There are seasons that come and indeed do go.  But some things never change.  The sun still shines, the wind still blows, and the wind still blows dandelions all over my law.  Yes, yard work always needs to be done and if you have a stoma, it still needs to be done.  I have never loved lawn work and even dreaded it at times, but there are some things that hurt worse than the pain from a hard day’s work. 

 I was worried about being active when I first found out I was going to get an ostomy.  Lots of scary situations ran through my mind and believe it or not the thought of a terrible lawn after years of careful grooming frightened me.  I needed to be able to still get outside and get my grass mowed and my trees mulched.  The work generally costs too much to have it sent to someone else to do.  It does sound a little strange to be worried about the lawn, but it’s an area I take pride in.  One major thing newcomers to ostomy’s need to know is that they can still be active and still lead a normal life. 

Medical advice is always the most important advice, so make sure to listen to your doctor over the articles and Youtube Videos online.  The first thing I would say is that you should take your yard seriously and the information of your surgeons and ostomy nurses more seriously.  They will tell you to take it slow and I wholeheartedly agree.  Don’t rush into doing more work than you are able to after an ostomy surgery.  You have lots of new gear to try out and to get working correctly.  I found that testing out new ostomy gear was my favorite way to see what worked and testing for free is truly the best.  So I found out from a veteran in the stoma that a whole bunch of these major ostomy manufactures have free samples.  This is really important when starting to work outside because you don’t know what will work for your activity level.  You don’t want leakage although I have made many a joke about personal fertilizer that has been very much shunned by my wife. The neighbor still loves them though. 

There are some true physical changes that are apart of your life now.  The truth is that now you are more prone to hernias than the average person.  This is due to having a stoma and the fact that your abdominal muscles are rather weakened due to the surgery.  So don’t go full-on landscaping mode right away. Take the time to work up to taking care of the lawn.  If you have a riding mower great, if you have a push mower, start by splitting up the task.  What you used to do in an hour break up into 4 days.  WHAT? Yes, do a quarter of the yard at a time and see where your body is at.  Make sure your ostomy gear is working properly or maybe order a different bag or belt.  It is worth shopping around and finding the best gear for the job and it may also take some time to find the correct product for you.  Take your time and enjoy your beautiful lawn.