Photography Credit: Most of the photos in this blog are credit to Abi and Cheyenne. I waited much longer this summer to go backpacking compared to the last time I had ostomy surgery (4 months this time compared to 2 last time). Having my friend Abi back in town from Texas and Cheyenne available for the weekend was the perfect excuse for a getaway. The plan was to do an “easy” trip to ease me back into carrying gear and traveling longer distances. I am quite familiar with the terrain of Caine’s Head and there’s a significant amount of flat beach walking and trails, so it seemed like a good trip ..read more

Healing Update: My perineal incision still isn’t healed. There are a couple of open areas that continue to drain. My abdominal incision is looking good. My stoma continues to do it’s own thing, where it will sometimes prolapse and sometimes retract. That’s the update. Words That Matter I was at my 4 month follow up visit for my most recent ostomy revision and jpouch removal surgery, when my surgeon said something that really resonated with me. Another team member at the appointment suggested that if I “backed off” on the activities I was doing, that my perineal incision may heal more quickly ..read more

Seat Cushion Review-Overview Having worked with patients after their rectal surgeries and undergoing abdominoperineal resection surgery (aka barbie butt surgery) myself, I know first-hand the importance of using a quality seat cushion during surgery recovery. If you get nothing else out of this post, I hope you come away understanding why you should NOT use a donut cushion. There is a line of thinking out there that leads many to believe that a donut cushion is ideal after anal/rectal surgery because pressure is not being directed at the anus/rectum. However, donut cushions have actually been ..read more

Part 3: O’Mally Circumnavigation – In a Day This traverse had the potential of being as exciting or even more exciting than any of our day-long traverses this past winter. However, weather and snow conditions made us turn to plan B, which involved less traversing and more backtracking. The original plan was to start from Glen Alps, skin up to the ridge between Hidden Peak and the Ramp, ski down into Williwaw Valley, ski down Williwaw Valley, skin up to Black Lake and then up to the Ball Field, and finally ski down Little O’Malley gulley and back to the car at Glen Alps. Glen Alps to Hidden Lak ..read more

Since I can’t be in the mountains right now (I’m still recovering from surgery), I figured I might as well write about some good times in the mountains this past winter. Enjoy this Part 1 in a 2 or 3 part series (TBD). Part 1: Bomber Traverse – In a Day In mid-March, ski conditions weren’t super stellar in Hatcher Pass, but the sun was shining, so Kate and I opted to ski the Bomber Traverse in a day. This classic Hatcher traverse has been an objective of mine for quite some time, so I was happy to finally make it happen. Gold Mint Trail We skied from the Gold Mint lot out to Mint Hut and came ..read more

Every time I sit down to write about my recent surgery, I have a different idea about how I want to convey my surgery and recovery process and the emotions surrounding them. Which makes sense given that every day after surgery feels different. So here are today’s thoughts: Six weeks ago, I thought that it would be a good idea to have my jpouch removed, my stoma revised for the 5th time, and my recto-vaginal fistula repaired all at once. I guess if I really think about it, I still think it was a good idea. But it was not an easy decision. And it hasn’t been an easy recovery process.  I avo ..read more

A Learning Moment About Bone Density Did you know that individuals with Inflammatory Bowel Disease are at a higher risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis than the general population because of chronic inflammation? Are you wondering how this relates to skiing in Chamonix? Night Skiing at Alyeska Because I had to take most of December off from skiing for IVF, I spent early January trying to make up for lost time. The goal was to do as much resort skiing as I could to prepare for a week of skiing in Chamonix. Of course, midway through January, I slipped on some ice while night skiing and injured my ..read more

Obviously this is not an outdoor adventure post. But the fertility journey definitely impacts outdoor adventure, so I think it’s relevant information to share. I also didn’t realize ahead of time that due to the risk of ovarian torsion during IVF, you have to be careful with activity. So December ended up being a very chill month for me activity wise because I’m paranoid about worst case scenario situations happening to me. I’m sure I could have gotten a way with a little more activity than I did, but I walked A LOT so that helped. Anyway… Tyler and I recently went through the IVF process to f ..read more

Bowel Obstruction Saga November of 2022, was a terrible month for me with frequent bowel obstructions. I had at least one bowel obstruction every week. Bowel obstructions were a terrible part of my life for the 6 years leading up to my last stoma revision in 2020. But since my surgery, things were going well in that regard. I was able to eat whatever I wanted, including salad and nuts which used to be bowel obstruction causing foods for me. I don’t know what happened in November. But I started getting bowel obstructions out of the blue (the cause has yet to be figured out by my providers, but ..read more

I was helping a friend problem-solve an ostomy leak issue recently and it got me thinking about all of the crazy situations I have found myself in with a leaking ostomy. When I was new to having an ostomy, leaks were mortifying. And they still can be, given the right scenario. But some scenarios are so ridiculous that I can’t help but laugh. Years ago, my friend Abi and I went on a backpacking trip in Eagle River, AK that turned out to be one of those laughable situations. In fact, it was one of the best trips I’ve been on where I didn’t really accomplish anything. Except maybe helping to deve ..read more