Hey guys!!
I just got back from a much needed vacation in Amsterdam!
I was very concerned about intubating and what not (both on the plane, and while out and about sightseeing all day)
but i am now very proud to say that my kpouch has been emptied in the bathrooms of the Van Gogh Museum, Le Grande Cafe in Brussels, and three times over the atlantic ocean!
There were some frustrations of course, (like while taking a day trip to belgium, and not having a home base or hotel to go back too, and trying to find a place to flush)
but my pouch was actually REALLY well behaved while over there.
We went to the Kuekenhoff gardens (just outside of amsterdam) you ahve to take a train and then a bus out to it, and i was very nervous about needing to intubate and miss alot of it, but we were out there the WHOLE day, with no problems. didn't need to flush til i got back later that evening.
Though i must say...finding grape juice over there...wow what a chore that was. I found it only once while in belgium, and i chugged the entire gallon of it on the three hour train ride back. After that all i could find was a tropicana grape-black currant-cranberry mix but it actually did seem to work.
i'll have pictures up soon enough (i took a whopping 500 pics while there!...no worries, i'll edit them of course) but just wanted to check in with you guys and let those fresh-outta-the-surgery-room kpouchers know that there is LIFE after surgery!!!! a gooooooooood life

Becca

Hi Becca!

I can't wait to see the pics! Sounds like you had a perfect vacation! I know just how apprehensive you must have been feeling because I was the exact same the first time I took Wee Willie on holiday, but of course I had so much time enjoying myself that I really didn't worry about some of the weird and (not so) wonderful places I had to empty my bag!

We have now travelled far and wide (including your side of the Pond from East to West coast) and I know that I can manage with my unique plumbing system anywhere in the world! The only problem I have is that I seem to get stopped at security EVERY time I go through an airport! It's got so that I don't bat an eyelid any more and the security staff end up far more embarrassed than I am!

So where are you planning on flying off to next time?

Shell

Heheheh, i know about the security checks. I usually get a kick outta it actually...
oh, good story...

So, our plan was going to board in bout a half hour or so, and i thought to myself "i should intubate before boarding, while i can now" So i told the steward people that i had some "medical business" to attend to that would take me about 20 min. and would i be okay to board, they said fine.
now, i'd packed a mini kit of just my catheter, collapsible cup, syringe and lube packets. the other supplies i had for the rest of my trip were packed away in my checked luggage (bigger thing of lube, etc).
I thought i was pretty clever for fitting all my stuff into such a small kit.
So i go to the bathroom, and take off the patch i had on there, and the minute i threw it in the trash i realized i hadn't put any extra patches in my little travel kit...d'oh!.
so i figured, well, i'm screwed already, i'm about to board an 8 hour flight with nothing to cover this stoma, and my luggeage is checked already. might as well intubate anyway.
so i did all that, and just kinda tucked some tissue into the waistband of my underwear to catch any drips, and pulled my shirt down over it. (beign careful to try and keep my stomach from touching the shirt)
walked back to the gate, and got on board the plane. when i got my stuff put in the overhead bins, (the whole while i'm chuckling to myself b/c i thought it was humorous.) i go over to the stewardess's and ask for some bandaids. They immediately get alarmed and start asking me if the cut is very bad, if it's bleedign alot (all the while looking me up and down trying to see the cut i needed the bandaids for)
i go "no no no, i don't have a cut. it's a long story, i just need some bandaids, or tape, or gauze, or something" and they continue to try and get info out of me, "is the cut very deep?" etc. til finally I go "no, really, it's fine, i'm trying to cover this:" and i pull up my shirt to show my exposed stoma.
well, they must've had small heart attacks. heh, then the guy goes "oh. um. okay, yes, here are some bandaids."
i took em into the bathroom, folded up a small piece of paper towel to about the size of a 2x2 guaze, attach it with a bandaid on either side, and came out just fine. When i came out of the bathroom a concerned stewardess came over whispering "so, will you be okay on the flight, did you have surgery? how long ago was the surgery, etc etc" I assured her i'd had the surgery in september, not last week or anything, and that i was quite alright, it was just my goof for not packing the coverings in my carry on.

oh i get myself into so many odd situations....

HAHA! - Those airplane bathrooms are fun aren't they! I gather you used the sink. I couldn't bring myself to do that remembering an old rumor that they recycled the water that went down the sink drain to save on weight. I was worried where it might show up again :-). And did you have an audience waiting for you when you got out of the bathroom?

Where you able to find any private bathrooms in Europe? Every bathroom experience away from home turns out to be an improvisation!

Thanks for sharing your travel experiences - I find them re-assuring and encouraging. I am planning to go to Italy and Greece in '08 and maybe get to visit my sister in Australia at a later date.

Peter