Welcome to my fundraising page!
This year, I have made a commitment to spend Sunday, October 5th, as part of a group of people who are empowering people who have had or who will have ostomy or continent diversion surgery. In order to fulfill this commitment, I am asking for your help.
On October 5th I will participate in the Run For Resilience Ostomy 5k in Meridian, ID. This is more than just a 5k race for me. The goal of these events is to raise awareness and to empower people who have had or who may some day have ostomy or continent diversion surgery. Funds will support United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that makes a difference in the lives of the 750,000 Americans who have had ostomy or continent diversion surgery. These surgeries are life-saving, and have allowed many people to return to living a healthy life.
I am writing to share my story, and to ask you to support me as I train to participate in this 5k race:
On May 24th 2024, I went in for an endoscopy for a completely unrelated issue & woke up to the news that I had a uncountable number of polyp's in my stomach & I most likely have a rare genetic condition called FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis). From there I underwent many many more tests (endoscopies, colonoscopy, blood tests, etc.) to confirm the diagnosis of FAP (meaning I was guaranteed to get colon cancer) & move forward with surgery to remove my entire colon. This surgery happened on October 18th 2024 (less than 5 months from when this all started). When I woke up from the 7.5hr surgery I felt an overwhelming sense of relief that the surgery was over & I could now adapt to my new way of life without the concern of colon cancer. I spent 1 week in the hospital recovering from the major surgery, learning how to take care of my ostomy & surrounded by my family. I spent the next few months continuing to learn how to take care of my ostomy, trying different products to learn what works best for me & getting back into my normal routine! Ostomy surgery saved my life & I love having an ostomy! :)
