Years ago I used to take part in the brilliant sport of pedalcar racing ( http://www.pedalcarracing.info ). However, moving further down south in conjunction with teaching I have been unable to race for 4 years.

I’m in constant contact with my teammates (one of the positives of social media) and they are some of my closest friends even if they live miles away. When I found out round 4 of the British Pedal Car Championship at Blackbushe kart track was on a Saturday before term started back I quickly got in contact to see if there was a seat available. A response came swiftly… Yes, and if not many were willing to step out to allow me in. I felt blessed to have such amazing friends.

The morning of the race I drove with my wife up to the track and nerves started to kick in. I hadn’t raced in years and had left the sport on a high when I was at my fittest. This was going to be a test. Looking at the course I took in the changes, 4 years ago there was a sweeping right hander downhill into a chicane. Now there was a series of 90° turns before heading into the chicane. This was going to be interesting.

Soon familiar faces started to arrive and my nerves were replaced with joy of seeing my friends, some who I haven’t seen in over a year (before surgery). After we got the pit set up and a few laps done to get re-familiarised with the car it was time for the race drivers briefing before the first race.

Today was the sprint races. This meant a day of 5×1 hour races. Pedalcar racing is a team sport. Each team is made up of up to 4 drivers, who take it in turns to race around a circuit (usually a karting track) for a certain amount of time or distance. Over the season we race from 1 hour up to 24 hours. As a team we decided on 20 minute stints as I didn’t know how I would go.

Steve would be starting and I would be in 2nd so I had a 20 minute wait until I got back in the car. Steve’s time in the car came to an end quickly and my time in the car began. It took me a couple of laps to get back into the rhythm, but it wasn’t long before it felt like normal – apart from those 3 new corners, they kept catching me out and making my sides ache.

Since surgery my core has been weak, but I was heavily advised against immediately building up muscle due to the likelihood of a hernia. This meant where the surgeon cut into me, my muscle was still weak. Riding my bike helped increase my fitness and strength whilst not putting my core under stress. Pedalcar racing was putting my core under stress but only in the 3 x 90°corners which I was going into at around 25mph.

After 2 x 20 minute stints my body was starting to feel the stress and after sitting out race 3, I was worried before starting the 4th race.

The race began and I was feeling good. I was following all the moves of the lead cars. Our team’s lead car (#2 driven by Sam) was vying for the lead, so I went to the front of the group to give Sam a steady pace. This was all good for 2 laps, then he got his breath back an launched an attack out of the final chicane. I just let the gap open to ensure the other teams had to chase. They did, but this meant I then needed to chase them. Heading down the hill into the 90° corners that lap I was going the fastest I had all day. Unfortunately, this meant the stress on my core was higher too. Suddenly I was struggling to breathe. I decided to give it another lap, but was still struggling with a pain in my back on any intake of breath. After pitting early and lying on my front I calmed down.

At this point I started to acknowledge my day was over, but was still concerned about the pain in my lower back. However, a new addition to the racing was a massage tent. Kate from ‘Well Trodden Path’ ( http://www.welltroddenpath.co.uk )was charging £7 for a 10 minute sports massage. I went along and was able to have a massage there and then. Kate worked my lower back and slowed my breathing down. After listening to my experience after surgery, she went on to show me some exercises to slowly build up my core strength again without putting it under too much stress – my best man (a personal trainer) has since given me a plan to follow.

I then called it a day on my race. Feeling disappointed I couldn’t do more, but looking back I realise how amazing I did for less than a year after surgery.

If you want to watch a video of the day racing follow the link below to YouTube.

Ive been meaning to write about the subject of weight for a while. It seems to always be an issue with people with IBD and also people in general (myself included), so I just wanted to share my story and what I’ve learnt about myself through the last year.

People who have known me a long time may think this has never been an issue, but actually is a topic I’m rather obsessed about.

Growing up I was always the skinny kid – which was fine with me as it meant I could run (reasonably well), high jump (reasonably well), actually I could turn my hand to most sport reasonably well (unless it involved upper body strength). This meant that I was never the best, but usually in the top 5 or 10 who were taking part.

