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Mailing Address: P. O. Box 143383 Austin, Texas 78714

Ostomate Testimonial - A Story of Survival, Strength, and Hope
Suzanne Hood, Membership Manager

It all began in January 2022. For about a month, I noticed blood in my stool. Then one day, the pain became unbearable. I went to the hospital, never imagining that my life was about to change forever.

It was there that I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. While I was hospitalized, I developed Clostridioides difficile (C. diff), which made an already difficult situation even worse. I spent 14 days in the hospital, fighting for my health. During those three weeks, I lost 30 pounds and half of my hair. My body was weak, and I wondered if I would ever feel like myself again.

Eventually, I recovered enough to return home and begin rebuilding my strength. I hoped the worst was behind me.

Seven months later, everything changed again.

I suddenly developed toxic megacolon and went into stage 2 gram-negative sepsis. My condition became life-threatening, and I came dangerously close to losing my life. The doctors had to make a decision quickly. To save me, they removed my colon, leaving me with an ileostomy.

When I woke up after surgery, I had to face a new reality that I had never expected. Recovery was long, both physically and emotionally. Learning to live with an ileostomy wasn’t easy, but little by little, I healed.

One of the hardest parts was how quickly everything happened. I didn’t have years of living with ulcerative colitis before surgery. From diagnosis to emergency surgery, my world changed in just seven months. It was a shock to my body, my mind, and my heart.

Today, I look at life differently.

My ostomy does not define me. It is part of my story, but it is not who I am. Instead of focusing on what I lost, I choose to focus on the life I was given. I am living life to the fullest because I know how precious it truly is.

If you’re reading this because you’re facing an ostomy or recovering from surgery, I want you to know this: life isn’t over. Healing takes time. There will be difficult days, but there will also be better days. You are stronger than you think, even when you don’t feel like it.

I am living proof that even after your darkest moments, there is still hope. I am grateful to be alive, and if sharing my journey gives even one person the courage to keep going, then every part of my story has a purpose.

Are Your Dues Due?

Membership dues are GREATLY appreciated! It's only $25 PER YEAR! And you can now pay online!

​Click here to pay online; OR DONATE​

That's right; you can make a tax deductible donation to The Ostomy Association of Austin Texas. We're a Non-Profit Health Support Group serving Ostomates, their families, and friends since 1973.

Do you want to give back in another way? Consider volunteering for our Hospital Visiting Program. Our visitor program is a very important function of the OAA. Individuals who have had stoma surgery are specially trained to visit new ostomates in the hospital, at home, or by phone to answer questions about ostomy-related issues. Visitors must be requested by a physician, an Enterostomal Therapy nurse, the patient or patient's family. Call 📞 (512) 537-5411 for more information.

You can donate supplies, too. Just bring them to our next meeting. Through our affiliation with the United Ostomy Associations of America, we are a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Your donations of supplies are tax deductible.

Sad News for Our Group

Correction: While getting started with my new position as newsletter editor, not everyone got an electronic copy with Dorothy's obit. I correct that oversight here!

Long time member of the Austin Ostomy Group, Dorothy Lillard De La Garza, passed away on June 1st of 2025. Is was a shock to us all given that just the previous week she participated in the Walk to End Bladder Cancer: May 17, 2025 here in Austin. From Dorothy: "Your generosity to the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network resulted in our ATX Bag Lady team being recognized as the top fundraiser, raising $8,375. Thank you for caring. You also helped celebrate my eight cancer-clear years. Our Austin Walk's overall goal of $20,000 was far exceeded with $31,637.48 donated so far."

Here are excerpts from her obituary:

Professionally, Dorothy was a Dallas Morning News reporter with White House credentials; public relations writer for Rice University; insightful Texas political party communicator; trusted senior staff aide to U.S. Senator John Tower; personal assistant to Dallas Mayor Starke Taylor; speech writer at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and news interpreter for the school's Nobel Prize laureate researchers; and finally, a beloved and respected middle school English teacher for 25 combined years at The Episcopal School of Dallas and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Austin. Her students, and also her children and grandchildren, found that she would correct, rather directly, their spoken grammar mistakes. She always addressed her students as "Miss" and "Mr." followed by their last name. "Respect" was her mantra and Shakespeare her unique teaching tool. She enjoyed outdoor adventure travels and archaeological trips with her students.

While living in Dallas, she and John were active at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, where she was the first female lector and taught Sunday School. She fully supported John’s journey to his 2000 ordination as a permanent deacon.

Dorothy played women's soccer with abandon on the Mudcats and Ruffians teams, earning two eyebrow cuts while contesting headers. She competed in women’s softball and was a vicious Scrabble player, endearing the game to her grandchildren and students.

A survivor of bladder cancer in her 70s, she became active with the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, mentoring newly diagnosed patients across several states and organizing Austin's first Walk to Cure Bladder Cancer in 2023.

