Do you want to skip to content? Skip to content
Convatec Group Contact Us България България Bosna i Hercegovina Bosna i Hercegovina Česko Česko Danmark Danmark Österreich Österreich Schweiz (Deutsch) Schweiz (Deutsch) Deutschland Deutschland Ελλάδα Ελλάδα United Kingdom United Kingdom Ireland Ireland España España Eesti Eesti Suomi Suomi Suisse (Français) Suisse (Français) France France Hrvatska Hrvatska Magyarország Magyarország Ísland Ísland Italia Italia Lietuva Lietuva Latvija Latvija Северна Македонија Северна Македонија Malta Malta Norge Norge België België Nederland Nederland Polska Polska Portugal Portugal România România Slovensko Slovensko Slovenija Slovenija Srbija Srbija Sverige Sverige Türkiye Türkiye Україна Україна Brasil Brasil United States (English) United States (English) Estados Unidos (Español) Estados Unidos (Español) Argentina Argentina Canada (English) Canada (English) Canada (Français) Canada (Français) Chile Chile Colombia Colombia Ecuador Ecuador México México Perú Perú Belize Belize Guyana Guyana Jamaica Jamaica Venezuela Venezuela Costa Rica Costa Rica Curaçao Curaçao República Dominicana República Dominicana Guatemala Guatemala Honduras Honduras Nicaragua Nicaragua Panamá Panamá Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Suriname Suriname El Salvador El Salvador الإمارات العربية المتحدة الإمارات العربية المتحدة البحرين البحرين مصر مصر ישראל ישראל ایران ایران الأردن الأردن عُمان عُمان قطر قطر پاکستان پاکستان لبنان لبنان الكويت الكويت المملكة العربية السعودية المملكة العربية السعودية Suid-Afrika Suid-Afrika العراق العراق Australia Australia India India Malaysia Malaysia New Zealand New Zealand Philippines Philippines Singapore Singapore Indonesia Indonesia 日本 日本 대한민국 대한민국 ไทย ไทย Việt Nam Việt Nam 中国大陆 中国大陆 中国香港特别行政区 中国香港特别行政区 中国台湾 中国台湾
False /oidc-signin/en-gb/ Convatec Group Contact Us България България Bosna i Hercegovina Bosna i Hercegovina Česko Česko Danmark Danmark Österreich Österreich Schweiz (Deutsch) Schweiz (Deutsch) Deutschland Deutschland Ελλάδα Ελλάδα United Kingdom United Kingdom Ireland Ireland España España Eesti Eesti Suomi Suomi Suisse (Français) Suisse (Français) France France Hrvatska Hrvatska Magyarország Magyarország Ísland Ísland Italia Italia Lietuva Lietuva Latvija Latvija Северна Македонија Северна Македонија Malta Malta Norge Norge België België Nederland Nederland Polska Polska Portugal Portugal România România Slovensko Slovensko Slovenija Slovenija Srbija Srbija Sverige Sverige Türkiye Türkiye Україна Україна Brasil Brasil United States (English) United States (English) Estados Unidos (Español) Estados Unidos (Español) Argentina Argentina Canada (English) Canada (English) Canada (Français) Canada (Français) Chile Chile Colombia Colombia Ecuador Ecuador México México Perú Perú Belize Belize Guyana Guyana Jamaica Jamaica Venezuela Venezuela Costa Rica Costa Rica Curaçao Curaçao República Dominicana República Dominicana Guatemala Guatemala Honduras Honduras Nicaragua Nicaragua Panamá Panamá Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Suriname Suriname El Salvador El Salvador الإمارات العربية المتحدة الإمارات العربية المتحدة البحرين البحرين مصر مصر ישראל ישראל ایران ایران الأردن الأردن عُمان عُمان قطر قطر پاکستان پاکستان لبنان لبنان الكويت الكويت المملكة العربية السعودية المملكة العربية السعودية Suid-Afrika Suid-Afrika العراق العراق Australia Australia India India Malaysia Malaysia New Zealand New Zealand Philippines Philippines Singapore Singapore Indonesia Indonesia 日本 日本 대한민국 대한민국 ไทย ไทย Việt Nam Việt Nam 中国大陆 中国大陆 中国香港特别行政区 中国香港特别行政区 中国台湾 中国台湾
Meet Phyllis Rovner. me+ member, living with an ileostomy.

