Bodies heal at different rates and all surgeries are different. I have a shower shield with me and show them what it looks like. Most are happy to hear they can shower again and I tell the story about cautiously wearing the shield and then one day being in the shower and realizing I didn t have it on. I panicked before I realized it hadn t killed me. I suggest a hand-held shower massage for ease of directing the flow of water, and explain that a little water in the stoma will be coughed out and it is just an unscheduled irrigation When the new lary has good color and bright eyes, I mention it because they like to know they are looking good.
Some patients like to have their hand held.
I mean what I say and that they will have things to learn but will live a quite normal life, although with some differences from before. I do not tell them about problems to expect because they may never have the ones that happened to me or to the larys I know. I talk about support group meetings and how important it is for them to join with others where we all exchange information and learn about how others care for themselves. I ask if they are online and, if they are, leave the URL for WebWhispers as well as my e-mail address and my telephone number. Even though I am making new friends, my visit is not casual.