Presidents message

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2 August 2010

We are pleased to announce to you the newest IOA TODAY Third Quarter 2010 Newsletter (Click on this link)

This issue is packed full of Ostomy related reports from across the globe.

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Please remember to visit the IOA Website and to visit our ongoing Blog

or our own European website: but because you are now reading this, you did already so.

IOA also offers a number of links to more publications along with Ostomy related help.
The next issue of IOA TODAY will be coming December 2010 .

Thank you for supporting the International Ostomy Association.

Sincerely,

Arne Holte, president EOA

22 may 2010

A successful challenge!

Have you ever found yourself alone in front of a 2-month-old baby who has a stoma? I began this experience a few weeks ago. I live in a little town 120 km away from Bucharest, the capital of Romania, and here there are not stomatherapists at all. One day my husband, who is pediatrician doctor, told me that two colleagues of him from the Faculty of Medicine had called him. They are surgeons in one of childrens’ hospital I Bucharest and they’ve just operated a baby, his name is Alex, and wanted to send him at home in Calarasi, my home town. They had asked my husband to take care of this baby and to monitor him very closely because it is a special case which requires a lot of attention. And I was about to find out very soon how special he is indeed!

The baby was operated four times in two months and has got an ileostoma now. Tree days after he was born, he was operated for megacolon and the doctor made a colostoma and the other part of the bowel was left there to recover. Unfortunately, after another 3-4 days his sigmoid has snapped and broken, so Alex was operated for the second time, and this time the doctor made an ileostoma. But Alex’s problems were not over here. He had two more eventrations which took him back into the operating room. He had surgery four times in two months! Then he returned home after a long suffering, and my husband asked me to go to this baby boy to teach the parents how to take care of his stoma. His parents are young, they didn’t know how the bag should be changed or how the skin around stoma should be taken care of. They have received some bags and products for stoma care in the hospital. When they returned home after a long period of hospitalization -in fear for baby’s life and nervous tension - their psychological state wasn’t great, which is easy to understand.

Alex needs more attention because although he has got an ileostoma, and his digestion isn’t complete. He must gain weight and especially his hemoglobin needs to increase. Therefore the doctors have chosen for him a richer milk powder formula to help him grow and also to maintain the gut motility, but this causes him abdominal cramps. He often cries, and his stoma has got a prolaps. Moreover the stoma bags that he has received in hospital had too large adhesive surface for his little abdomen and this irritated his inguinal area.

So imagine me alone in front of this baby and the parents’ expectations from me! Considering that I’m legal adviser, not stoma care nurse, especially for this kind of little ostomate and with such serious problems. Frankly, the first time I was a little afraid that I’ll not be able to change his bag properly. In addition there was also a problem of irritated skin that worried me. Fortunately, the parents cooperate, and now we bath Alex together every two nights and also change together the stoma bag. I have found other smaller bags for him and the inguinal skin is normal now. The parents now know how to clean the skin around stoma, to moisturize it and to apply the bag.

Alex is almost tree months old now, and he has started to smile and play with his little hands. But the most important thing is that his weight has increased, he eats well, in only one month his hemoglobin is almost normal, and he looks like all the babies of his age! His parents are no longer desperate they have gained courage and hope. Yesterday was their first time all three went for a walk -not to the hospital - but in the park!!

Isabella Grosu

Romanian Ostomy Association

Ps: this article was sent to me as the president of EOA. I want to share this with all of you blog readers, so this is why I have blogged it

Arne Holte

21 May 2010

IOA WORLD MEETING BANGKOK

The world meeting is planned to be in Bangkok in mid November. You will all know the riots there are in Bangkok these days which makes it unlikely that the meeting will take place there. For the time being several alternatives are being investigated. The decision about this will take place in the end of May. For my part I feel it a pity to have to move away from Asia – if so, it will be for the third time.

I will let you know as soon as I know

Take care – and thanks for the good work you do for ostomates in your country

Arne Holte EOA president

4 May 2010

Kristiansand , Norway 04.05.2010

Dear all EOA member Associations!

