Sarah Mays
I was misdiagnosed for two years, because everyone thought I was too young at 33 to worry about colon cancer. So by the time it was confirmed, it was already at stage 4. I was given a colostomy which was supposed to be temporary, but it was later determined it could not be reversed, so it became a permanent one. When I saw how expensive ostomy supplies were, yet absolutely necessary, I worried about other ostomates who had no insurance, and were struggling to keep themselves supplied. So I have made it my life’s mission to help them, and I founded S.T.O.M.A.inc.LLC, a non profit charity that collects donated ostomy supplies and redistributes them to those in need. My stoma nurse told me about the Macomb County support group and suggested I contact them, and that we might help each other. That was in the spring of 2015, and as they say, the rest is history, and I also became president of the support group in June of 2016. S.T.O.M.A. is a separate entity from the Macomb County Support Group, but we work together toward a common goal: to offer support to ostomates, especially new ones, so they can meet whatever challenges they may have and live a successful life with their ostomies.