Ensuring that every person facing ostomy surgery knows that they are not alone and that they can choose to live a life filled with joy and purpose.

"I would rather die than have an ostomy." I've heard those heart wrenching words hundreds of times over the last 40 years and our little team is committed to changing that mindset with Embracing Ostomy Life. We want to thank you for your friendship and continued support and share a brief update on our progress and our needs as we move forward:

Received approval of 501c3 status in June

Created our Board of Directors and had our first meeting:

• Luis Garcia, MD, president, Sanford Health Clinical Division
• Colin Moore, Ostomate and Technology Director, Embracing Ostomy Life
• Jearlean Taylor, Ostomate and International Fashion Model
• Sonia Ramamoorthy MD, Colorectal surgeon, UCSD
• Doug Wall, Managing Director Life Ventures
• Jaime Wheeler, Senior VP Global Clinical Affairs, Edwards Lifesciences

Attended the United Ostomy Associations of America conference in Houston where we had a booth in the expo hall and recorded 50+ videos for our Alive & Kicking Ostomy Recovery Program. See some samples:

Working with The House Of agency to develop branding/marketing materials

Building scalable technology for our website. https://embracingostomylife.org/, Alive & Kicking and Team HOPE

Welcomed four professionals to our team, Angie Gilbert, WOCN, Danielle Gaffen RDN, LD, Heather Marra, PT and Rachel Christian PhD, LPC-MHSP

Phase one of Team HOPE to launch 11/04/23 - "matching" program for new ostomates to connect with a "veteran" Ostomate - https://embracingostomylife.org/team-hope/

Our priorities for the rest of the year are:

1) Fundraising!!

2) Implement marketing plan

2) Develop pilot of Alive & Kicking, ostomy recovery program

3) Website development

4) Social media plan/staff

5) Refine Team HOPE offering

We want to thank you for your continued support of Embracing Ostomy Life through your valuable contributions, encouragement and your donations as we turn this dream into a reality!

Rolf Benirschke

Former NFL Kicker, Walter Payton Man of the Year, Grateful Ostomy Patient

Meet our family of characters that will be featured in Embracing Ostomy Life. Notice that the journey to recovery is never a straight line!

3840 Via de la Valle, #300, Del Mar, CA 92014 

www.EmbracingOstomyLife.org

The Grateful Patient Foundation is a 501c3 that helps patients successfully navigate the emotional and physical challenges of ostomy surgery as they learn to embrace their new life.