In November this year the first and the last world meeting in IOA will take place. It was planned to be in Bangkok, but due to much trouble and riots there, other venues are being considered these days.

My main reason for this letter is the following:

to be able to vote either personally or by proxy at the world meeting, your organization must be a full member and also have paid the dues for 2009. So if your organization is an associate member and wants to upgrade, you will have to pay the dues for full membership before September 17 this year.

There will also be some paperwork to take into consideration. Take a look at the handbook (attached) and see what you will have to do to become a full member. Associations that became associate members at the EOA meeting in Frankfurt in April can easily upgrade to full members.

This E-mail goes to all EOA associations. Most of you are full members and have paid your dues. For you, do nothing. If you are in doubt, take a look at www.ostomyeurope.org and see under “EOA members” if your organization is a full member or not.

I wish you all the best and hope to see as many of you as possible at the world meeting in November – wherever it will be…

Take care all you – and thank you for the great work you do for ostomates all over Europe, the Middle East and North Africa!

Arne Holte, EOA president

7 April 2010

Hello ostomy friends all over the world!

This blog mainly to tell you that spring is coming also to my part of the world. This winter in Norway has been long and cold. I did my first skiing trip a couple of days before Christmas, and if did not use my best skies, I could have skied near my house to-day, the 5. of April.

Anyway, most of the snow around my house is gone, but a pile in the end of the road where I live will remain until May if the weather continues to be chilli. This morning the temp was just a couple of degrees above the freezing point. The ice on fjord in front of my house is almost gone, just some ice drifting towards the open sea from time to time. I feel a little like in Greenland with icebergs, but the “icebergs” on my fjord will definitely not be of any danger to any ship – small or large. They could maybe harm en kayak…

In the end of March I was going to participate in 52 km long skirace in the mountains north of my home town, but very hard winds made it necessary to cancel the race just an hour before start. The race is annual, I have participated 28 times and hoped of course to make # 29. This year 2800 women and men were on the starting line when the cancellation was done. Well, I got no skiing that day, just two 2,5 hours busrides…Now I aim for a 210 km bicycle race (not very serious) the 1. of May!

In just a few days (April the 10.) most EOA countries will meet in Frankfurt. The main issue will be to discuss the way ahead for EOA and IOA, but there are applications from countries that want to join our EOA family – and I am sure the family will be bigger the 10. of April. I look very much forward to meet a lot of old friends again and to meet new ones. I also look forward to fruitful discussions which hopefully will end with the best decisions for ostomates all over the world.

Here in Norway, the organization for ostomates with 5200 members, will have it’s bi-annual congress in the city of Arendal in the end of April. I have been asked to run for president again and have accepted. Time will show what the House of Delegates will decide..

Finally I will remind you about the world meeting in Bangkok in November this year and the EOA congress in Lviv, Ukraine, in May 2011. Vladimir Kleinwächter and my self will go to Lviv in May or June to meet the local organizer headed by professor Lozynsky. We will also meet sponsors and do preparations for the congress.

I wish all of you the very best!

Arne Holte, president EOA

2 February 2010

Report from the European Ostomy Association (EOA) Coordination Committee (CC) for the year 2009

Introduction:

This report covers the time from 01012009 till 31122009. It contains also reports from some of the appointed members of the CC.

Members of the CC are:

Arne Holte NORILCO Norway, president

Ria Smeijers Nederlandse Stomaverening The Netherlands vice president and treasurer

Guiseppe de Salvo FAIS Italy, member.

The following persons have been appointed to the CC with special tasks :

Vladimir Kleinwächter Czech Republic East Europe and the 2011 EOA congress

Daiga Skagale Latvia Young ostomates, liason to Focus 20-40

Maydad Gissin Israel Middle East, Turkey, Cyprus

Kes Klare The Netherlands Web site

Deutsche ILCO has taken care of the EOA Contact office in Bonn. Thanks to D-ILCO and to their employee Maria Hass who has excellent taken care of this vital task.

