Lisa Gausman: A remarkable story about survival

Send us Fan Mail Steve interviews Lisa Gausman, a fellow ostomate, and an amazing human being. Lisa noticed she may have had an illness in her teenaged years. Her mother decided to pursue intervention for Lisa, and she was immediately diagnosed with Crohn's disease. She had 15 abdominal surgeries after that diagnosis. She was put on some serious medication at the age of 16. Things started to get worse, and she had 17 more surgeries - leading to getting the ileostomy, and then a serious medical incident - leading to the removal of 17 feet of her GI (gastrointestinal) tract. Lisa shares a lot of personal stories of how her condition, her chronic pain, and prescription medication affected her life and her relationships. Fast forward some years later, and Lisa decided to do some advocating for Ostomy, and became the editor of Ostomy Canada magazine. (which is currently experiencing an uncertain future) She also did some work for the Ostomy Canada youth camp; this was truly her passion for 19 summers - that one week every summer fueled Lisa's internal gas tank!