After the Milestone: What Comes Next

There is something interesting about big milestones. We spend time building up to them, reflecting on everything behind us, and then suddenly the day passes. Life continues. The routines return. And we are left standing in the quiet afterward.

After sharing my ten-year stomaversary and being cancer free, I found myself thinking about this exact moment. Not the before. Not the celebration. But the after.

Because most of life is lived in the after.

Living with an ostomy is not defined by one big moment. It is shaped by the everyday choices we make once the milestone passes. The routines we return to. The confidence we carry forward. The way we speak to ourselves when no one else is watching.

After ten years, what I know to be true is this. Healing does not end. Confidence continues to grow. And life does not stop unfolding just because a chapter closed.

If you are new to life with an ostomy, you may think everything hinges on one moment. Surgery day. Diagnosis day. The day you first leave the house. The day you travel again. Those moments matter, but they are not the whole story.

If you have been living with an ostomy for a while, you may recognize this feeling. The quiet return to routine after something big. The realization that you are still here, still living, still becoming.

This is where real confidence is built. In the ordinary days. In the repeated routines. In trusting yourself enough to keep moving forward without needing a milestone to validate your progress.

Wherever you are on your journey, I want you to know this. You do not need a big moment to prove you are doing well. Showing up consistently for your life is enough.

The milestone matters. But so does the life you continue living after it.

Love

LA

P.S. f you want weekly support, encouragement, and real conversations about living confidently with an ostomy, make sure you are part of my Ostomy Living emails.