Members:

EOA has now 41 members in 35 countries from Algeria in South West to Israel in South East to Norway in far North and Iceland in the far West. It is a fact that some countries are more active than others. During the last year there has been close to no contact with Belarus in spite of several attempts from Vladimir and Daiga. To Algeria the contact is lost for the time. One Belgian association has seized heir membership, but hopefully more associations will join EOA in 2010. This is Greece, Turkey, another from Romania and another from Belgium.

Meetings:

The CC has met in Montesilvano in Italy in October. This meeting took place the day after the Italian Ostomy Association, FAIS, had celebrated World Ostomy Day. All CC members were invited to the meeting which gave EOA no expenses.

In February the CC included the appointed persons (Daiga could not meet) and also three more persons with great organization skills (Gerhard Englert, Marie Steen and Henning Granslev) met in Frankfurt to discuss the future of EOA and also IOA. The conclusion was that a great change in the way to organizations were organized ought to be recommended.

Travels:

For some time the EOA economy has prevented members of the CC to do a lot of travels. Thanks to hard work to avoid great expenses the economy is now better and hopefully it will be possible to visit more EOA member organizations in the time to come. During 2009 the president has attended the ECET (ET nurses in Europe) meeting tin Porto, Portugal in June where he held two lectures. He was taken excellent care of by the Portuguese organization LOP. The president was also invited to the Hungarian East-West colorectal days in September where he held one lection for top surgeons from Hungary and The United States.

In October he and also Ria Smeijers attended FAIS WOD arrangement in Montesilvano in Italy. At all those three travels most of the expenses were paid by the organizer.

Guiseppe De Salvo went to the October's Conference in Gyula (Hungary) on the Disabilities in the Eastern European Countries, and Vladimir Kleinwächter has attended the Polish Association’s WOD arrangement and also HUNGARY

The future:

The meeting held in Frankfurt in February clearly expressed that great changes are wanted in the ways IOA and EOA are organized. In short this means more self dependent regions, an IOA which shall have a Coordination Committee (CC) preferably consisting of at least the regional presidents. This CC shall assist the regions in matters that affect all regions. A task force appointed by the, at that time, IOA president, has been working on this the last year and has come forward with a proposal that the EOA president do not favour. He has now worked out another proposal. Hopefully the two proposals can be coordinated. As this report is written (end of January) the task force is continuing their work.

All EOA member associations are invited to a meeting in Frankfurt in April where the future of EOA and IOA will be discussed. This future will be decided at the world meeting’s House of Delegates in Bangkok in November.

The CC hopes that contact again will be established with Belarus and with Algeria, and that Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and more countries will join our EOA family in 2010.

Economy:

Treasures Report 2009

European congress in Brno, Czech Rep.

In March 2009 the complete financial report of the EOA Congress 2008 was finished.
Thanks to the sponsoring of the following national associations of UK IA, Demark, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway and the following companies Convatec International, Coloplast Norway, Hollister, Convatec Sweden, the congress is closed with a positive result.
This surplus is divided on a 50/50 basis with the Czech ILCO.

I will express my thanks to Miroslav Sery, Karel Rusin and Vladimir Kleinwächter and TA-Service for the excellent support. They were the main stay of the congress.

Twinning Project.

In October 2009 we received a donation of UDS 2500 from the IOA for the Brno Congress.

Membership fee 2009.

In October we received also our 40% part of the membership fees paid by the European members of the EOA. In January 2010 we received an postponed payment of 6 associations.

WOD 2009.

3 October 2009 our President Arne Holte and I were invited by FAIS Italy to attend their congress in Montesilvano. It was a special experience to celebrate with so many Italian ostomates WOD.
I will thank FAIS, especially Fernando Vitale and Guiseppe De Salvo for the invitation and the hospitality.

Financial Status of EOA.

The financial situation of EOA is healthy. We spend our money very conservative. We have faith for the coming years.

