In 2016, I woke up in a hospital bed following emergency surgery that changed my life forever.
I had an ileostomy.
But here's something that might surprise you.
When I first woke up, I wasn't thinking about the challenges ahead. I wasn't thinking about living with an ostomy or what my future might look like.
I was simply happy.
For the first time in a long time, I wasn't sick anymore.
I had suffered so much from ulcerative colitis that the relief was overwhelming.
What I didn't know was how much I still had to learn.
The months ahead would bring recovery, adjustments, setbacks, and challenges I couldn't possibly have imagined while lying in that hospital bed.
There were difficult days. There were moments of frustration. And there were times when I wondered what life would look like moving forward.
But life continued.
I returned to the things I loved. I spent time with my family. I worked, exercised, developed friendships, and eventually found opportunities to help other people facing similar challenges.
I wrote Trenches2Triumph: The Silent War and began sharing my journey with others.
And now, ten years later, I can look back and see something I couldn't see in 2016.
Sometimes we don't understand the significance of what we're living through until we look back.
Recently, while watching the movie Cast Away with my wife, Karen, I found myself reflecting on the character Chuck Noland.
Chuck survives four years stranded on an island. He loses the woman he loves, finds companionship in a volleyball named Wilson, and eventually makes it home.
But returning home doesn't mean returning to the life he once knew.
His world has changed.
And yet, his story isn't over.
That realization struck me because it reminded me of my own journey.
An ostomy changed my life. There's no question about that.
But it didn't have to define my life.
And I believe that message reaches far beyond people living with an ostomy.
Maybe you're facing cancer. Maybe you've experienced a serious illness, a loss, or another life-changing event.
Your circumstances may be different from mine. Your challenges may be greater, and your road may be longer.
But what happened to you doesn't mean your story has ended.
In Chapter 23 of my book, I wrote about the importance of being willing to reach.
Sometimes reaching means asking for help. Sometimes it means finding the courage to try again. Sometimes it means simply getting out of bed and facing another day.
And sometimes it means trusting that tomorrow may hold something we cannot see today.
Near the end of Cast Away, Chuck reflects on surviving, losing, and continuing forward. One thought from that moment has stayed with me: tomorrow will bring another sunrise, and none of us knows what possibilities may come with it.
Ten years ago, I couldn't have imagined the life I would be living today.
And I still don't know what tomorrow will bring.
But I know this:
What happened to us may have changed our lives. It doesn't mean our lives are over.
We still have roads to travel, people to love, and possibilities waiting to be discovered.
We just have to be willing to reach.
George Swegart
Author, Trenches2Triumph: The Silent War
