrees, PhDs, all levels really). Our illnesses can be severe, affecting our learning, but one thing our ostomies do for us is allow us to study and complete our qualifications!
Sport
Many of the #MeAndMyOstomy photo donations feature sports … just look at the pictures, and look everyone up on Twitter…
Swimming, cycling, triathlon, wild water swimming, Tae-Kwon-do, running, rugby, fencing, clay shooting, skiing, snorkelling, rifle shooting, scuba diving, bodybuilding, are all sports we know ostomists simply have fun or get really competitive in… Can you add any more? Contact us…
Holidays and Socialising
Well, where do we start? Our first trip to the shops by ourselves is a milestone, but it doesn’t stop there. One Ostomy Mate has travelled to 5 continents. Travel insurance? No problem. Security? The invisible disability lanyard and a quick word does the trick most times, then there are certificates from various kit suppliers. Plenty of advice from the Ileostomy Association and ColostomyUK (see our links page). Or just ask another Ostomy Mate…
And solicialising is what we are about, ostomates are singers, actors, dancers, musicians… the scope is endless…
And Other Stuff that is just downright fun, or scary even!
Family & Relationships
An ostomy itself is not a barrier to having a family. We all have other things going on that change our lives in some way though, but an ostomy in its own right is not a problem. A bit of confidence goes a long way, and that is why Ostomy Mates are here.
Our ostomies give us the family lives we would not have had, and our families our company.
Become an Ostomy Mate