Friends are like wedgies....

They know your inner self, they are intimately close, and it feels great when you pick out a good one!

In the last 5 years I have been blessed with amazing friends. I'm not sure what I did to deserve them and I am certainly not going to complain, but it does bother me to hear about people who have had friends up and leave or spouse who wants a divorce because they have received an ostomy.

It's mind boggling that some people are so narrow minded that they choose to end a relationship rather then help and deal with someone who has been given an ostomy.

People I considered friends in my teenage years and early twenties would not have stuck around had I had an ostomy. You see readers, I was a young adult who thought more about partying, having a good time and looking good then wondering why my tummy always hurt or why I was throwing up everything I would eat. I suppose my state of apathy came from finally being a skinny chick when in reality, Crohn's was destroying my insides. I wish I had had a true friend who had a suspicion that something wasn't quite right and would have knocked my on the head, drug me to the Doctors and demanded that something be done. I wish I had been comfortable enough in my little clique of "friends" to step away and say enough.

Today a friend, Dave, was over and while I was mowing the lawn he yelled "How's the bag? Is it full?" and without missing a beat I patted Oscar and replied "nope, he's fine!" How did Dave react? He laughed and gave me the "we know you love Oscar, but let's get serious for 2 minutes" look.

I know people have ended friendships because of Ostomies, but I look at Oscar or any ostomy as a "friend detector." A true friend isn't going to care about what's under your clothes but rather what's in your heart. Thanks Oscar for being not only my shit holder but a bullshit friend detector as well.