Hi there, I currently live in Canada and my dad has had ulcerative colitis for the past 23 years. In 1989, he was on of the first people in Canada with his condition to recieve new treatment for his disease (called Ileoanal Anasmosis) and underwent surgery whereby his colon was removed and a piece of his small intestine was formed into a sort of make-shift large intestine and he wouldnt need to use an external ostomy bag which was (and still is) the common treatment for the disease. Last year his ileoanal pouch became inflamed from infection and he was forced under the knife again to try and fix the problem and blockages.The surgeon decided that the pouch was damaged and he didnt want to make a new one for my dad, so he fitted him with an ostomy bag. My dad is 60 now and despite his age, he doesnt want to have the external bag on the rest of his life. Im currently looking for clinics in the united states (or even here in canada) where he can pay to have the surgery redone.Please help? hi charles, have you cld your local crohn's & colitis chapter in Canada? maybe they can offer some assistance.
I have crohn's and have had my ileostomy for 21 yrs. It is truly a life saver for anyone dxed with IBD. I belong to a local ostomy chapter and many ostomates are UC pts. The one thing I constantly hear is "I wish I would've done it sooner. I have my life back. No more running to the bathroom." If he is havinga hard time dealing w/the appliance, maybe talking to someone who has one might help. Canada has a support group on Yahoo.
The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio is famous for taking care of IBD pts. and ostomy surgeries in the United States. Many people in the local CCFA group go there for their surgeries provided their insurance coverage pays for it.
i provided links for you. good luck. |