The Netherlands, 23 January 2010

Ria Smeijers
treasurer EOA

Internet/website:

Kes Klare has been our excellent webmaster in 2009. The site has a great lay-out and is being updated by Kes without any delay. It is EOA’s great wish that all EOA associations will contribute in 2010. It is a very good investment in Public Relations to have info on all ostomy associations on the website.

The address is: www.ostomyeurope.org

You will also find info on EOA on the international website: www.ostomyinternational.org

You can see the updates for 2009 by clicking at "New on this site":

Vladimirs Kleinwächter’s report:

Report on activities in 2009

(1) Meetings

International meeting in Pécs, Hungary

I participated at the international conference Colorectal Cancer Screening and Its Modern Examination Methods, which was organised by the Hungarian ILCO in Pécs in 27 – 28 March, 2009. I have presented a lecture Care of the Colorectal Cancer Patients in the Czech Republic, which was published (in English) in the Conference proceedings Vastag-és végbéldaganatok tömeges szürése és modern viszgálati módszerei. Based on the discussion at the conference recommendations for the CRC screening in the countries of the Visegrád Four were issued by the Hungarian ILCO.

Meetings at the occasion of the WOD 2009

(a) Meeting of Czech ILCO (Czech Republic) and Slovilco (Slovak Republic), organised by the Brno ILCO Club in the town of Breclav, connected with a symbolic visit of the archaeological site of Pohansko, a settlement of the Great Moravian Empire, which covered both the Czech and Slovak territory, on 3 October, 2009.

(b) Meeting of POL-ILKO in Zielena Góra (Poland) on 11 -12 October, 2009.

At both meetings I informed the participants about the expected changes in the structure of IOA.

(2) Preparation of the 13 th EOA Congress in Lviv, Ukraine

Throughout the year 2009 I acted as a contact with Professor Lozynsky, the main organiser of the 13 th EOA Congress. It has been agreed that the Congress will take place in Hotel Hetman (Lviv) on 6 -8 May 2011. Hotel Hetman can provide all necessary facilities for the Congress and has enough capacity to accommodate Congress participants. A draft of a letter from EOA to Ukrainian Government representatives was prepared asking for support of the Congress and effort of Ukrainian ostomates to improve their social situation.

(3) Monitoring situation of ostomates in Belarus

Since 2008, when the Belarus ostomate association informed EOA that they had to dissolve the organisation, attempts were made to find out a way how to restore it. I tried to contact Dr. Aleksander Vorobey, the founder of the organisation, but without success. Similarly attempts to find a suitable professional person, a physician or a stomatherapist with help of Alina Matysiak from POL-ILKO were unsuccessful. The future of the Belarus association will have to be discussed at the nearest EOA meeting in April 2010.

Brno, 16 January 2010
Vladimír Kleinwächter

Giuseppe De Salvo ’s report:

Report on activities in 2009

(1) Greece

The year 2009 opened with good hopes to constitute a first ostomates group and the periferic Greek region of Epirus, thanks to the help and of one of the very few Greek stomatherapists: Maria Fasia. Unfortunately, at the end of February she wrote me that she changed hospital and department and does not have anymore the possibility to help the constitution of a a Greek Ostomy Association.

After fruitless attemps to contact the Greek Anti-Cancer League, and the Greek Society of Colon Rectal Surgery, Arne gave the name and the e-mail address of a Greek Hollister representative: Ageliki Karakatsani.

She took an appointment between the Greece Hollister Commercial Manager with the President and the Vice president of the Greek Society of Colon Rectal Surgery during a Congress in November in Thessaloniki. Both surgeons said clearly that they are not interested and do not have time for this project.

Miss Angeliki did not yield and just in the last days she arranged a meeting with the president of the Greek Anti-Cancer League with me on a Ostomy Association in Greece.

(2) Africa - N'Djamena

An Italian doctor who helps an association which works in Africa, asked to a Italian Missionary hospital in N'Djamena (cooperating with a Milan's university) to monitor the number of ostomy operations during from May 2009 to November - December 2009. In almost seven months only 10 ostomy operations have been carried out.

