Hooping in the Hoosier state with a stoma

March Madness is here and it makes me understand that I grew up in a Hoosier state for sure.  The love of sports and basketball is born into you here.  I must say that sports can come in all shapes and sizes.  But there are some complications and things that come into play when you have a stoma.  These complications are in some ways way overblown and I think that the reality is that those with a stoma are able to participate in the vast majority of midwest sports at a very high level.  I just want to go over a few sports that I have been in and yes my stoma has joined me for them all.  No one should lose hope about being active or having fun outside just because they got a stoma.

Basketball is my jam.  I play it all the time.   This is not simply a sport, but a lifestyle in my part of the country.  I love playing basketball and have done so ever since I was a young child.  It is literally something that you grow up with.  Now my Ostomy came into my life as a young adult.  This means that I went through my 20's with a stoma and was still very active in basketball.  It was something that took me a while to jump back into if I am being totally honest.  I was really afraid of having gear failures and seals stop working when I was on the court.  Fears are real and this was one for me.

My being able to work on new gear at home really helped me. I got lots of different ostomy bags in different sizes and with different shaped seals.  It took me a while to first be able to actively move safely after surgery.  But once I started to build up my muscles again I got into shooting around in my driveway.  After months of playing mostly alone, I finally started to venture out into the real world.  I started very slow and now am back to playing full-court games at my local gym.  Stoma covers and small bags with a belt have been my go-to for a long time.

Believe it or not, though I am actually also a huge hunter.  his is a diehard sport in many families and it can be rather physical.  The idea of deer dragging seemed nearly impossible after my surgery. I feared I would never be outside in the woods hunting with my family ever again.  But my work actually playing basketball and going to the gym ended up building up enough strength for me to feel confident.  I had to be able to climb up deer stand ladders with my ostomy equipment and know that I won't have any issues. That is key. 

Hunting has to do with smell and an osotmy bag worried me at first. But there are some great pills you can take and also some anti-odor drops for the ostomy bags themselves that cut down on all the smells. So these sports are totally doable with a stoma and I know you can be just fine too.  So learn all you can, don't be afraid to fail, and have a blast outdoors no matter what your sport is.