I had a great time this week at the United Ostomy Association of America’s Bi-Annual Conference held in St. Louis Missouri.
My husband and I drove down with our friends, Carol and David Larson from Burnsville, MN. That was about a 12 hour trip. It’s not usually that long but we had to have lunch at a casino. (Because they have good value buffets, Bahgat’s favorite.) He doesn’t gamble but the other three of us gave it a try for 15 minutes.
We all walked out winners. Maybe that’s the key, don’t spend much time!
We arrived at the hotel, had some appetizers and hit the bed. While Carol had meetings the first day, I caught up on work in my hotel room and David and Bahgat toured the city.
Educational ,Fun, and Getting Reacquainted With Friends
The conference was full of good education, the latest medical hints for people with ostomies and of course plenty of time to get together with friends from the past. I didn’t have to do any talks this year, so I enjoyed visits with many.
Hollister Ice Cream Party and Book Signing
I did spend some time at the Hollister Ice cream party and dance signing my latest book, Your Glasses Are on Top of Your Head. This book is not about ostomies, it’s about looking at aging with humor. Most people with ostomies would be glad to say they like aging. Many thought they might not have the chance. Thanks Hollister for the grant to UOAA and everyone got a book and some took them back for their chapters. I signed 500 books that night and I never get tired of that!
Comics For A Cause
Lots of good things to work on for me, especially the Comics for a Cause show on October 2nd. It is going to be a fun night of laughter. I would love to have you join us and celebrate with me 20 years of being cancer free! Come get copies of my new book signed, laugh til your sides hurt while hearing 5 great comics!
Click Here For Tickets
Between the hard work of the board, conference chair, ASG and volunteers and staff, they pulled off another great conference. I really liked spending time with so many new people and many were blown away by having people to talk to that understood what having an ostomy is all about. That is perhaps one of the best things about attending an ostomy conference, you begin to see yourself as normal again. A new normal, but normal.
Seeing A Few Sites
Gateway Arch
In The Oval Office
We fit in a side trip to the Clinton Presidential Center and looks who’s sitting in the Oval room…
A packed week and more to come!
Brenda
