Don’t let your stoma hold you back from experiencing the simple joys of summer. We are here to empower you, offering advice, support and inspirational blogs from fellow ostomates, all designed to help you confidently engage in summer activities, embark on exciting travels, and create memorable memories.
Can you tell us a fun fact about yourself?
I’m a nurse but never worked in a hospital – I worked in a nursing home for 26 years, then after my children where born (in 1989 and 1994) I sought additional training and education within my field. Last year, at the age of 58, I did my ‘final’ training (I guess) for stoma care nurse and this should be the last one, but you never know….
How did you get into nursing?
My mother used to work in homecare, which got my interest – and after my best friend told me she studied at a nice nursing school, I was convinced to follow her. Actually, I started in elderly care and then studied further to specialise, after my children were born.
How long have you been working for eakin?
I’ve been working for eakin since the May 1st 2016. That’s 7 years already!
What does your role involve?
When I started at eakin, I was in the role of Area Manager and visited hospital nurses at the outpatient clinic. Due to Covid-19, I was unable to visit hospitals and began advising and supporting patients who requested samples at eakin. With good advice and support, we can really help people with a stoma. That’s why I started the Stoma Care Nurse education so I can help, advise and support the use of our products to ostomates and nurse professionals. As a clinical nurse, I also provide bedside teaching for our wound care products.
What is your favourite part of being a stoma nurse?
To help improve the quality of life of an ostomate with help of our products. Every ostomate is unique. Searching for an ideal solution for individual needs is my daily drive – even if it’s not with our products, since it all depends on the individual, skin condition, lifestyle etc. But I’m really happy that I’m able to help people with my advice and our products.
What does being a nurse mean to you?
Take care of other people and help them to get a better life or quality of life, as mentioned earlier.
Can you tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Once upon a time I ran the Dublin marathon with swine flu… and lived to tell the tale.
How did you get into nursing?
The honest answer… I ended up doing nursing out of a process of elimination! I was sure I wanted to work in healthcare but thought I would do an allied healthcare professional degree. I considered all other healthcare professional degrees, attended open days and ruled them all out. At 18 years of age and trying to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, nursing was the profession left standing that appealed to me.
How long have you been working for Eakin?
Since 2018
What does your role involve?
Primarily my role is community stoma nurse but I do also support people using eakin wound pouches. When someone is discharged from hospital following surgery and are using an eakin pouch they are referred to me for community stoma care. I visit them regularly in the early weeks and months to help support them on their journey to adapting to life with a stoma. As time goes on and independence and confidence is gained I need to visit less often but remain in touch and offer support and routine reviews for as long as they have a stoma.
What is your favourite part of being a stoma nurse?
This is going to sound cringey, but I genuinely love everything about being a stoma nurse, specifically being a community stoma nurse. It’s such an honour and privilege to enter people’s homes as they embark on their journey with a new stoma. I feel incredibly lucky to support people on this journey.
What does being a nurse mean to you?
Being a nurse offers a huge sense of purpose. Being able to make a difference to people during their time of need is very special. I first entered the hospital wards at the young age of 18 as a student nurse and from that young age to now I’ve learnt so much from all the patients I’ve met and gained huge life perspective.
When I first got my stoma, I struggled to find the right products that didn’t cause skin irritation. No matter what pouch I tried, the skin directly around my stoma was always really sore. I was changing my bag twice a day due to leaks which didn’t help. My stoma nurse suggested a seal which did help, but it was so thick and hard to shape around my stoma. I was always conscious it was there and any time I moved around it would pull at my skin.
During a routine appointment with my stoma nurse, she changed my bag, she put on an eakin freeseal® instead of my usual seal. She said, “I’m going to try you with this new ring, I think you are going to love it!”.
What a difference! I didn’t need to change my bag for two days as it wasn’t itchy, and couldn’t even tell the seal was there! Then when I changed my pouch, it was so easy to remove. eakin freeseal® are now an essential part of my regular routine!
The first thing I noticed was how mouldable the seals were, how easy it was to fit snugly around my stoma. Being only 1.8mm thin it just sits discreetly under my bag. I can’t feel it when I move, even when I’m playing tennis or doing a workout. eakin freeseal® has given me the freedom to be active again!
The best thing about it is that it has helped to heal the skin around my stoma. I’m free from redness and no longer sore. It’s just so absorbent, it just absorbs any output on the surrounding skin and protects it from damage.
Summer, U.K.
@summers_stoma
“I wear a convex drainable pouch and I have always worn a seal as part of my regular routine. When I was told there was a new, thinner seal to try I was definitely up for trying it out. The one I was using was doing the job fine – so I wondered how on earth can they better this?
Wow – it is so thin! My first impression of eakin freeseal® was that it looked tiny and is in fact only 1.8mm thin. My initial thought was that there was no way this would be able to do the same job as a thicker seal, but I was so wrong! It is just as absorbent, if not more so. The other fantastic thing with this seal being so thin is that it’s far more discreet and less noticeable under my clothing; giving me the freedom to wear whatever I want and feel confident.
I have to say the other great thing with the new eakin freeseal® is how easy it is to mould into shape. It’s flexible, stretches effortlessly and fits to size so easily whilst retaining its stickiness to protect my skin SO well!
Everyone’s stoma is a slightly different shape and it’s certainly not a one size fits all approach so having this flexibility is key and certainly makes you feel comfortable during a bag change.
I would encourage you to give it a try and find your freedom!“
Charlotte, U.K.
