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Young Ostomates
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Articles and personal stories written by and
dedicated to young persons with ostomies
Introduction
LDOA is excited to give young persons who have had or will have diversionary surgery a place they can call their own. This section was created due to a severe lack of information and support for young persons with ostomies on the Internet. Young persons with ostomies have additional concerns that most adult persons with ostomies do not have to worry about anymore – peer pressure, school and dating, just to name a few. This section is designed to help younger persons with ostomies – anywhere in the age group of 7 to 29 – connect with their peers to offer support, information and education.
This section is still very much in development. We have more personal stories and articles planned, but we would like to keep adding more. If you have a story to share or would like to write an article that you feel would be of interest to young persons with ostomies, please contact LDOA's Webmaster, Deanna Sterling, by
Personal Stories
Casey Trottier's Personal BCIR Story • Casey Trottier, 28, of Stratford, Ontario tells her life story about her battles with Ulcerative Colitis, her ileostomy and ground-breaking BCIR surgery, as well as her personal journey as a woman, wife and mother. • Article added November 10, 2003
Nicole Dodds' Personal CD-UC Story • Nicole Dodds, 12, of London tells her story about being diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at the age of 8, then further developing Ulcerative Colitis, which eventually lead to an ileostomy. • Article added January 25, 2004
Brock Masters' Personal Story • Brock Masters, 24, of Hampton, Ontario tells his story about overcoming his personal hurdles when diagnosed with Spina Bifida and the resulting colostomy that changed his life.
• Article added February 2, 2005 
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Courtney Francoeur, 20, and Nicole Dodds, 12, both from London, answer 65 frequently asked questions most young persons have based on their personal experiences as ileostomates. You don't have to be under 30 to benefit from this FAQ! • FAQ added February 10, 2004
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Return to Top Links to Awesome Articles and Advice for Kids
All of these links will take you to the same site • Kids Health • and will open in a separate browser window. 
The Real Deal on the Digestive System
Your digestive system starts working before you eat. And it will be busy working on your chewed-up food for the next few hours – or even days – depending upon what you've eaten. This process allows your body to get the nutrients and energy it needs from food.
What Kids Need To Know About Kidneys
Your kidneys are every bit as important as the heart. You need at least one kidney to live! Kidneys normally come in pairs. If you've ever seen a kidney bean, then you have a pretty good idea what the kidneys look like.
Are Your Bowels Moving?
Are you embarrassed to talk about moving your bowels (pooping)? Your bowels finish the process of digesting food, a process that starts in your mouth and stomach and ends with you going to the bathroom.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
It's normal for kids to get stomach aches. But some kids get bad stomach pain all the time. They are tired and even feel like they might throw up. These kids may have what's called inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Everybody gets irritable once in a while, but what do you do if your intestines are irritable? Irritable bowel syndrome causes cramps, bloating, constipation (when you can't poop), and diarrhea (when you poop too much).
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
GERD – what a funny-sounding word! But GERD isn't exactly funny. Its letters stand for gastroesophageal reflux disease. You can't catch GERD from someone else, but it's a fairly common disease. In fact, millions of kids and adults have this problem.
What is Cancer?
Cancer is a scary word because most people don't know a lot about cancer – like how few people get it, what it really is, and how it can be treated. And almost everyone knows someone who got very sick or died from cancer. That makes it very scary.
When Someone Has a Chronic Illness
A chronic illness isn't the name of just one illness. It's a word used to describe a group of health conditions that last a long time. Chances are, you know someone with a chronic illness.
Going to the Hospital
It may seem a little scary to go to a hospital, but doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers are there to help people who are sick or hurt feel better. Read on to find out what happens inside a hospital.
What Happens in the Operating Room?
Maybe you've seen an operating room on TV or in a movie, or you know someone who's had an operation in one. It sounds scary, mysterious and interesting – but what is it really all about?
Why Drinking Water is the Way to Go
All living things must have water to survive. It might not seem like it, but water is the most necessary nutrient of them all – so neces- sary, in fact, that people can't survive for more than a few days without it.
What's the Big Sweat About Dehydration?
Have you ever spent an afternoon playing basketball or baseball? Chances are, you were thirsty by the end of the game. That thirst you had was a sign of dehydration. Dehydration means that your body loses more fluids than it takes in.
Talking About Your Feelings
Sometimes the toughest thing about feelings can be sharing them with others. Sharing your feelings helps you when your feelings are good and when they aren't so good. Learn more about how to talk about your feelings and emotions by reading this article.
Why Am I So Sad?
Feeling down? Got the blues? You're not alone. Everyone gets sad. Some people have sad feelings just once in a while, and others may have sad feelings pretty often. A deeper, more intense kind of sadness that lasts a lot longer is called depression.
Dealing With Anger
Have you ever lost your temper? Did you yell and scream or want to hit someone? Every- one gets angry. Anger can even be a good thing. The hard part is learning what to do with these strong feelings.
The Story on Self-Esteem
You can't touch it, but it affects how you feel. You can't see it, but it's there when you look at yourself in the mirror. You can't hear it, but it's there every time you talk about yourself. What is this important but mysterious thing? It's your self-esteem!
The Story on Stress
Have you ever felt sick to your stomach during a test? Have you had times when you had trouble sleeping? Have you ever been so worried about something that you ended up with a headache? If so, then you know what it's like to feel stress.
Return to Top Links to Awesome Articles and Advice for Teens
All of these links will take you to the site • Teens Health • and will open in a separate browser window.
