We Had an Education Event!
Written by Bill Power
On October 21st, nearly 50 people gathered at the Inn on the Lake for a day of learning, fun, and mutual support. The effort to host an Education event was led by Elaine Jeffery and a small group of volunteers, some of whom were at the venue early in the day to welcome folks from all over the Maritimes.
The day began with a little rain, but that did not dampen the agenda, which, thanks to Elaine’s efforts (and with a little assistance from resident IT expert Stephen), ran like a well-oiled machine all day long.
Keynote Presentation
The agenda began with a welcome message from Stephen Likely, Ostomy Halifax Society’s president. Steve’s welcome gave way to a wonderful keynote presentation by Louise Levesque-Burley. Louise told the group about her lifelong journey to “Make the Impossible Possible”. A better example of living one’s life to the fullest is something I would challenge anyone to do. With her faithful service dog, Mr. Fig (not his real name 😀), by her side, she delivered her truly inspirational story of the many and varied physical, mental, and societal challenges she has faced throughout her life and the strategies she has used to overcome them. Louise now shares her expertise as a “possibility engineer” with others as a full-time career! www.louiseburley.ca
Louise shared that she had ostomy surgery about 21 months earlier and was still adjusting and learning how to manage her new situation, but offered some very useful tips to those in attendance about how she navigates this new relationship with her stoma, affectionately referred to as “Betsy”. She also shared that recently, she and others met with leaders in the New Brunswick government to explore how New Brunswickers with ostomies could get provincial support for the cost of supplies. New Brunswick is the only province in the country that does not offer financial support in the form of health insurance for ostomy supplies.
Morning Session
Throughout the day, representatives from three manufacturers of ostomy supplies gave the group 20-minute updates on the latest and greatest offerings coming from their companies. Shannah Cunningham (Convatec), Greg Cromwell (Coloplast) and Kevin Arenburg (Hollister) also had tables and displays in a nearby room so those in attendance could ask questions, learn what’s new and pick up a free sample or two.
All of the speakers were excellent, and Dr. Marius Hoogerboard was no different. Dr. Hoogerboord is a gastrointestinal surgeon in Halifax and an Assistant Professor of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery at Dalhousie Medical School. He offered a fascinating presentation about parastomal hernias, how and why they develop, and how they are treated. We are all so thankful for surgeons like Dr. Hoogerboord!
Attendees were invited to the restaurant to have a light lunch of soup, sandwiches, and delicious desserts. It was a great time for folks to sit together and catch up on the morning’s learnings and get to know one another a little better. The mid-afternoon snack for those attending were freshly baked raisin oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies. Yum!
Afternoon Session
The afternoon session kicked off with the new chair of the board at Ostomy Canada Society, Jacqueline Bloom, sharing an update on the activities of Ostomy Canada. Jackie then presented a special award to one of our own, Ruth Kenney. At the Ostomy Canada AGM in August, Ruth was chosen to receive their highest honour, the Maple Leaf Award. We at Ostomy Halifax have always known the impact Ruth has had on the ostomy community in Nova Scotia, Atlantic Canada, and beyond, and now the rest of Canada does too! It was so wonderful to see our only living founding member at Ostomy Halifax be honoured for the incredible things she has done for us over the years: from founding Ostomy Halifax, to being one of Nova Scotia’s first specialized ostomy nurses, to starting chapters and satellite groups throughout Atlantic Canada, and much more!
Before our last speaker took the podium, three individuals gave brief updates. Elaine spoke about the youth camps and campers that were sponsored by Ostomy Halifax and Ostomy Canada during the year. This segued nicely into an update given by Niki Power about our Christmas Auction planned for the first Sunday in December. Historically, the Christmas Auction has been Ostomy Halifax’s primary fundraising event, used to raise money to send young people to camp. Stephen Likely finished off the round of updates by reminding folks that membership at Ostomy Halifax is free as of January 1, 2024. The proceeding offers a great reminder of how Ostomy Halifax works to support its community throughout the year.
Last but certainly not least, Joan Peddle spoke to us about her experience as an NSWOC dealing with challenging ostomies. Joan expertly recounted how she has helped countless ostomates manage difficult situations resulting from having a stoma. The cases discussed involved situations that resulted in severely recessed stomas, uneven surf aces to which ostomy supplies needed to be attached, skin breakdown, and infections resulting from poor fit. Joan's description and solutions for a better user experience were illuminating and led to some great questions and an even better learning environment for those in the room.
At a little before 4:00 p.m., Elaine closed the Education Event and left those who attended thankful to the many contributors to a wonderful day.
