Many of her clients have other concerns. They describe the problems to Robbins and she uses her sewing skills and imagination to come up with solutions. For Donna Dotson of Huntersville, a paraplegic, the need was for cotton briefs that open and close on the side with snap strips. Robbins has made bibs for Scott using a terry cloth fabric with a rubber backing that keeps his clothes underneath clean and dry. Ostomy patients have had portions of their intestines or bladders removed and replaced with plastic pouches outside their bodies to collect their waste.
Many patients are self-conscious about the way the bags look.
For them, Robbins carries a line of pouch covers in a variety of fabric designs. But having a cloth covering over it makes the patients feel good about themselves. It just makes them feel like it isn't so medical. Infant ostomy patients can present a challenge, Rutland adds. She's helped us sometimes when we have a baby with an ostomy and the baby won't leave the pouch alone.