Body Basics: The Digestive System
What's the first step in digesting food? Believe it or not, the digestive process starts even before you put food in your mouth. It begins when you smell something irresistible or when you see a favorite food you know will taste good. Just by smelling that home- made apple pie or thinking about how delicious that ice cream sundae is going to taste, you begin to salivate – and the digestive process kicks in, preparing for that first scrumptious bite.
Body Basics: Kidneys and Urinary Tract
Our bodies produce several kinds of wastes, including sweat, carbon dioxide gas, feces (also known as stool), and urine (pee). Urine, which is produced by the kidneys, contains the by-products of our body's metabolism - salts, toxins, and water - that end up in our blood. The kidneys and urinary tract filter and eliminate these waste substances from our blood. Without the kidneys, waste products and other toxins would soon build up in the blood to dangerous levels.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
IBD is an ongoing illness caused by an inflammation of the intestines. There are two main types of IBD: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Gastrointestinal Infections and Diarrhea
Diarrhea, which is characterized by frequent and watery bowel movements, is often caused by gastrointestinal infections, although it can also come from other illnesses or changes in diet. Germs such as parasites, viruses, or bacteria can all cause gastrointestinal infections.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
You might be surprised to learn that persistent heartburn is one of the signs of gastroesophageal reflux disease, more commonly known as GERD or acid reflux. GERD doesn't just affect older people who eat too much while watching TV. Active, healthy teens can have GERD, too.
Dealing With Cancer
By now you've probably heard of cancer and know that it can be a serious disease. Chances are, you may even know someone who has had it, such as an older relative or someone in a friend's family. But sometimes cancer affects teens and when that some- one is you, the word cancer takes on a new meaning – one that is personal and frightening.
If You or Somone You Know Has Cancer
Scary as the word cancer may sound, it is simply the name of an illness. Like many medical conditions, cancer can be treated. And although some teens with cancer don't recover, many not only survive, but return to their everyday lives. Read on to learn about how to cope if you or someone you know has cancer.
Chemotherapy
The term chemotherapy, which is sometimes shortened to chemo, refers to the use of medications to treat cancer. Cancer is a disease that occurs when cells in the body develop abnormally and grow in an uncontrolled way. Cancer cells tend to divide rapidly. Chemotherapy works by interfering with the way cells divide, thereby preventing the cancer from spreading – and sometimes even curing the disease by helping to get rid of all the cancer cells in the body.
Dealing With Dehydration
Dehydration is a condition that occurs when a person loses more fluids (such as urine or sweat) than he takes in. To feel your best, you need to replace that fluid. Dehydration is nowhere near as serious a problem for teens as it can be for babies or young children, but if you ignore your thirst, dehydration can slow you down.
Dealing With A Health Condition
Living with a long-lasting health condition (also called a chronic illness) presents a person with new challenges. Learning how to meet those challenges is a process – it doesn't happen right away. But understanding more about your condition, and doing your part to manage it, can help you take health challenges in stride. Many people find that taking an active part in the care of a chronic health condition can help them feel stronger and better equipped to deal with lots of life's trials and tribulations.
What's It Like To Stay in the Hospital?
Thinking about staying in the hospital makes most people feel a little apprehensive. But if you have an illness or injury that requires hospitalization, knowing what to expect before you get to the hospital may make your time there a little easier.
What's It Like to Have Surgery?
You may be a fan of TV emergency room shows and hospital dramas, but these shows probably just make you more nervous about what happens in the operating room. Want to stress less about surgery? Find out what to expect before you get to the hospital by reading this article. If you're facing surgery, you definitely aren't alone. Millions of teens are wheeled into operating rooms each year.
Depression
Depression is very common and affects as many as one in eight people in their teen years. Depression affects people of every colour, race, economic status, or age; however, it does seem to affect more females than males during adolescence and adulthood.
How Can I Deal With My Anger?
It's up to you to learn how to feel angry and express it in a healthy way. As a teen, you have the equipment to practice self-awareness and self-control. Young kids don't have the self-control that teens do - that's why you see them throwing tantrums when they're mad. As you mature, you can be more aware of your feelings and you can exercise more choices about how to act when you're feeling an intense emotion like anger.
How Can I Improve My Self-Esteem?
Self-esteem involves how much a person values herself and appreciates her own worth and importance. For example, a teen with healthy self-esteem is able to feel good about her character and her qualities and take pride in her abilities, skills, and accomplishments. Self-esteem is the result of comparing how we'd like to be and what we'd like to accomplish with how we actually see ourselves.
Spotlight on Stress
Feeling like there are too many pressures and demands on you? Losing sleep worrying about tests and schoolwork? Eating on the run because your schedule is just too busy? If you're feeling stressed out, you're not alone. Everyone experiences stress at times – adults, teens, and even kids. But what is stress? Is it always a bad thing? What can someone do to keep cool under pressure? Read on to find out more and to learn what you can do to minimize stress in your life and manage the stress that's unavoidable.
More personal stories and articles will be added as time permits. Join LDOA's mailing list and be notified when updates are added.
As of April 24, 2004, all links on this page were active. If you discover any broken links or, alternatively, wish to see a link included, please advise LDOA's Webmaster, |
Disclaimer • This site and its contents are presented expressly for informational purposes only about London & District Ostomy Association (LDOA) and gastrointestinal and/or urinary diversions in general. In no way are any of the materials presented here meant to be a substitute for professional medical care or proper attention by a qualified physician, nor should they be construed as such. Always check with your doctor or ET if you have any questions or concerns about your condition or before starting a new program or treatment. The Webmaster and LDOA are not responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any form of damages whatsoever resulting from the use (or misuse) of information contained in or implied by this site.
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