With so few cases, it was considerated a priority by doctor Carlo Pezcoller and me to dedicate our limited resources to other areas where our pathologies are more frequent.

(3) Meeting

Last October 9 th and 10 th, I partecipated to the Conference organized by Magyar ILCO in Gyula, a little thermal town near the board with Romania, entitled: The social situation with disabilities in Eastern-Europe.

I prepared a detailed document and lecture with title: Economic and social benefits for civil invalids in Italy.

It was a touchig experience because there were many different disabilities and I saw much courage in people affected by other and more serious inabilities than the ostomy.

(4) Project of Law for the European Union

Last December 2009 ,I and other friends of FAIS (the Italian Ostomy Association) wrote a project of law for the European Union to sanction the principle of rehabilitation centres and of the proper appliances supply, in the European countries of the UE. Just in these days our official translater wrote the English version of the project of law. After the C.C. Agreement, we in Italy will put the project in the care of Italian parlamentaries in the Strassbourg Parlament.

Sesto San Giovanni, January 31 st

Giuseppe De Salvo

2 December 2009

Ingrid Anette Hoff Melkensen from the Norwegian Ostomate Association, NORILCO, is not an ordinary ostomate. 15 years old she was diagnosed with Morbus Chrons disease and had many bad years at school running to the toilet several times every hour. She was also a promising sports girl playing both handball and soccer. She went on with doing her best in sport, and also in school, but coped problems as her disease weakened her as time went on. She kept the disease a secret for one year even if she lost weight, had lot of pains and bloody stools.

During that period most people believed she was lazy and did not care about school, which became a nightmare, and her situation became very tough. Even so, she aimed to be a professional handball player, and trained even more. No one understood that she was really ill, until one day she was found unconscious in the ladies rom. After that she very soon realized who were her real friends…

In 2005 she had to get an ileostomy. She felt dirty, worth nothing, and her worst fear was that her partner would leave her. Who would have a girl with a shit bag on her stomach?

Daniel did not leave her, on the contrary, he married her, and now they have three wonderful children, two of them twins. - I never thought I would experience that day, she says.- I felt like a princess!

But sure she had her problems. Once in a public bath some girls told her that people like her had nothing to do there. That kept her away from public baths for a year and a half! One day when she was picking up her children at the kindergarten, she realized a major leak with shit all the way down to her foot. Coming home she cleaned her self – after that she lay down on the bath floor feeling down, down and down. But Ingrid is a tough girl after all, and after having felt pity for herself for some time, she finally got up and sat down in front of her laptop. The first she saw was an invitation to a contest to be the most beautiful woman in Norway.

As a girl seeking challenges, she sent an E-mail joining in. She is a beautiful girl (I have met her) - and she was accepted. After some time she advanced to the second round where100 girls still competed. Then she regretted – why in the world had she started this? Well hopefully she would not advance to the next round. But she did, and at last she advanced to the last round where only ten girls were left. That was the time when she realized that she had to appear before a judging panel in bikini!!

She could have resigned and went home proud of being among the ten finalists, but that is not Ingrid. She put on her mini bikini, her ostomy bag was more than clearly visible way above the bikini. The other girls and the judges were astonished, but gave her great credit for her courage. No-one said bad things or treated her bad – as a matter of fact on the contrary.

So – did she win? No, but she became number four. I guess you who reads this agree with me, being the fourth most beautiful girl in Norway (and the girls in Norway are among the most beautiful world wide) is fantastic. And with an ostomy bag shown in public – she appeared in nation wide magazines in her bikini – tells about a tough and also a stubborn girl! Her only concern was that she felt pity for the winner, as the ostomy girl got more attention that the winner…..

