Trucking Incident Caused Ostomy

I have been a truck driver for over 20 years. Ever since I was little, I’ve always had a great fascination with big machines and heavy equipment. I enjoyed watching trucks and semi-trailers blundering along the highways whenever I went on big trips with my family and was always curious about truck driver’s seemingly nomadic and straightforward lifestyle. I began my career working for a construction company, where I drove different types of trucks carrying different types of cargo to construction sites all over the midwest. I have hauled just about every type of material needed for building and developing construction, sand, concrete, steel, lumber, gravel, etc. This was an excellent job for me for a while, but I began to take more interest in different types of trucking.

A few years later, I found myself working for a Walmart as one of their merchandise delivery truckers. This involved transporting various non-perishable goods from Walmart warehouses to the actual supercenters in towns and cities all over the country. The hours of driving got longer, and I felt much more fatigued by the end of my long trips and, at times, would simply be sick of driving. However, the pay was good, and I enjoyed the benefits that came with the position.  I found myself driving all over the country and seeing parts of the United States that I had never been to before. The only downside was that I couldn’t usually afford to stop anywhere and sight-see for too long; this was especially unfortunate when I came across national parks or interesting cities that I very much wanted to explore. 

One night I was driving through the northern side of Colorado up into Montana when I got into my first serious trucking accident. It was a rainy night, and the visibility was poor. I found myself driving well under the speed limit in order to feel comfortable with the weather conditions and with the load I was carrying at the time. Out of nowhere, I began to hydroplane across the road and well into the left lane of the interstate. To avoid hitting the car driving just to the left of my driver ’s-side door, I swerved back to the right, which can only be described as a classic overcorrection. I went completely off the road and started to tumble down a small hill and into a small clump of trees. I remember feeling like I was floating in my seat as the cab kept spinning and turning down the hill, until eventually coming to an ugly halt as I came into contact with the trees.

From the accident, I found myself with a torn lower intestine that the doctors described as irreparable. I had an ostomy performed a couple of weeks after the incident, and now I will live the rest of my life with a physical reminder of that night on the road. Living with an ostomy required an adjutant to many different parts of my life, especially with the foods that I can eat. I had to change a lot about my daily habits and try to structure things around having an ostomy. I still drive trucks to this day and have not allowed myself to be impaired from things I enjoy in life because of my ostomy.

Paintball with ostomy

Life has been pretty good, if I must say. I am surrounded by so many good people being my family and friends, as well as my paintball team. A few years ago, I had a drastic injury that changed my life. I had to get a permanent colostomy procedure due to the extent of my injuries. It was life-altering at first, but once I was able to get back on my feet and figure everything out, I realized my life is no different than it was before, other than I have to carry around a bag that contains my bodily waste. It is not a pleasant thought or topic to discuss, but many people have them, so there is no need to be afraid of it. 

When I had just graduated from high school, and some of my friends and I went to Florida to celebrate. One thing we did not check to see was if there were sharks in the area since we loved to surf along with play paintball. When we arrived in Florida, we spend the whole next day playing at an amazing speedball field, and we had so much fun. We do not have these kinds of fields by us back home. To end the day, we decided to go surfing. Even though most of us were exhausted, we wanted to spend the evening watching a sunset on our boards. As we were paddling out, my friend said he had thought he had seen a shark but was not sure. The next thing I know, I’m getting launched five feet in the air with a shark’s jaws fixed to either side of my abdomen. I immediately began hitting the shark on the nose and eye, and it let me go but not before taking some of my intestines with it. 

I woke up in the hospital surrounded by my friends and the doctor. As soon as he saw I was awake, he asked me how I was doing and the steps that needed to be taken if I wanted to live everyday life. He said I would need to get a permanent colostomy procedure immediately. He told me all that it entailed and what I would look like once it was over. I told him to proceed. 

When I woke up from my procedure, I was again surrounded by my friends, and this time my family was there too. I told them not to worry as I am alright and there is nothing to worry about. Shortly after my procedure, I asked my doctor if I could still play paintball. He told me no, not unless I get some form of protection for my ostomy, and I almost immediately grabbed my phone to begin researching. I was able to find one and was ecstatic. I still play paintball to this day. My team is almost undefeated in every tournament we have played. I get the satisfaction of knowing that the people we beat got beat by a disabled guy. 

As a paintballer with an ostomy, there are a few things I can not do, so I primarily play in the back. I have to be careful as not to hurt my ostomy stoma as that could be bad. I love paintball, and I am glad to have it in my life as it helps me forget about my situation. I am surrounded by so many supportive friends and family, and I do not want to let them down.