![](https://www.plusonline.nl/sites/plusonline/files/styles/pol_carousel/public/angelique_-_mijn_eerste_keer_met_stoma_achtbaan.jpg?itok=y6GGCKQz)
Hard, fast and straight ahead: Angelique Hinke (42) is always ready for a roller coaster ride. Together with Ricardo, she gets on the roller coaster for #My First Time with Stoma. But how were her own first times with a stoma?
“A ride in those revolving teacups in the Efteling is not necessary for me. That makes me especially nauseous,” says Angelique. “But I love a roller coaster, speedboat or other fast attraction. I used to be the last one to get out of the bus on school trips because I always got a little carried away with those adventures. That hasn’t changed: I still enjoy a amusement park or, for example, the Tilburg fair. I love going out: I also love festivals, concerts, dining out or enjoying the city.”
Reflection
Seven years ago, life looked a lot bleaker. Angelique had to be operated on urgently. “I weighed only 46 kilos. I had been under the knife several times because of Crohn’s disease, but this time I had to remove my large intestine and part of my small intestine. And then you wake up with a bag of shit on your belly”, she concludes soberly. I didn’t like it at the beginning. I really thought: oh dear, what now? When you are in your mid-thirties, a stoma is not the image you want to see of yourself in the mirror. “
green stool
She immediately decides to take care of her stoma herself. “That took some getting used to, because the stools were green the first week after the operation and it smelled. Fortunately it became more normal after that. Thanks to my approach I accepted my stoma more quickly. I did have a lot of skin problems and leakages in the first year. Dan thought I sometimes really: sew everything together, then I go to the toilet twenty times a day. But once I had the right material and started to get used to it, that completely turned around. Now I wouldn’t go there anymore having to think about having to sit on the toilet for an hour at night and always have a stomachache!”
Staring in the sauna
Working with a stoma is fine: as a nail stylist, Angelique determines her own working hours. “I worked in a hair salon until I was 27, but standing for a long time became too heavy for me. That is why I started training as a nail stylist. I have had my own salon for years now and I can rest for a few hours in the afternoon, for example.” However, there were also things that she had to get used to. “I put off the first time to the sauna for a long time. I was hesitant that people would look at me. You quickly get the feeling that they think ‘getver’. But in the end I got over it: I can just as good to the sauna like any other.”
On the website www.mijneerstekeermetstoma.nl you can find the video with Angelique on the roller coaster and a more extensive interview.