We extend a warm welcome to Broward Ostomy Association's web site. We hope the information found here will be of great assistance to you and that we can provide comfort, education and reassurance to all those undergoing ostomy surgery. This form of surgery, as no other type, presents extra challenges to overcome as it entails potential misunderstandings by new ostomates themselves and by the general public.
   
Due to the early years when modern surgical appliances were not available, certain misconceptions about living with an ostomy remain to haunt us today. Only an ostomate can truly reassure another that these myths are in fact just that - myths. In reality ostomates do not have odor control problems, do not need to wear unsightly baggy clothes, do not need to give up previously enjoyed activities such as sports, intimate moments, swimming and bathing or travel. Life can and does return to normal. For example, one of our members has sailed around the world on a forty-foot sloop with no hot running water. Most all our members travel extensively. And I can assure you, most all of us are very romantic! Ostomates have children, work forty-hour weeks and wear becoming wardrobes. When you attend our meetings, which have an average attendance of over eighty people, you cannot discern who is the ostomate and who are their friends and family.
   
We urge you to join us and to be encouraged by others who have journeyed down the same road. Let us reach out to you and assist you to recapture the abundant life that your surgery has momentarily interrupted. I am truly looking forward to meeting you at our next meeting. Until then, please be encouraged knowing that you are not alone. We're here to help.

Fondly,