2008 Great Comebacks® Recipient, West Region 
Susan Foster spent much of her young adult life feeling debilitated, helpless and alone because of ulcerative colitis. Today, emotionally strong, physically fit and
mentally healthy, Susan has multiple goals in mind – to swim competitively, tell
her story and become a role model to other ostomates.
Her ulcerative colitis symptoms began when she was 18 years old and just
starting college. It wasn’t until a year later during a group ski trip when her
roommate, a nursing student, suggested that she see a doctor. Shortly after
came the diagnosis: ulcerative colitis.
For the next 15 years, Susan went through cycles of pain, flare-ups and multiple
surgeries, often, she admits, deeply in denial about her condition and struggles.
At the age of 36, she made the decision to seek a better quality of life by having
a permanent ileostomy.
After surgery – finally feeling healthy for the first time in her memory – Susan
wasted no time establishing an active lifestyle, including scuba diving, downhill
skiing, hiking, rock climbing and traveling to far-flung destinations such as
Thailand and Singapore. Looking to take things to the next level, Susan joined
the Sun Devil Masters swim team where she trains and participates competitively
in memory of a dear friend who passed away from breast cancer.
In 2003, Susan became a UOAA Ostomy Visitor, in hopes of providing support to
other ostomates as her ET nurses and her husband, Doug, had previously done
for her. She also began regularly posting on the UOAA and “IBD Sucks” online
boards about swimming, and doesn’t hesitate to share photos of herself in her
swimsuit to show that having an ostomy doesn’t mean you can’t wear fitted
clothing. To sharpen her public speaking skills, she also joined Toastmasters.
The most important lesson that Susan would like to pass on to others is, “Take it
one step at a time and do the best with what you have in the moment. If you try
to make the new ‘normal’ into a good ‘normal’ you may be surprised at just how
normal it is.”
Susan, 46, lives in Tempe, AZ, with her husband and works as a software
engineer. Next up for Susan, she hopes one day to compete a sprint distance
Triathlon and the three-mile “Gatorman” swim at the La Jolla Rough Water Swim
in California.
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