Yesterday was 4th anniversary of diagnosis and thankfully I'm still here.
My Ivor Lewis didn't work and I have a stoma bag on my neck to collect saliva and a Jej feeding tube for all my needs. It's been 3 1/2 years and my ribs are still healing. I was in intensive care for 3 months and came out a wreck. My breathing is not great as I have COPD but my ribs won't let me breathe deeply either. Is anyone suffering with rib problems and has anyone else got a stoma bag on their neck?
Hi and a very warm welcome to the online community
Firstly can I apologise that your post has been missed and that no one's been along before now to welcome you. Some groups are very busy and posts can slip off the first page before they're spotted.
I don't have the experiences you're looking for but replying to you will 'bump' your post back to the top of the discussions list where it'll be more easily seen.
While you're waiting for replies you could use the search bar in the group to look for previous posts on the topics you're interested in. For example you could type in 'neck stoma' to see if any one else has mentioned this in the past.
When you have a minute, it would be great if you could pop something about your journey so far into your profile as it really helps others when answering or looking for someone with a similar diagnosis. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
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"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi Debpuss
I have not had any of the experiences that you have been through on a personal level, my husband has an OC diagnosis, but is not being offered any type of surgery.
I am sorry to read that your Ivor Lewis did not work, and of your journey which has been far from easy, especially as your ribs are still healing and making your COPD worse still to manage.
I hope that you will be able to share more of your journey here, sharing with me and others so we can further understand and offer support, as best we can whilst you continue on this healing journey.
Take care
Lowe'
