One approach learned through the group was to be totally open about the children's ostomies with others that interacted with them on a daily basis. When Maggie started kindergarten, the Herretts planned to go into the classroom and speak to her classmates and teachers, but their daughter was adamant about keeping the ostomy hidden from the world.

"At the end of the day we had to respect it," says Megan. "After all, it is her body."

At ten years old, Maggie still struggles with the idea of having to wear a pouch. Since she was just over a year old at the time of surgery, she has no recollection of life without an ostomy. The Herretts explained to Maggie that the procedure saved her life and showed her "before" photos of herself looking terribly ill.

"We remind her that life was pretty scary, and this was the thing that gave us all our lives back," says Megan.

Even though she doesn't talk about it, Maggie doesn't let her ostomy stop her. She's a talented gymnast, and when asked to try out for the competitive team, Maggie's mom hoped her ostomy wouldn't disqualify her. Megan reached out to the United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA) who put her in touch with a Wound, Ostomy and Continence Care Nurse (WOCN) for tips on keeping the pouch secure. The fix was simple—a tight leotard and an ostomy support belt helped Maggie feel confident and ready to compete.

"The real success of the event occurs when participants later explain ostomies to others in the community who may know nothing about them," says Megan.

Megan's advice to parents of children with ostomies is to respect the child's wishes on how to approach the issue. It's also important to strike a balance between normalizing the experience and being an advocate for your child. Matt Herrett's way of normalizing the ostomy for the children was to get an ostomy pouch tattoo on his abdomen. It's also his way of starting a dialogue about ostomies at the pool, beach or gym.

Megan is sure she has changed more ostomy pouches than any other mom, but seeing her kids succeed in life keeps her going. When she occasionally gets "down in the dumps," an opportunity to help educate others arises, and that lifts her back up.

"We're in a unique position to be able to offer insights," concludes Megan. "I feel it's our obligation to contribute to the conversation and advocate for people in the same situation."

Wondering how you, too, can make a positive impact in the ostomy community? You don't have to get an ostomy pouch tattoo to spread the word, but you can participate in the Run for Resilience 5K in Boise, or in several other cities. For more information or to sign up for an event, go to Ostomy5k.org.