Erwina is 65 and lives in the centre of the Netherlands with her husband. Together they have two children and three grandchildren. For much of her life she has been on an intense and challenging journey, but she has always tried to stay positive. With manual irrigation Erwina has finally found a way back to a happy life.
Erwina explains that her troubles started with the birth of her daughter 37 years ago. She was a big baby of around 10 pounds, and Erwina suffered a total rupture.
“Mistakes were made at the time, but back then we didn’t know about them. For many years I was in a lot of pain. I felt like there was a stone in my stomach and I started being unable to control my bowel movements. I went to the hospital and the doctor found out that I had a heavily collapsed intestine. I had to have a big operation where they lifted my large intestine. My womb was also removed, and I had myomas. The doctor indicated that this was only the beginning as I had almost no sphincter left.”
Erwina went from being slightly incontinent to being completely incontinent, and she had to have another 16 operations. She has had a stoma and a dynamic gracilis plastic surgery whereby her thigh muscle was transformed into a sphincter that is controlled by a pacemaker in the abdomen.
“All of these procedures were tough to go through, and unfortunately they did not have the effect that we hoped they would. There was simply not enough of my sphincter left. I was always positive throughout it all, however. I have an optimistic outlook on life. I tried to maintain my social life as much as possible, despite my challenges. I've also always tried to tell myself that my condition does not control me and that I am the one that is in control.”
Erwina tried irrigating electronically, but she was not successful. The pressure on her bowel was too great and caused bleeding. Her skin was also affected by the many surgeries and she had chronic cystitis due to the incontinence. A new stoma was not an option, because her abdominal wall was not strong enough.
“The doctor and the surgeon at Meander Medical Centre suggested that I use Peristeen for bowel irrigation. They asked if I would be willing to try it. The idea immediately appealed to me because it was my last option so of course I was open to trying it. The stoma care nurse at Meander provided me with all the information I needed. I saw the video, read the leaflet, and figured it wasn’t that difficult. Irrigating for the first time - in the presence of the stoma care nurse - was actually not so bad. Of course, you might say I have gained some experience in this area. It felt amazing right away, and I knew that this was the solution! I immediately thought to myself: why did I not start doing this 23 years ago? Now I irrigate every morning. It takes 45 minutes on average, and after that I'm set for the whole day.”
Erwina is also very pleased with the support she has received from Coloplast. She likes the monthly check-up calls and the advice that they give her.
“They are very patient-oriented, which is very nice. I also like that everything is very clearly explained. If you follow the information provided, you probably won’t have any problems. Once my small balloon popped, and I told them about the issue, and then I was able to fix things pretty easily. Ever since I started irrigating manually, I have been able to decide when to empty my bowel. This has given me my life back. In the past, I tried to do all kinds of things, like work, go on holiday and have a social life, but I felt terrible. No matter what I was doing, I was unable to control my incontinence. It was embarrassing. But I'm lucky to be blessed with an optimistic outlook on life. I have a lovely general practitioner, great doctors and a nice family that supports me and together we make the best of it. Now I don't feel anything anymore! I completely forget that I'm incontinent, just don't give it a moment's thought. I enjoy camping with a caravan, travelling, looking after my grandchildren, listening to music and going out on trips. Basically, life is much better now. I am living again!”
