On Wednesday, October 3rd, I began my next big adventure 2,400 miles from home.
If you have been following along with my journey, you will remember that in June, I was hired as a Patient Coach by a company called 11 Health and Technologies. 11 Health has an extremely unique platform that provides support and smart products to new ostomy patients. As a Patient Coach with 11 Health, I get to be a support system for the patients before and after their surgery, answering any questions I can along the way. I know just how painful, scary, and frustrating ostomy surgery can be and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work directly with patients to make their journey a little easier. In addition to becoming a Patient Coach, I am now part of the social media and marketing team with 11 Health! This is also an extremely exciting opportunity for me and keeps me very busy monitoring and posting on social media, filming videos, writing blogs, editing content, recording podcasts, and more.
Around the middle of September, 11 Health asked if I would like to fly to California to work in-office, meet the team, and celebrate World Ostomy Day 2018 with the 11 Health family. I was beyond excited- but I was also so nervous. The last time I had flown was over 20 years ago when I was just a baby crawling all over my dad's lap and I had never been as far as California! I was scared, but this was too incredible of an opportunity to pass up.
So, early Wednesday morning I found myself sitting in a terminal at the Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia, waiting to board my plane. The butterflies in my stomach were wild. I was a nervous, but I was more excited. There was so much uncertainty ahead, but I had a feeling it was going to be life-changing.
Flying was one of the most beautiful experiences. There was something so peaceful, so calming, about being alone above the clouds- just you and the sunrise. I watched as ant-size cars moved down below and large rivers looked more and more like tiny streams. Time felt like it did not exist when I was flying. It was simply me and the clouds.
My first stop was in Houston, Texas. This was so close to where I was born, so it was nice to be back in my home state, even for only an hour or so. Next stop: California. I watched out the window as the terrain became rocky and desert-like. There were no more rivers or rolling green mountains and the closer I got to California, the more houses I began to see, lined up right next to each other.
I was welcomed into California by warm air, sunshine, and an abundance of palm trees. I was so hungry and exhausted from traveling, though, that the reality did not hit me just yet. I had my very first uber experience over to the 11 Health office to finally meet the incredible people that I had been working with long-distance for months. Of course, they were so incredibly kind and it was wonderful to meet them in person. My first task upon arriving? Go to the beach and shoot a video on wearing swimsuits with an ostomy! So it was off to the beach with Kristen, who is also a Patient Coach and part of the social media and marketing team. Kristen is actually the one who recruited me to 11 Health, so it was so exciting to finally meet her. We became instant best friends and it was like we had known each other for years.
We drove over to Newport Beach, which is a beautiful beach in SoCal. It was an overcast and breezy day, but the beach is the beach. I always find such peace in the sand and salty air and Newport Beach was no exception.
After the beach we had a delicious dinner at Baja Sharkeez before heading back to the hotel.
The next 2 days were a blur of long hours at the office and doing a little exploring around Orange County. On Friday, we set out to find decorations for World Ostomy Day on Saturday. But first, we made a pit-stop at In N' Out for lunch. This was my very first time having In N' Out and let me tell you: it definitely lived up to its reputation. I got a "grilled cheese" and animal-style french fries, which were absolutely delicious. It was only day 3 and California had already won me over with their delicious food choices!
After much preparation, Saturday arrived and it was time to celebrate World Ostomy Day 2018. World Ostomy Day is a day to celebrate ostomies and the patients who live with them. There are a lot of misconceptions that surround ostomies, but they are truly life-saving for patients like myself. World Ostomy Day is a day to celebrate life and the life that ostomies give back to so many patients.
This was the first year that the 11 Health Family celebrated World Ostomy Day and it was such an incredible success. It was amazing to see everyone come together in support and love for ostomy patients. We celebrated with a 2-mile walk and BBQ afterwards. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have been given to work for a company that works tirelessly to improve the lives of ostomy patients and seeing everyone come together for World Ostomy Day only verified my love for this company even more.
After wrapping up World Ostomy Day, we headed to the happiest place on Earth: Disneyland. Disneyland is very close to the office, so after saying our goodbyes to everyone at the office, we made our way there to spend several hours. I have been to Disney World, but never to Disneyland, so I felt like an excited 5-year-old child again.
Several hours was more than enough to take in the magic of Disneyland. We rode a couple of rides, ate some delicious food, and of course, grabbed a pair of the iconic ears. The park was absolutely packed, but it was still a memorable experience, especially with everything decorated for Halloween.
After leaving Disney, it was time for the the goodbyes. My plane left Sunday morning, so Saturday evening was my last night in California. I absolutely hate goodbyes and I am not going to lie, I cried. Making the journey to California was such a new, scary experience for me, but it was everything I could have imagined and more. I met so many incredible people and made friendships that I treasure so much. I got to work alongside the brilliant people behind 11 Health and see just how much of an impact they are making on the lives of patients. I pushed myself far beyond my comfort zone and in doing that, I felt more like myself than I have in so long.
This trip also symbolized something monumental for me: my health. Two years ago- even a year ago- I would have never been able to make a trip like this, nor would I have ever envisioned that I would be doing this. This trip made all of the long nights, painful surgeries, agnoizing hospital stays, and heartbreaking changes worth it. This trip reminded me of the beauty that can come from some of the darkest times in our lives. Throughout my illness, I have always held onto the hope that the purpose behind everything would reveal itself. I held onto the idea that everything I was going through was preparing me for something grand. I am still recovering and face struggles daily, but when you look back at just how far I have come since I was 72 pounds coming out of a life-saving surgery, I have come so far.
So, somewhere in the heartbreak, the frustration, and the fear, I have ended up exactly where I was meant to be.