Therefore, when I was growing up I didn’t necessarily mind being called ‘the skinny one’. This pattern continued when I moved house to a new town and then a new school, scout group, music band etc. At this time I started to step away from playing football regularly and through the scouts and pedalcars I took up cycling. Here the lack of weight was a positive (in cycling power to weight is king for going up hills etc.). I didn’t mind the jokes – “Where’s he gone, he must have turned sideways!” was always a favourite…

Through the first few years of university I kept fit, found a real passion for road cycling and therefore my weight stayed low. This was until I had a placement away from Plymouth. Here I had 10 weeks away from my bike and the only exercise I had was running PE classes and walking the 5 minutes to the school building.

This meant for the 1st time in my life I went over 11 stone. Immediately people started noticing. First, my Plymouth cycling buddy commented as I was easily dropped on the climbs. Next, when I visited my chiropractor she immediately commented I had let myself go, the receptionist followed with a highly witty phrase. This made me paranoid and I immediately began improving my fitness again. This paranoia has stayed with me.

This paranoia leads to me regularly weighing myself, usually between 3 and 5 times a week. Therefore when I started showing symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis, my weight dropping was the 1st thing I noticed. It just dropped, dropped and dropped. After surgery this continued.

This is common symptom for people with IBD, Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Weight is a yo-yo, steroids put it on (of which I had my fair share last year), but the amount of blood loss saps your strength and takes your weight back down.

At my lowest I was down below 57kg – this was painful. I was so thin I was getting sores just lying/sitting in bed. I was badly dehydrated and needed 2 days worth of IV drips to get me functioning properly.

I have now been steadily improving my weight and am back up at a healthy 71kg. I’m still getting comments about my weight – mostly “You’re looking healthy!”, occasionally “How come you eat and it never goes on you!” (I won’t go into details, but some stuff just goes straight through me!). But I have learnt to just take the comments as compliments.

This year, I have learnt many lessons about myself and weight and I try to avoid discussing the topic as much as possible. The most important thing I’ve learnt is to be happy with yourself. I still weigh myself twice a week, but this is more for medical reasons than any other. I need to know I am a healthy weight and not suddenly losing too much or putting too much on.

All and all, in my opinion, being healthy is all that matters and remembering everyone’s body is different.

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.

Being back at work since Easter, a break over the 2nd May bank holiday was greatly recieved. Even though we’d only been back at school for a month and a half. It had been an extremely busy time: SATS for year 2 and 6 and the splitting of my class after 7 new members had joined were just a few of the events happening. 

This break allowed​ for my wife and I to meet up with some university friends. One couple were having their baby Boaz dedicated – what an awesome name! This occasion led to seeing friends who hadn’t seen me since I was ill or since just after surgery. The amount of times I was told I was looking well took me a-back. When you look at yourself in the mirror every day you honestly don’t think about it. But I’m obviously looking healthy and I feel I should embrace the complements (although it does get awkward when ladies say “Well you’ve put the weight on!” What do you say back? Answers on a postcard).

My stoma this month had been getting sore, especially where it joins the skin. A stoma, for those who don’t know, is the end of the small intestine rolled back on itself (like you would do with a pair of socks) forming a small spout which protudes from the right-hand side of the abdomen. Because it is essentially sewn onto the skin, it can pull and get sore. 

To combat this I’ve been changing my bag regularly and cleaning it thoroughly. However it was still quite sore. I therefore tried a few ideas of my own. First I thought Vaseline. Seems like a good idea, but I nearly got a leak due to it interfering with the adhesive seal. Not good. This led to me trying my 2nd idea. Talcum powder. Yes, that would dry everything out. So I put it on, this led to things getting worse…

My third idea was sudecream. Before applying I thought I’d just give my stoma nurses a call. Their immediate response was “No! Don’t do it!” At this point I said powder is ok though? To which they responded “Yes, the specific stoma powder,” I now informed them I was just using talcum powder. This is when I realised the error of my ways. I was using treatment for external use on an internal intestine. This is why I was having a burning pain and it was getting​ worse.

