Basketball with an Ostomy

This year has been very difficult for me.  Not because I have an ostomy but because basketball ended.  This is the first year, there was no NCAA tournament in my lifetime.  There is no NBA or WNBA.  I have no games to go to on the weekend and I have no games to watch on the television.  This is all due to COVID-19.  This pandemic swept across the world and our country decided to shutdown our economy and the joys of basketball with it.  There are no open gyms or even the chance of playing with people at parks.  Its been made illegal to even get 10 people together in many states.  All this brings me back to my memory of happy thoughts. 

So what was your first basketball game and did you have to learn to play with an ostomy.  I learned early that ostomy care is important and that wearing the proper clothing to cover and protect myself was important.  It was fairly easy with the correct pouches that had really good seals.  The last thing you want is a leak when you are on the basketball court and playing in front of hundreds of people

The first time I was able to play basketball I was a kid in an intramural league.  I learned to dribble and shoot and learn to hate my basketball coach early on.  No kidding I was 8 years only and still couldn't stand people telling me what to do.  What bothered me was not the instruction but the bad instruction.  My brothers and friends and I had been playing basketball since we could throw a ball.  So playing in front of people and learning improper techniques drove me crazy even at 8.  Intramurals is supposed to be fun, but I always played to win.  It wasn’t till years later I would have to learn to play and win with a bag.

So in high school I learned to take ostomy care seriously so I could play high school basketball.  It was a very important part of my life and I asked many doctors who had dealt with sports what to do.  I got good advice and was able to participate in high school sports just like a normal person. Honesty, if i needed to psych someone out on the court I always used my ostomy bag to my advantage.  It is amazing what you can do with just a few words.  So consult your healthcare provider about sports and stay safe.