Rita is brand new with her Ostomy!  She struggled for years with Chron’s and Cancer and for years her doctors told her that getting a Colostomy would be the best chance for her to lead a normal life.  But succumbed by fear of the stigma an Ostomy can carry, she continued on with her life hoping that things would get better.

For the last 2 years, she has been through a lot with cancer treatments and just feeling horrible, so when things did not get better she knew that she had to move forward with surgery to get her Colostomy. 

8 weeks post-surgery and I am so excited to have been able to talk with Rita.  She has given us and our listeners a new perspective on the before and after of getting this life-changing surgery. 

She went from denial and ignoring the doctors, to getting surgery and entering a really dark place, to finding a community that supports her and coming to the realization that SHE HAS BEEN given this new life! She has this new opportunity to feel better and truly live her life to the fullest! 

I am so happy she is here with us today. I am so happy she can talk with us about her journey and how she has overcome physical, mental and emotional struggles just in these few short months.  She is truly remarkable and an inspiration to anyone in our shoes. 

“I know it's easy to say. “Stay positive.” But I want people to know that this is not the end of life. This is the beginning of life. I need people to understand that! Because I aas that way. I thought it was the end of my life. But it is just the beginning.”

“This is the first page of a brand new book… Chapter 1. And I am not sure how the book will end, but I do know that in it, it will say that I never gave up!”

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