Ostomy Awareness Day is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of every October around the world. If you don’t know what an ostomy is, you are the perfect target for this message. An ostomy is an opening through the abdomen from inside the body to the outside to collect urine or stool. The bag used to collect the urine or stool is called an ostomy pouch. An ostomy is created through a surgical procedure when the urinary or digestive tract malfunctions. Malfunctions typically occur due to birth defects, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease or severe abdominal or pelvic trauma caused through injuries. It’s estimated about 100,000 Americans have a life-saving ostomy surgery every year and up to 1,000,000 are living with one right now. An ostomy does not lower life-expectancy, but it does create a “new normal.” People of all ages have life-saving ostomy surgery for a wide variety of reasons and most go on to ...