Ingrid Anette’s story was one element in NORILCO’s celebration of World Ostomy Day which took place in Oslo November 14 – 15. Ostomates from all over country gathered to this two-day seminar where there were lectures from surgeons on urostomi, ileostomi, reservoirs, sex and more. The Norwegian Cancer Union told us about their services which include advices in questions related to economic support, rights during sickness and more. A panel consisting also of lawyers operates from early morning to late evening some weekdays.

One specialist in nutrition gave a whole lot of advice about “no-food” and “yes-food”. Another gave practical exercising advises to avoid hernia. All the major distributors of ostomy care products were present introducing some new products.

Hello my EOA friends. We are very close to the World Ostomy Day, October the 3. I know many of you have great plans for the big day – and that you will do your very best “Reaching out” which is the slogan for WOD.

Both vice president Ria Smeijers and my self will be in Italia visiting FAIS – Italy’s great WOD arrangement in the city of Montesilvano. Vladimir Kleinwächter will be visiting the Polish arrangement. Guiseppe de Salvo, also he a member of the EOA CC, will also be travelling. He will be at a conference in Hungary the week after WOD.

In my local chapter here in South Norway we will celebrate WOD in my home town of Kristiansand with an open meeting Monday the 5.of October. Six companies, including Convatec, Hollister/Dansac and Coloplast will have exhibits showing all the latest in ostomy care. The arrangement will be given a young profile as a young couple – she has an ostomy, he has had an ostomy – have just become parents to a baby girl. They are all three (!) doing perfectly well, and they will come to the meeting telling their story! Really great, and hopefully many young ostomates will come to hear their story.

At a similar arrangement last year close to 100 persons – mostly ostomates - came to the meeting, and our local chapters got some new members. We sure hope for the same success this year.

I do wish you luck with your arrangement. Do your very best to “reach out”. By doing so many more people all over the world will get know that getting that an ostomy does not mean that life is over – for many of us I will say this: on the contrary!

I was one of very few ostomates invited to speak at the 5. EAST-WEST COLORECTAL DAYS in Hajduszoboszlo in Hungary in September 2009. The DAYS – or Congress – was a great experience. Top of the line surgeons from both Hungary and USA met – as they have done for five years now. Meeting them and listening to their lectures including on Laproscopi – and much more – was very interesting and gave me new understandings and information though I sometimes felt very ignorant being just a president!!!

My lecture was “How can Ostomy Organizations, Health Care Personnel and Companies work together to improve the Situation for Ostomates. Can such Cooperation be a Win-Win Situation?” I believe strongly that forming new organizations for ostomates, run by ostomates, is vital to improve the situation for ostomates where many struggle just to survive. I gave the audience the Charter of ostomates rights telling them clearly what this is the way ostomates all over the world shall aim for – often by the help of ostomy twin organizations – but also hopefully by the help of surgeons and other health care personnel.

I was great meeting members of Hungarian ILCO including the president Imre Somogyvari, Laszlo Ritter and Laszlo Schmidt whom I have all met sometimes before – also at the EOA congress in Brno last year. It was also great meeting Rosine van den Bulck, president of ECET and of course also Ken and Linda Aukett. The Congress had a real friendly atmosphere, and it gave me lot of inspiration having lunch and dinner with surgeons, ET nurses and also members of Hungarian ILCO. The Silver hotel **** was top of the line with swimming pools, hot tubs and more!

A really heartily thanks to Ivan Bartha, the president of the organizing committee who invited me. I hope to see you all again sometime!

The aim of World Ostomy Day is to improve the rehabilitation of ostomates worldwide by bringing to the attention of the general public and the global community the needs and aspirations of ostomates.

Many of you reading this will probably know me – or at least know about me – as I have been the president of EOA (European Ostomy Association) for five years now. But anyway I can tell you that I am an ostomate myself. I got my ileostomy more than 35 years ago. Normally my stoma and myself go along pretty well. Sometimes it gives me some problems, but so far the ending has been good!

