What have I accomplished over the past year?
Well, with the support of my partner and family, I successfully had my disease-ridden large intestine removed.
3 weeks post op: I flew halfway across Canada to my parent’s place in Ontario to reconnect with family and recover.
While at my parents’ place, I got into a car and drove for 14 hours to attend a funeral on PEI, and then 14 hours back a few days later. This was both very emotional and a monumental achievement.
2 months post op: I went snowshoeing at Mount Seymour.
2.5 months post op: I strapped back into my snowboard and rekindled my old friendships.
3 months post op: I used my splitboard to climb a good chunk of the way up Mount Seymour.
A week later I spent a full day splitboarding off the backside of Blackcomb mountain.
And again, a week after that, north of Pemberton.
5 months post op: I went on a week long cruise up to Alaska with my partner and her family, saw a bunch of glaciers, and incredibly big mountains that I now want to go back and snowboard on!
My partner and I went camping along the Oregon coast.
I went wakesurfing, a bunch! (and bought a really cool hat!)
I got to go kiteboarding a ton. (really loving the hat, it’s the best!)
I started to get into hiking (I really need to push myself to do this more).
And now I am getting excited to get back on my snowboard again, winter is fast approaching, and snow is coming soon!
But as I look back at the past year and think about all the amazing things I’ve been able to do, what puts a smile on my face is being able to stand up without fear of shitting myself. I had cut myself off from friends and family, I did not have any semblance of a social life, and so my greatest accomplishment in the past year is getting out reconnecting with everyone.
I just want to thank everyone who has helped and supported me along the way. Whether it’s been a kind word or a sick joke (especially if it was at my expense!). I am so blessed to have such an incredible network of support. I especially want to thank my partner Suzy, who has stuck with me through the absolute worst, and who constantly challenges and pushes me to be a better version of myself.
Congrats Alex it was a long and hard road for you . I’m so glad that you are living life to the fullest again you deserve every second of it
Thanks Guy! Hopefully I can pop up in your neck of the woods soon.
Very emotional Alex!
Dad
What’s a large intestine between friends? Lol I have bagged it for forty years now and it saved my life! Two great adult kids and their spouses… four grandchildren…
I hope you have an amazing life! Watch out not to lift too much… (hernia risk) get yourself a snowblower 🤓
Thanks for the advice and encouragement. Though I live in Vancouver, so I get to avoid most of the snow shoveling 😉
What an amazing blog post. So amazing. You are such an inspiration and so proud that our paths met this past year.
What a gift! Thank you for posting this I am six days post op with a total Coloctomy and end ileostomy. I’m looking forward to healing and getting back into the wild!
Hi Mandy, I hope that your recovery is going well for you! feel free to reach out on any of my social channels if you have any questions, or want some advice on where to look for hints and tips for getting back into the swing of things!
Wow you had an amazing first year full of activity and adventure! Your story eased a lot of my worries as I’m probably facing another resection due to a sigmoid ulcer at the anastomosis site (had a subtotal colectomy Dec 2015 but have had complications with pain and bleeding for a while now). S if I need another resection, I’m thinking ileostomy may be a better option than redoing the anastomotis.
Hi Stephanie, I’m happy I could help ease some worries! Sounds like a tough go right now! If you have any questions, or just want to reach out, hit me up on any of my social channels, and if I can help in any way I would be happy to. Good luck with everything, and I hope that whichever direction you choose to take that it works for you!
So awesome to see your story! I had my ostomy surgery Dec 2018 & 8 weeks later took the trip of a lifetime skiing Whistler! I learned a ton that trip on non existent ab muscles & the importance of hydration! We are big mountain skiing next month & hopefully I can keep my hose ice free 🙂 I love seeing inspirational people like yourself living your best life! Keep it up!
Thank you! Yes, hydration is massive! A little trick I’ve learned with the hydration pack in the winter is to blow air into the hose when you are not drinking so it doesn’t freeze, and you will have access to your water all day.