“That colon has to come out.” That was the consensus from a series of doctors I’d seen over nearly two decades of my young life… a life that was ruled by ulcerative colitis. But I simply couldn’t deal with the thought of having a stoma pouch on my belly. So I refused.

"Getting an ileostomy was not the end of my life; it was the beginning. I’m so happy that I want to help others."

picture of woman living with an ostomy posing }

Phyllis Rovner

Not a me+ member yet?

Join today!
woman living with an ostomy holding a koala bear during her travels in Australia ;

During college – while still struggling to control my symptoms – I got married and subsequently had two children. I then worked at the University of Maryland and later at the US Department of Agriculture. While I loved my work, it was stressful, which aggravated my medical condition. After an episode of colitis that required four blood transfusions, I finally realised that I couldn’t keep going. It was time for surgery.

It was a blessing in disguise for two reasons. Not only did surgery rescue me from a life of chronic pain associated with ulcerative colitis, but the surgeon discovered severe dysplasia, which would have likely led to colon cancer. This was the turning point in my life.

“I’ve heard that some people with stomas never leave the house. I, on the other hand, never stayed in my house when I got ‘Shlomo the Stomo’”, says Phyllis. “Once I no longer had to worry about finding a bathroom because of my ulcerative colitis, I was free!”

Phyllis credits her stoma for giving her the opportunity to travel the world. She has visited South Africa, Swaziland, Madagascar, Costa Rico, Ecuador, Thailand and Australia. Living with a stoma, Phyllis was free to sleep in a tent, snorkel and go on safari.

She speaks of one interesting hiccup while in the rainforest of Ecuador. Phyllis’ husband contracted a stomach bug leaving him temporarily bed-ridden while she continued to explore the rain forest. Unfortunately, Shlomo did not take well to the stomach bug, and Phyllis experienced a few accidents. Phyllis found herself running low on supplies. When her husband was feeling better better, they drove into Quito, capital of Ecuador, and found a drugstore that actually carried her exact size stoma system wafer. “It was truly a miracle,” says Phyllis. “I guess people around the world have stomas. We are not alone!”

And although I already had a degree and a successful career, I went back to school and got a TOESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language) certificate. I did this in honor of my mother, who was born in Poland and couldn’t read or write. Now, I help people from other countries learn English.

My hope is to continue helping people after this life by donating my body to a medical school. While the students who get my body will find a few parts missing, I’m a firm believer that it’s the defects that make us perfect.

Featured Products

Featured Articles

me+ Hub me+ Hub

Register with me+ today

Our dedicated community support program is free to join, and offers expert advice and lifestyle tips for everyone living with a stoma. 

We need your consent to continue

Your privacy is important to us. Please take a moment to read our privacy policy to understand how Convatec uses and protects your personal data. We never share your data with other companies without your permission.

We need your consent to continue

Your privacy is important to us. Please take a moment to read our privacy policy to understand how Convatec uses and protects your personal data. We never share your data with other companies without your permission.

Consent to Data Processing
Consent to Marketing

You can manage your consent at any time by unsubscribing through a link in our emails, contacting us at 0800 467 866 UK or by email at meplus@convatec.com

You can manage your consent at any time by unsubscribing through a link in our emails, contacting us at 0800 467 866 UK or by email at meplus@convatec.com

You are leaving convatec.com

This Internet site may provide links or references to other sites but Convatec have no responsibility for the content of such other sites and shall not be liable for any damages or injury arising from that content. Any links to other sites are provided as merely a convenience to the users of this Internet site.

Do you wish to continue?