My Urostomy, aka “Lenny,” does require maintenance at times.
I do not have a proper Bladder inside me. —No indoor plumbing.
The Bag that hangs on my stomach is my “Bladder,” I guess.
A long time ago, my Colon was taken apart and used for my Urinary System and, my um…number 2 System. —I tried to put that as delicately as possible.
In fact, at one time, my internal Bladder was made up completely of Colon.
The thing with Colon is this:
No matter what the doctor uses it for, Colon always thinks it’s “Colon.”
So, it always produces Mucus. —Slime.
Even if your Bladder is now entirely made up of “Colon,” it doesn’t think it’s a “Bladder.” It still thinks it’s “Colon” and does what the Colon does. —Produces Mucus.
Now that you know a little about Colon, I can tell you this:
My Urethra, used to send Urine out to the Outside Bag—The Outhouse—is made entirely up of Colon.
This causes one big problem: It gets Clogged up. Mucus Clogs it up.
As I sat watching TV tonight, my Side and Back began hurting extremely badly.
I immediately knew what was happening. Urine was not getting out of my body into the outside Pee Bag because Mucus had clogged up my Urethra.
In great pain, I get to my Bathroom.
With one hand, I fling things out of my Medical Bag onto the Sink, looking for a particular “Tool.” I held my side with my other hand.
The tool, in this case, is a 60 mL Irrigation Syringe.
And, as the name implies, I use it to “irrigate.”
After I find it, I use it to rinse and suction the Mucus out of the Urethra.
Afterward, Urine flowed quickly out of me, and I began feeling better within seconds.
It happens several times a week.
…and I just thought, since this page is about my “Walk” with Spina Bifida, that I would tell you about Colon and Mucus.
One day I’ll tell you what I had to do when I got caught out in the woods, and my Urethra “Clogged-Up,” and I didn’t have any “Tools.”
That is for another day, though.
All is well now, though.
I am feeling much better now and about to hit the sheets.
Love you,
–Lynn