Many of you reading this have very few problems being an ostomate – at least when it comes the appliances and also economy and discrimination. But I know that there are many places also within EOA were there are many problems like no appliances available, and if there are appliances available, the ostomate has to pay completely or partly. There may be a limited number of appliances for free given by social security. Discrimination will occur somewhere – and of course awareness and openness is lacking many places.

The Charter of Ostomates Rights is a very valuable document. Take a look at that (you will find it HERE on this site). The Charter tells very clearly what needs the ostomate has, and it tells what service we want our governments to give us. If you do not get this kind of service you sure have things to work with in your country.

Even if the Charter has been fulfilled in your country, there will often be talks about limitation from the government wanting to save money. A limitation in the appliances situation may give the government a “shot in their own foot” – or more clearly said that the expenses will increase as the working situation for the ostomate can be worsened.

So what will happen on October the 3? Well, mainly it will be up to every country, every local chapter to make as much as possible out of the day. Bare in mind the slogan REACHING OUT and be creative. I know that in some countries there will be huge nationwide arrangements with up to 1000 participants or more. Other places there will be a variety of minor arrangements. Some ostomates will cooperate with nurses (ECET) and doctors. Some will approach politicians, some will be on TV or in radio. Some will have exhibitions and information booths in hospitals, pedestrian areas, shopping malls or other places were they will meet a lot of people. As you will understand – it’s up to you!

Some of the manufacturers of appliances are involved like Coloplast having their Coloplast Merit Award. Hollister will have a photo contest and also Convatec has plans for involving. You can read more about this other places on this internet site. Or you may send me an E-mail and I will be most happy to send you all info including ideas for a successful WOD.

Arne Holte, president EOA and regional coordinator for WOD 2009.

Kristiansand, Norway. 2 July 2009

I will start with wishing you all a happy new year, though I know that some of you may have another change of the year. In many countries in our region ostomates do not have many problems, but unfortunately this is not the situation everywhere. My hope will be that this situation will improve in 2009.

While bags and wafers are the keywords for us ostomates, peace is a keyword for people all over the world. Unfortunately peace is far away from some of you these days, and for many of us it is impossible to understand the fear, suffering and hate that war create.
For my part I can not, and will not, take side in the war in Gaza, and I can only hope for peace and forgiveness when the war is over.

The European Ostomy Association has some challenges to cope with in a short time. Those of you that attended the congress in Brno in The Czech Republic will know that things were revealed there that called for action. There has been letters to the IOA president – and answers. All EOA associations have got copies of those letters and will hopefully be able to give the CC their point of view when this may be necessary.
The CC will meet together with the persons appointed to work with the CC in Frankfurt 20 – 22. of February. Also three key persons (persons with long experience in EOA) will meet. It is by now not finally decided who those three will be. In Frankfurt we will discuss the future of EOA. I can promise you that not any decisions will be taken without giving all EOA associations the opportunity to give their point of view.

If you have items you want to bring to the meeting in Frankfurt, please let me know. Send me an E-mail or a letter, and the CC will discuss it.

Some words about economy.
You may know that the industry no longer supports IOA like they used to do. They tell us that they will focus on the regions – which give me a lot of hope for the future of EOA. As soon as the logistics concerning the approach to the industry (who does what, and when – between IOA and EOA) is clear, I will start contacting the industry to get regional sponsorship.

A task force put up by the IOA EC has discussed a decrease in the part of the member fee that goes back to from IOA - from 40% to 30%.
I am not supporting this as I believe EOA is closer to the ostomate than IOA. In my opinion it ought to be the other way around, and increase from 40% to 50% to EOA. Hopefully this will give EOA a better economy in 2009.

The task force has also discussed and suggested (a majority) that all regions shall have one vote extra at world meetings. This will reduce EOA influence. Hopefully you will understand that I also am against that suggestion.

The figures from the congress in Brno is not 100% ready yet, but so far it does not look that bad – on the contrary really. I am so grateful to all of those you contributed!

I hope to meet some of you in 2009.
But again, the poor economy of EOA prevents me and the other members of the CC to travel more just a little. I wish ostomates in Europe and the rest of the world a great 2009.

