Chasing My Dream

My physique began to develop, and I liked the improvements I saw in the mirror. Up to this point, I had merely been interested in staying fit. Now, I was beginning to have ideas of building. I began browsing Muscle Magazines, and wondering if I could ever achieve that kind of size. I decided to give it a try. Several people had recommended Ironman’s Encyclopedia (see note 1) as a good source for bodybuilding techniques, so I picked up a copy. I found it to be very informative, and I still recommend this book to everyone from beginners to serious bodybuilders. It has a wealth of information on many different aspects of bodybuilding. I studied this book, and decided on a workout that would be right for me, and would accomplish what I wanted. I chose a workout designed to put on the maximum amount of muscle mass in the minimum amount of time (because, like most people, I wanted it NOW!).

Nutrition then became my next subject for study as I learned that you need building materials to increase your mass. I found a book called “The Bodybuilder’s Nutrition Book” by Franco Columbu (see note 2). I figured since he was Arnold’s training partner, he probably knew what he was talking about, so I read it, and learned a great deal from this book. 
 

Studying nutrition led me to discover supplements, and like all other aspects of bodybuilding, I wanted to know what they were all about. I found a book called “The Anabolic Primer” put out by Musclemag (see note 3) that seemed to cover every supplement from A to Z, with detailed information about each. I had read the author’s articles in Musclemag many times, and I really liked his honesty and straight-forwardness – if his research showed that a supplement was ineffective, he would say so, and not mince words about it. There are a lot of supplements out there – some are good, some are just high-priced sugar pills. 

These three books, in my opinion, cover practically all of the information necessary – whether you just want to get in better shape, or if you want to become a bodybuilder. Now that I was armed with all of this excellent information, and doing my best to follow the advice they give, I began to make some serious progress. Since puberty, I had weighed 160 pounds, an average weight for a six-foot tall man. For twenty years, my weight had not fluctuated more than 10 pounds. Now that I was intent on building my muscles, within a year I weighed 180 pounds! A year later I had added another 10-15 pounds. I worked hard to break that 200-pound mark on the scale. When I did, I knew I was on the right path. 

It was about this time that I began to wonder if I could ever win a bodybuilding contest. At the time, I thought that this would never become more than a daydream, because I have an ostomy. Bodybuilders appear on stage wearing nothing but a tiny posing suit – there is no way that an ostomy could be concealed. The judges and audience would see the dreaded bag that I was so ashamed of. By this time, I no longer had a chance of a re-connect surgery (J-pouch style), I investigated the “K Pouch”. I thought if I could have an internal pouch, then I wouldn’t have to wear an external bag anymore, and the only thing that would show would be a bandage covering the K-pouch’s opening. I traveled to The Cleveland Clinic, one of the few hospitals in the country that perform this surgery. They viewed the slides of the biopsies taken during my first surgery. They could not determine with absolute certainty which disease I had suffered from – colitis or Crohn’s. They don’t perform K pouch surgery on Crohn’s patients because of the large amount of intestine that is used in the surgery and the possibility of Crohn’s recurring. The doctor I spoke with also discussed the possibility of the surgery failing after some time, which would mean reverting back to what I have now – less a few feet of intestine. I was put off by the failure rate they have experienced in their patients. I decided that the K pouch was not for me. Depressed with my discoveries in Cleveland, I put competitive bodybuilding out of my mind. 

About a year later, while at a meeting of my local ostomy support group, I met a woman who had the B.C.I.R. surgery. This is basically an improvement on the K pouch. I was very interested, and attended a seminar. I was impressed with their failure rates, which are dramatically improved over the K pouch. This, it seemed to me, was the way to go! Excited with the prospect of competitive bodybuilding again, my workouts became more intense while I worked with two hospitals that perform this surgery – one in Florida, one in Missouri. They told me they would take care of all the details with my Insurance. I began to formulate a definite plan in my mind. If I could undergo this surgery within a year, take time to recover fully, and another year to get in tip-top shape – I could manage to enter the local bodybuilding contest in April of ’04 – when I would be 4 – 0 (forty)! It seemed like destiny to me. 

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