We left base camp this morning. It was a very hard good-bye. I'd bonded with Rob even more so on this journey of shared experience. We left four climbing team members behind, but I got to take five new family members with me. Two of them even have an ostomy, like me.

I learned so much on this trek. I learned to take things day by day at altitude, never knowing what my body was going to feel like from one day to the next. Heck, sometimes things changed so fast for me it seemed like I didn't know what to expect from one minute to the next. The journey to Everest is a great metaphor for my life. Taking things day by day, never giving up, always moving forward, striving for new peaks.

I want to thank Rob Hill for inviting me along on his Everest journey. I want to thank ConvaTec for helping me to get to Nepal and up to base camp. I want to thank my Great Comebacks^® family for showing me support and encouragement along the way. I want to thank my IBD Adventures teammates, who supported me each and every step of the way along those 60 miles and 17,000 feet up, even though I'm still going to lean on you each and every step of the way back home.

I'm excited to share this experience with others. Education is at the heart of my soul, it's so important to share experience and learn from each other. That's what the IBD Adventures Everest Trek was all about - sharing experience, learning from one another on the team and, most importantly, taking these lessons back to our home towns and sharing them with as many people who will listen.

I can't wait to get started!

Tony Bell