With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we are in strange and often stressful times. Now more than ever, it is important to get in touch, both with ourselves and with others, whether we are locked down together or socialising at a distance. That’s why it’s the perfect time to crack open the StomaTips love special. Not only do we have articles on getting down or getting hitched with a partner, the issue also celebrates love of the self—including loving your skin, loving what you eat and loving your stoma. Taken as a whole, our many fantastic contributors demonstrate how it is by showing kindness to ourselves and others that we build confidence and come closer together.
Those of us quarantined with our partners, family or close friends can count ourselves lucky, but we should also take the time to reach out to people spending lockdown alone. There are many people for whom this be could a very lonely time, and they would no doubt appreciate some love sent in their direction. With so many traditional social spaces shuttered, social media has come into its own as a way to stay connected. That’s why, alongside hosting all our articles for free on our website and sharing them on the StomaTips Facebook page, we have also launched accounts on Twitter and Instagram to reach out to the online ostomy community. This has been possible thanks to the social media savvy of Luciana Podschun, who has recently joined the team as a consultant editor. You may recognise Luciana from her delightful articles in previous issues, which she has outdone this time with a powerful recollection of a particularly difficult breakup.
Luciana and I would love to hear how you are getting on with or without your loved ones, so please do get in touch with your story on social media or by emailing us. If there is one article you read this issue, please make sure it is our collection of coronavirus dispatches, from a nurse, a patient and a support group organiser. The love shown by essential frontline workers, who are putting themselves in difficulty and danger to keep others safe, has been an inspiration, and it deserves to be recognised and reciprocated.
Benjamin Wakefield
Editor, StomaTips