Are you a big fan of being outside? I certainly know I am and one of the things that I feared the most when I found out I had to have an ostomy was the fear of not being able to be outside again. It was a legitimate fear and that was because my favorite sports or done outside and I absolutely love being in the fresh air and enjoying life. The thought that my life would not allow me to do it because of my new stoma was just heartbreaking. Luckily, I was able to talk with a lot of people who put my fears to rest. Not only was I able to talk to doctors, nurses, and pharmacists but I was able to look online and see thousands of people going on grand adventures with their ostomy bags. That is something that gave me hope and allowed me to create a system that gets me outside and allows me to do my favorite sport every single year.
My favorite sport to do outdoors and even with my ostomy is hunting. It is the oldest sport in the world and allows me to fee my family some of the most healthy meat in the world and I am able to enjoy the hardships that the outdoors offers. Considering I have a desk day job, I really enjoy changing up that daily routine and going out into the great outdoors and experiencing hardship the way our forefather did. It is a wonderful reminder of how easy we have life and it is also a great training tool if our economy keeps shutting down and the food shortages in 2020 get worse. I have seen items fly off the shelf and not comeback on for months and meat is starting to skyrocket in price. That is because of the waste that occurred with the COVID-19 economic shutdowns across the nation. That is why I believe hunting is really important and being able to get the correct ostomy gear that works with me is also key.
I talked with many people especially my pharmacist about getting the right shield, seals, and ostomy bags for my outdoor trips. He gave me great advice and led me to elastic bands and different bags with belt loops to help me while working really hard outside. He knew I would be doing lots of cardio and possibly very heavy lifting and pulling. That is because hunting is simply not easy or simple I was giving great advice on the gear to use while working out and preparing for the task of deer hunting as well. I have spent months in the gym getting my body ready for the hardships to come. I also got great advice on the smell issue as well.
One thing many people know and yet don't think about much is how good animals' sense of smell really is. I was most worried about my ostomy bag being able to be smelled from miles away. The information I was given and found to be most useful was that there are many ways to lower the smell from your ostomy bag. There are pills I can take that help my body deal with the situation better. I can also put some drops of scent killing liquid into my ostomy bags and I can wear scent blocking clothing as well. So that is how I go out into the outdoors. I hope you learned something and do the same!
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