Dorothy leaves her husband, John; children Frances (Robin) Thompson of Austin, John III (Kathy) of Richardson, Susanna Brown (partner Bill Douglas) of Ann Arbor, and Katharine (fiancé Mark Chuberka) of Austin; grandchildren Davison Thompson of Nashville, Dorothy Thompson of Boston, Jamison and Parker Brown of Ann Arbor, and Gabriela and John Robert de la Garza of Richardson; and brothers George (Diane) Lillard of Burnet and Tom (Melanie) Lillard of Dallas.

For her complete obituary, go to https://www.statesman.com/obituaries/paco1200591

Remember to hydrate hydrate hydrate!

These instructions can be followed for a 1-piece or 2-piece pouching system.

• Remove old wafer and pouch. Using adhesive remover wipes or spray should help the wafer release more easily.
• Clean stoma and surrounding skin using wet wash cloth or wet paper towel. Pat skin dry or fan with hand for about 5 seconds to aid in drying.
• Using the stoma measuring guide, measure the stoma. Mark/draw the pattern for the stoma on the release paper/film on the back of the wafer.
• Cut out the opening to be 1/8” larger than the stoma and mirror the shape of the stoma. Hint—cut to outside the line you draw on the back of the wafer. This allows for movement of the stoma. As the stoma functions, the size of the stoma will get slightly larger and smaller. Giving that 1/8” of space protects the stoma from damage if it rubs against the wafer.

Put your finger through the hole and rub down the edges of the hole that you cut in the wafer.

• If using a 2-piece system: You may attach the pouch to the wafer prior to placing the wafer on your abdomen or attach the pouch after the wafer is in place on your skin. It’s your preference as to when to attach the pouch to the wafer.

If using a 1-piece system: the pouch is already attached.

• Remove the release film from the back of the wafer. Remove the release film from the stoma ring. Note: Use of a stoma ring is an optional step. The stoma ring to helps create convexity and to increase adhesive material around the stoma to help obtain a better seal.
• Stretch the stoma ring so that it mirrors the shape of the hole in the wafer. Press the ring into place around the hole on the sticky side of the wafer. The ring should outline the hole. It does not need to extend into the stoma opening.
• Lay the wafer/pouch aside.
• Make sure your skin around the stoma is clean and dry.
• If your skin is irritated: use stoma powder to aid in healing the irritation: Dust the reddened skin with a thin layer of stoma powder. Spread the powder around the stoma and on all the reddened/irritated skin.

If your skin is not irritated: you do not need to use the stoma powder.

• Use of skin protectant is optional if your skin is healthy. Wipe or spray the skin protectant to the skin around the stoma. Note: It will not hurt the stoma if the skin protectant gets on the stoma. Note: if you use the powder, you MUST use the skin protectant wipe/spray will dissolve the powder on to your skin to provide a protective layer for the irritated skin. Let the skin protectant dry for about 5 seconds dry about 5 seconds.
• Press the wafer with the ring attached around your stoma. With the pouch in place, run your finger around the stoma area (the pouch is in place, so press on the pouch) to help secure the adhesive around the stoma.
• Note: Use of an ostomy belt is an optional step for added assistance in achieving a good wafer adherence. This is especially helpful with sealing the wafer to your skin if there are dips or contour changes to the abdominal surface or if the stoma is retracted to skin level or below. Attach the ostomy belt to the tabs on the pouch. Leave the belt on for at least 2 hours to help secure the wafer adhesive. Note: You can wear the belt constantly for added security, but do use the belt for at least 2 hours to allow time for a good seal.

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​With the aid of an ostomy nurse and a support group like the Ostomy Organization of Austin you will learn to live, and thrive -- with your stoma.

We Always Need Speakers Do you know someone who could be a speaker at one of our meetings? If you think they are knowledgeable enough to give a talk on anything stoma related, give us a call at (512) 537-5411 and ask for J.T. to call you back. Or you can email him at austinostomy@gmail.com and put "speaker" in the subject line

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Instructions for Online Meetings

For those of you who would not be able to attend without an online option, we can Zoom you right in! To get online, make sure you have Zoom on your desktop/laptop computer or smartphone. Then enter Meeting ID: 886 3266 6521, and then the pass code: Welcome

Our Vision

The Ostomy Association of Austin is a volunteer based Non-Profit Health Support group dedicated to providing mutual aid and education, information and advocacy for persons and their families who have had or will have ostomy surgery. Because we are a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), health support organization your dues and donations are tax deductible.

It is our vision to educate, empower and inspire through information and mutual support in all phases of life.

The information contained within our newsletters is for informational purposes only and may not be applicable to everyone. Please do not follow any medical advice in our Newsletter without first check with your physician or Wound Continence Ostomy Nurse.