Hello! Hope everyone is staying safe and well during our time at home. Neither Longs Peak nor LUH are open for outsiders, so our meetings are still suspended at this time. As far as I can tell, supplies are still available and distributors like Shield Healthcare and Byram are shipping normally with no disruptions.

“Where did I learn to stay so calm in the middle of a pandemic? Obviously you’ve never lost control of the end of a colostomy bag after you’ve unfolded it…”
credit to Todd Frey, posted to The Real Ostomy Support Group, Facebook

I’ve recently learned of another university survey requesting feedback on experiences with ileostomies, problems, and how you deal with them. If interested, it is through the Department of Gastroenterology at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, in conjunction with the UOAA. The survey can be found here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PY2ND2X

Shield Healthcare has posted a number of interesting and useful articles about the COVID-19 virus, face masks (both sewn and not) and tips on staying safe and healthy. One interesting article on their site, “How Does Coronavirus Kill?” outlines the disease progression, and describes how complicated and unusual this virus is. Some researchers note that up to 20% of patients have diarrhea and believe that the virus may be replicated in the GI tract (and noting that if a patient has extreme diarrhea there’s no protocol for testing at this time). Clearly there is still so much to learn, but eventually everything will be known about this virus, and a vaccine will be available for all that want it.

CU Denver posted an article, “Amazing Positives from Pandemic History“. After rolling my eyes (Positives? Really?), I learned that the Black Death of the 1300s helped to end Europe’s system of serfdom, and the diphtheria epidemic launched the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in 1924-1925. Twenty teams of sled dogs transported diphtheria antitoxin vials over 674 miles of ice and snow. The Iditarod Sled Dog Race commemorates the original Nome Serum Run. (by the way, The Black Death was bubonic plague caused by Yersinia pestis, which incidentally is what Colorado prairie dogs get periodically).