Lesson now learnt!

Today (19th May) is world IBD day. This meant I went to work wearing my purple tie and purple ‘Crohn’s and Colitis’ badge. Many of the children thought it was my birthday and it was great to share about want Colitis is and how is affected me – I didn’t mention surgery as I’m doing a good job of hiding my bag from the kids.

It is great to get that awareness out there. The idea that IBD is ‘just tummy problems’ is what many people believe, however they don’t necessarily see the other side – severe pain, tiredness, aching joints and depression are just many possibilities, not including side affects from the medication. 

One side affect of the Prednisone I was prescribed was facial hair. As a bloke in my twenties I am well past puberty and do regularly shave, but I was having to shave daily to keep stubble at bay. However, this wasn’t the only side affect… Soon along came he mood swings. I like to think (and have been told) that I have alot of patience (I must do to be a teacher), but I was starting to ‘snap’ at those close to me and constantly on the edge of feeling aggressive.

Another major side affect of the various medication was the loss of my hair. Now usually, my hair is rather thick and I have to use quite a bit to hair product to tame it even when it is short. However, it suddenly​ began to fall out. First a few hairs then in clumps. It got to the point where I would avoid washing my hair as otherwise I would loose 30+ hairs each time I ran my hand through my hair. This really affected my confidence. Being thinner than usual – I can deal with, losing the muscles in my legs – I know I will get back cycling. Being able to see more scalp than hair – I was worried (maybe I just realised in quite vain… 😕 )

Walk it! Plymouth

Last week my wife and I travelled over to Plymouth to take part in the first of the series of ‘Walk It!’ For Crohn’s and Colitis UK. These are a series of walks – either 10 or 5 kilometres – around the UK. Joining other people walking in purple to raise awareness and some money at the same time. Arriving slightly late in soggy Plymouth, we were the last walkers off. We followed the signs around Plymouth with cheery Marshall’s placed at regular points. 

Although we were the last to start, we had soon caught up some other walkers and pressed on in the mizzle to the 7km mark. Here we stopped very briefly to use the facilities at a friendly coffee shop on the Barbican. Sufferers of Crohn’s and Colitis often suffer from anxiety over where they can go to the toilet – when you join ‘Crohn’s and Colitis UK’ they provide you with an emergency toilet card – however to help sufferers complete their walk, over 15 toliet points were provided on the course.

Arriving back at the Hoe, we were greeted across the line with smiles and a cheer, only to notice that a trio of walkers who we had overtaken a few kilometres back were suddenly infront of us. For a moment we were outraged! Taking a shortcut when raising money for charity – now that’s not fair. But it didn’t take long for us to realise, last year I would not have been able to complete the walk and that was before I was at my worst. How your viewpoint changes when you have experienced he effects of Ulcerative Colitis.

Thanks to our friends, family and work colleagues we managed to raise just over £300 for Crohn’s and Colitis UK. This will help fund furher research to finding a cure as there isn’t one currently.

6 months on since surgery – lots has happened. It is now the end of the Easter break and the reality of going back to work is dawning, but I feel ready. These last 2 months have been jam packed full of exciting teaching experiences, a battle to regain my cycling legs and gaining confidence in my health. 

The second part of the Spring term allowed me to complete my first half term back teaching and I was presented with an amazing opportunity to work with the ‘Bloodhound Project’ to build minature rocket cars. I was worried that this project may lead to stress and damage my health, however the opposite occurred. This exciting project kept me engaged and focused and my bag wasn’t an issue once.

The break for Easter brought my first cycle challenge – The New Forest Sportive 100km. Booked in February as an incentive to get back on the bike, fitness progress was stalled by the bad weather. This led to me using the dreaded indoor spin bike. This can be mind numbingly boring if not focused, but I got into a 30minute routine and efforts on the bike got easier. 

