August 2017
July 2018
I’ve now had a surgical feeding tube for over a year. While I admittedly harbour some resentment for being attached to a pump and bag for the majority of my nutrition, I’m ultimately SO much more grateful for the life that has been returned to me.
In the past year I have:
- Gone to university and overcome all of the struggles that accompanied it
- Rekindled my love for music and art, and discovered a passion for creation and human connection through those creations
- Been able to rock climb consistently again
- Been able to coach my favourite canoe/kayak program for a full summer, for the first time in years
- Taken up yoga and embraced the spirituality that accompanies it
- Changed universities, decided that life is too short to do something that makes me unhappy, and not go altogether
- Had a chance to breathe and process all of the massive changes to my life from the past few years
- Begun to create beauty from my pain
This has not come without cost, to me and to the government. In order to keep me alive and well, I have used approximately:
- 365 syringes
- 365 feed bags
- a 2,000 dollar feeding pump
- 2, 555 packets of my formula, Vivonex TEN. This has cost, and thank the lord the government covers this cost, 383,250 dollars.
- 50 bottles of Pedialyte
- 380 anti nausea tablets
- 350 pain tablets
I have gone from being in hospital, as a minimum in a clinic or the emergency room multiple times a week, to truly living. I am exercising, I am creating, I am learning, and I am so grateful. This tube is not a cure, but it is an incredibly helpful treatment. This second chance at life is not lost on me, I refuse to let it.
Sabina Catherine 