Hi everyone,

It is time to end the campaign. I am really really grateful to all of you and I promise I will do my best to not let this support go to waste.

Anyone wishing to contact me can e-mail me at - nikhil.nj28@gmail.com. I check my email daily, so, I will respond quickly.

And, finally, a big THANK YOU!!! to Milaap for building such a platform and enabling people to help each other....

So, eat healthy, exercise and remember - "Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear." Good luck to all of you and once again, THANKS A LOT!!!

Goodbye and Good luck to all of you :)

A picture of my ostomy supplies. Thought I should share it. Apart from these, I also require gloves, pads, wipes, scissors, garbage bags and medical tape to successfully change my ostomy pouch. The items shown in the picture are a month's supplies. I am worried about the future though. Rumours are the items are going to be much costlier after GST comes into effect.

So, it has been a month now since my surgery. I do feel better now. I have to deal with only a minuscule amount of pain, and I am now strong enough to move around and walk.

My food is however, still semi-solids. I am having trouble finding the right time to transition to solids. My pouch fills up every 2-3 hours. This makes sleeping difficult too. I cannot find a good position to sleep in. I used to be a side and stomach sleeper, but now it is so difficult to find the right position.

Now that I have more energy, I find it difficult to do nothing productive. I am used to sitting at my laptop and using my hours to mostly watch lectures, study or work. I feel bored most of the time now, but I am trying to do some study and write a bit.

I am still trying to figure out how I am going to work with my stoma. I do venture out with my pouch, but I have to be very protective of my stoma. I always worry about someone or something hitting it by mistake. I don't know how I will ever make it to my office. I am searching for the right combination of accessories that will protect my stoma and allow me to work and mingle with people comfortably.

I have to visit my doctor too, and I am procrastinating because I don't want to be near a doctor or a hospital for some period of time, after spending 3 years with them...:P. But I do need to get regular check-ups. I'll probably go in a week or so. My stoma had developed some separation wounds, but it looks like it's healing. I did two, almost solo, appliance changes in these past weeks. It took me half an hour each time. But the good thing is, it is not that difficult. I just have to be calm and patient.

Last but not the least, I am really grateful to all of you for your support and kind words. I promise I'll do everything to make all of your support worth it.
I'll keep you updated. Till next time, sayonara.