Finally (or rather quickly) the day was upon me. Lining up alongside over 2000 other riders at Somerly House, Hampshire I was pleased to have 2 of my closest friends with me (CF & PW). The start of the ride gently passed through the house’s grounds, but as soon as we got onto the road the racer within was released. Soon we were spinning along the lanes at over 20mph. As soon as we got onto the exposed roads of the New Forest CF and PW focused on sheltering me from the wind. This allowed us to keep our speed. After a puncture and 2 comfort stops we got around just 2 minutes outside the gold standard time – a successful return to road cycling (albeit with an extremely full bag at the finish line).

Two of the downsides to having Ulcerative Colitis are the side effects of the drugs used during a flare up and the continuation of proctitis in the rectal stump after surgery. One side effect of the strong drugs that I was given during my stays in hospital was a blocked sweat gland. This caused a lump to form under the skin in my groin which needed removing. So last week I went to hospital for minor surgery. I was extremely impressed by the team and I’ve now got a 5 week wait for the stitches to dissolve – the wonders of modern medicine.

One aspect of having a Stoma bag is that when it is full, it has to be emptied. This can be more of an issue when travelling. One of the most uncomfortable situations is traveling in a car with a seat belt squashing your bag. Therefore on our journey home I spotted an Esso petrol station, so took the opportunity to pull in and use their facilities. Upon entering the building I was informed that there were not toilets available to use. Now, when I joined Chrons and Colitis UK I was given an ‘Urgent’ card explaining I needed to use their facilities. I had never needed to use it in 9 months, but I couldn’t wait longer so brought it out to show. Without further ado the cashier stepped forward and opened the staff toilet for me to use. Thank you Esso!

All in all, 6 months have flown by and I feel I am adjusting to life with a stoma.

It’s now half term and I have completed a few weeks back at work full time. January was used as a phased return building up my hours. It felt like it went really quickly, but I guess that shows I am definitely ready for full time teaching. The phased return was great for me getting back into the classroom and building relationships with my new class. My HLTA has been amazing, as has the new teacher, who has been working alongside me.

One of my worries on the return to work was fitting in to the staff and being part of the team. At first it was a struggle. I was only in for an hour a day and was not able to speak to anyone as we were all so busy. However, as time went on and I was starting to teach full days, they understood I hadn’t changed that much and was myself.

This week is half term for my school and work never stops! Marking is all done, assessment too. Now I need to focus on planning for the rest of the term and rest. Rest being the key word. 

So with the mindset of ‘rest’ I headed out for a bike ride. I’ve entered a cyclo-sportive in the New Forest at the start of April, so I need to start training. Off I went on the cross bike down the trails (I should really say up the trails as the first 3 miles are all uphill). At the top of the trails I found a mini circuit. A laptime of about 2 minutes meant I could take it easy one lap and push myself the next whilst all the time improving my handling skills. I look forward to heading up there again soon.

Whilst I was in hospital many of my friends came to visit. Two of my closest from church came and I told them I was craving a beer, burger and fries. This was a meal I had been banned from since I got my official diagnosis of UC back in May. 1st Saturday of half term was the perfect time. We drove to a nearby town which had a fab restaurant. Here two of us ordered the 1/2lb burger with bacon and cheese. One on the otherhand had ‘The Beast’, a wide 1lb burger in a large bun. He demolished it before I’d even got halfway through mine. I had been warned off coleslaw, but it looked so good with the sweet potato fries, I had to have some. There was no come back either, my stoma coping with this new food – I was over chewing my food to help.

Now the rest of half term needs to be used productively and sort as much planning as I can do. This will help to lower the pressure during the next few weeks. Overall I’m feeling good and my stoma is looking healthy – the Stoma nurse confirmed this for me and soon I’ll be able to try some new vests they’ve ordered me.

My first Christmas since having a stoma and I was rather worried. Having not had alcohol since May I decided to start off with a pear cider at home to see what happened. Any side effects? Yes, the first was being slightly tipsy due to the lack of alcohol tolerance. The second I found out about in the night. I was awoken at about 4am when I rolled over to find a balloon attached to me. Yes, my bag had so much gas in it that it had inflated so much it was difficult to empty. However, those being the only two effects I thought it would be safe to have a pint at the works Christmas meal.