@char.crohnsftwilson
“I have had multiple surgeries over the years, with my first stoma created as a baby and a refashioned at the age of 30. Both scar tissue and pregnancy affected the position of my stoma and it began to recede.
I am using convex drainable stoma bags but to prevent leaks around my difficult stoma and protect my peristomal skin I decided to trial eakin freeseal®.
What was most surprising to me was how thin the seal is. It’s hard to believe that a seal at only 1.8mm thin would have the impact it claims to, but having trialled it for a few months it certainly does. Being so thin I don’t feel it beneath my baseplate.
It’s so satisfying when you peel it off the skin as it comes away softly and feels quite delicate. It is not sticky to touch so I’m not worried it will lose adhesion plus it is mouldable, allowing me to take control and mould it to the best fit for my stoma.
The seal’s main function is to absorb output preventing leaks, before it can penetrate the baseplate and start the dreaded itch. If you know, you know! Changing your bag when you choose to and not when you have to is the aim for all ostomates, and using such a seal allows planned, prepared bag changes putting me in control.
eakin freeseal® gives me confidence and it is incredibly comfortable to wear.”
Rachel, U.K.
@gutsy.mum
We know that stoma surgery can have a profound effect on a person’s life and can cause significant changes in their daily routine, as well as impacting on their body confidence, self-belief, and ability to cope both physically and emotionally.
We also realise that individual responses to surgery can vary and are dependent on so many factors – for example was the operation an emergency, do they have their stoma as a result of a cancer diagnosis, are they more prone to anxiety and depression – all these things can play a major part in how well someone copes with what can be for many, a truly frightening experience.
When I was researching and developing this white paper on the psychological impact of stoma formation it became quite evident that whilst we have made huge advancements in products and services, unfortunately many patients continue to struggle with coming to terms and psychologically adjusting to their new life with a stoma.
The white paper is entitled “Survivor to Thriver” and explores the 3 main elements which many ostomates struggle to cope with:
To complement the white paper and these important discussions, I would also invite you to watch our series of 4 webinars in the links below which explore these key themes. In each webinar you will hear from several international guest speakers, experts within their own specialist field, offering solutions to help us support our patients more effectively within their psychological recovery. Each webinar will hopefully include learnings which provide translatable skills to your current clinical practice.
Webinar 1: https://vimeo.com/548838361
Webinar 2: https://vimeo.com/548831063
Webinar 3: https://vimeo.com/606681097
Webinar 4: https://vimeo.com/606515963
Thank you for reading and please click here to download your copy of the white paper. You can also find out more on how our eakin dot pouches can help make ostomates feel more secure and confident to get on with their lives – https://www.eakin.eu/product/eakin-dot-2-piece-soft-convex/
Comber based international ostomy manufacturer, TG Eakin Ltd will help support and celebrate World Ostomy Day on 2nd October 2021. Part of the Eakin Healthcare Group, the well-respected family-owned manufacturer will promote the importance of the work undertaken by the International Ostomy Association by sharing the valuable views of a young ostomate from Northern Ireland.
In response to this year’s motto “ostomates rights are human rights – anytime and anywhere” TG Eakin will provide a platform for 26 year old Aneica Duffy to have a voice and help raise awareness of what is often referred to as a hidden disability.
“For those who are not in the ostomy community, there is a lot of stigma attached to stomas. But we are getting there and that’s because of people being more open about it, but we’ve still got a long way to go. It’s not just the elderly that requires a stoma, there are people of all ages. It doesn’t mean we are different, we just have to change a few things as to how we live.” Aneica Duffy
Aneica had an operation to form a stoma when she was just 19 but wouldn’t have survived without surgery, visit our community to read her full story.
Eakin has been supporting people living with a stoma for over 40 years, the operation based in County Down employs 143 people from the local communities and more than 20 colleagues across six different countries.
TG Eakin’s Clinical Advisor Marie McGrogan says “A stoma can be formed at any age and involves surgery to create an opening in the abdomen in order to pass waste (stool or urine), requiring a stoma pouch to be worn. It is often a lifelong procedure which can impact all areas of a person’s life.”
Director of International Ostomy & Wound Janet Fairlie-Vogt adds, “the products and support we offer from Comber benefits ostomates all over the world, and World Ostomy Day is another great opportunity for us to support those living in the community”.
Since the installation of the panels in April 2016 we crossed the 1 million KW milestone in April and have generated to date 1044468kw. This equates to an offset of 543 tonnes of CO2. We generate enough electricity to supply 20% of our total energy consumption in 2021 with another 44000kw left over to supply the grid.
*electricity generated over the last 5 years
Our main headquarters at Comber has been fitted with LED lights since 2019. LED lighting uses less energy for the same Lux lighting output, meaning less brown energy.
We are using the new 900m3 sprinkler storage tank to pre chill the water flowing through our chiller unit. This will reduce the amount of electricity used to bring the temperature down to the required level.
Other initiatives are in progress to reduce the specifications of raw materials and improve efficiencies to lessen the impact of our products on the environment over time.
Join our Clinical Advisor, Marie McGrogan, as she hosts a LIVE session on our Facebook page on Wednesday 9th June at 2pm BST. Marie will be joined by special guest, Bronagh Starrs, Psychotherapist, and Luciana Podschun, an ostomate for 5 years.
We’ll explore feelings of loss of control following stoma formation, and how, like Luciana, you can ultimately feel in control and therefore change how you feel about your stoma.
Like us on Facebook and check our upcoming events to join! We’ll see you there!
Don’t worry if you can’t make the live session, as it will be available to watch following the event.
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