There come a number of E-mails to me from ostomates moving to Europe – or moving from Europe – wondering how to get appliances in a new country. Same worries do also someone having when they are on holiday.

Due to my many international contacts I will almost always be able to give advice in such cases. I’ll just mention a couple of cases this summer. As a matter of fact the first one was my self. I travelled to an anniversary in the Italian ostomy association, FAIS. When it was time to change my appliance, I discovered that I had left all at home. Disaster! Well due the fact that there was an exhibit by several companies at the anniversary I got what I needed without problems. Not the type I was used to, but you will image how relieved I was.

Another incident was a Norwegian lady on holiday also in Italy. Her bag with appliances was lost in some way. She called me being on a holiday on a steamer along the coast of Norway. We agreed that her only possibility was to go to a hospital - she did so and got the appliances she needed.

There has been E-mails from people moving to Sweden, to Dubai, to France and others going for holiday in Scandinavia. They got all the advices they needed according to thankful E-mails I got.

So fellow ostomates all of the world, do contact me if on arnehhol@online.no if you are moving to Europe, on holiday in Europe or leaving Europe and are insecure about how get appliances.

23 September 2008
Hello to my fellow ostomates all over Europe, The Middle East and North Africa!

The 12. EOA congress is just ended. I do not hesitate to call the congress a great success. About 100 delegates and accompanying person from many EOA associations met for businessmeetings, workshops and social events. It was great meeting many of you again – but of course just as great making new acquaintances. The congress had a friendly atmosphere from start to end – and I will once again express my thanks to the Czech ILCO for hosting the congress – and I will also emphasise how easy and great the cooperation between EOA and the Czechs were.

Some few EOA associations have not paid their dues for some years, and with some there have also been very little or no contact for a number of years. According the EOA constitution some of those (just a few) can be expelled from EOA. However – the House of Delegates recommended that they shall receive a letter about membership and fees including information about the possibility to apply to Maria Siegl’s Friendship Fund for fees payment. Such letters have already been sent a couple of associations. Both the House of Delegates and the EOA CC regards it a pity to loose any association and hope for renewed contact in the future.

The House of Delegates elected Ukraine to host the next congress that will take place in the city of Lviv in 2011. Past president Vladimir Kleinwächter has been appointed by the EOA CC as liaison for the congress in 2011.

Every association within EOA will receive the minutes from the business meeting and from the workshop within some weeks. Please read the information on the website (Click on 'EOA Congress 2008' on the left) for more info on the congress – but very short here: Arne Holte from Norway was re-elected president, Ria Smeijers from the Netherlands was re-elected vice-president and treasurer. Guiseppe de Salvo from Italy was elected member of the EOA Co-ordination Committee (CC).

I am fully aware of the fact that most work within EOA is done in the national associations. The many national reports given to the congress did not leave any doubt about just that. It is really great to read about all the activities that takes place all over Europe. The task of the CC will be to support and co-ordinate, and the CC will do it’s utmost to be a support to all of you. The CC and my-self intends to have better contact with our member associations in the future, and we is anxious to get information and newsletters from you – and do not forget to let our webmaster get short reports from your country. Our goal is that every one of you shall have a report on www.ostomyeurope.org

From time to time there will be invitations – and as president of EOA I have to admit that I wish our economy had been much better giving the CC the opportunity to say yes to all invitations. As it is to day, we need someone to sponsor most travels.

One year from now it’s time for another World Ostomy Day. This great event takes place on October 3. I do hope for a lot of activities all over Europe, either in local chapters or (and in) the national associations. In a few days all EOA associations will get a power point presentation with lots of ideas on activities and how to celebrate WOD. There will be a photo contest and other contests with great prizes given by some of the companies producing ostomy appliances.

Please make sure your contact info is updated. Whenever there is a change, send an e-mail or a snail mail to the EOA contact office situated in Deutsche ILCO’s offices in Germany. For the mail address CLICK HERE