The summer holidays bring an opportunity for rest, family and exploring new places.

As soon as school finished, my wife and I went away with the rest of my family to The Gower, Wales for my cousin’s wedding. This didn’t bring the rest which my body was craving, but it did give me the opportunity to get away with my parents and sister. Showing them how much better I was than the family holiday the year previous (most of which I spent doubled over with stomach cramps or rushing to the toliet). The Gower is a beautiful place – a bit like a Welsh version of Cornwall – winding roads leading to cliff walks with spectacular views. I beat my step goal every day we were there (getting lost in some woods probably contributed to this) and thoroughly enjoyed getting out whatever the weather. I didn’t have one moment where I thought “I can’t do this because of my bag.” It felt good.

After our Welsh adventure we returned to Cornwall and visited our church who were camping at Creationfest (a Christian festival held in Wadebridge each year). Here we were able to go to morning worship and talks, have a catch up with our friends before I went to a coffee seminar with 2 good friends. Here the owner of ‘Relish’ changed my perception of making a coffee (maybe I’ll explain in a future blog).

After this day visit we decided to go back later in the week to camp for the night. This would be my first night camping on the floor since surgery. The walk across the campsite in the dark at 5am with a full bag wasn’t the best, but that was the only downside.

Since surgery I have been hiding my bag under my clothes with a waistband, but as this isn’t comfortable I started to look at other options. My first port of call was a ‘Penguin Pouch’ from the company Stomawise. This was great to start with, however it was rather large and so my talented mum got to work on making one with a better fit.

The original Stomawise ‘Penguin Pouch’ is the blue one on the far left moving through the versions to the final one on the far right. Small and black, it is just right for most occasions.

Now a perfect fit has been found, mum started to vary the material. I now have a nude colour for under white shirts as the black one shows through.

And even 2 jazzy and bright ones for the beach.

My last topic is supplies. I get a regular supply of bags, barrier rings and other kit from SALTs every two months or so. However since surgery, I had only used the base suggestions from my stoma nurses. This led to me reading a few blogs of other ostomates where other products were suggested. I visited the Dansac website to have a look at their products and filled out a request. One day later they arrived.

New bags (mini and midi), cleansing wipes (never used before), new barrier rings (pH neutralising to help with soreness) and the most interesting product for me – a two piece bag.

With my current system (one piece) I cut a hole to the correct size and the bag then sticks to my skin for 2 or 3 days before I change it again. However, with a 2 piece a baseplate sticks to the skin and I can replace the bag independently. This will hopefully mean it will be easier to swap between sizes for sport (midi for during the day, mini for cycling or running).

It will be interesting to see how I get along.