This leads me onto the issue of food. When anyone mentions Christmas food my first thought is of one of the best food inventions ever, first made popular in the 1950’s, those little sausages wrapped in bacon. Yes I’m talking about pigs in blankets. Now back in the summer after I was first diagnosed and put on a restricted diet, both bacon and sausages were banned. However now with a stoma, as long as I chewed properly, a Christmas meal with all the trimmings would be possible. And it was. I managed a full traditional Christmas meal, will all the trimmings (apart from sprouts. Not a good idea due to their windy after effects…)

Moving onto New Years Eve I was feeling pretty good still with my food and starting to try out different food. At a friend’s house I tried some Indian bites from the buffet, they went down nicely. However that evening I ballooned badly! Nearly 3 tines in the night I was awoken to a bag full of air. I wondered what was going on. Was it the food? The half bottle of beer? I was confused. That evening when getting ready for a shower I had my answer. The small carbon filter that releases natural occurring gas get damaged if wet, so to prevent damage I cover them with a small, plastic sticker. I had left my sticker on… That was why I was getting the ballooning effect! Mystery solved…

3rd ride. Good company today, even if the weather wasn’t so. Stephen and Francesca met me at our usual meeting place and after a short diversion to deliver an important parcel we headed off to one of our favourite bike shops for coffee and cake. 

We had planned to be slow and steady… And we were. Although it was rather grey, the sun made a short appearance. As we gently spun our legs down the back lanes, we surveyed our beautiful county and all agreed that we live in such a beautiful place. Usually I would have taken a photo to show off Cornwall, but coffee and cake were calling. After a quick use of a cycle path to cross over the dual carriageway, we arrived to a warm festive welcome. Coffee and cake were duly served and I was able to check on he progress of my tandem in the workshop.

Before we headed back, I realised my bag was rather full. I was in a dilemma…I have only once emptied my Stoma bag out of my own house. Did I risk leaving a mess and smell in the shops toilet (I did have an emergency kit of pieces of toilet paper and a small nappy bag, but no wipes or odour spray with me), or did I risk having to empty in the lanes on the return journey… I decided with the latter. Did I worry on the way back? Yes, I could feel my bag rubbing on my leg beneath my lycra. However, I really should have been more worried about the state of he back roads we were using. Heading along at a good speed I saw a puddle. This ‘puddle’ turned out to be a rather deep pothole and resulted in a puncture. I impressed myself (and my fellow riders) with a quick tube change and we went on our way.

Soon I was back home with a rather full bag, but no accidents and I had been out of the house for 4 hours. I am starting to understand how my Stoma acts when I’m exercising. Hopefully after Christmas my support belt will arrive to support my core muscles. I’ll update when it comes…

After forgetting about resources to empty my Stoma bag last time, I made sure I took a nappy bag and a couple of pieces of toilet paper. Did I need it? No. Did I help me be at peace when I was riding? It probably helped.

So last time out I got rather cold, so I was determined not to let this happen again. However, I went the opposite way. I over dressed and had to stop halfway up the first climb to take off my hat, armwarmers and change to thinner gloves. Stephen and I then headed across to the Eden Project. 

Here we eventually locked our bikes behind a staff gate. Our bikes were apparently an eyesore and we couldn’t leave them near the café. This was quickly forgotten though thanks to he good coffee and cake.

We then (at a good speed) headed home. This was fine and I started to believe in my legs until the hills started again… I then remembered my muscles are actually rather weak still and another stop for a banana and a couple of jelly babies was needed to keep me going.

Yet again I was able to complete a gentle 20mile ride with a stop. Did I worry or think about my Stoma? No. Am I worried about getting my fitness back? Not really. Yes this is a frustrating time for my fitness levels as I am feeling weak and don’t want to push too hard. But I am starting to see more and more how having my surgery has given me a new lease of life without pain and high levels of fatigue. This week, being IBD awareness week, I have been reminded daily of all my previous symptoms and I am glad to leave them behind.