Dear Reader,

Before we get to the intriguing story of Susan Bogatin, let’s talk for a brief moment about the coronavirus concerns. As of March 13th, 2020, the Longmont Senior Center is closed to the public as a proactive and precautionary measure to stop the spread of COVID-19. For a up-to-date list of City closures, check https://longmontcolorado.gov/news.

If you are visiting the Longmont Senior Center when it is open or even in your home, these are some behaviors that we want to become ingrained in our regular habits. Don’t wait for the virus to reach our facilities or homes. 

Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations, Michele Waite, Senior Services Manager is recommending:

1. Stay home if you are feeling ill
2. Wash your hands regularly and well – get all areas of your hand
3. Be mindful of and limit touching your face – nose, eyes
4. Cover your cough

And, I have heard from some readers that they are growing anxious as they watch the news. If you are feeling that you want to talk about it with someone, please call the Longmont Senior Center at (303) 651-8411. Ask for Brandy Queen, our Seniors’ Licensed Professional Counselor. She can be reached at (303) 651-8414. Don’t sit in fear. Make a plan and talk to others who may be able to help. 

Now, readers, I cannot diminish the fascination I had as I interviewed Susan Bogatin and heard her story unfold. Let’s get to it. 

How do you accomplish tasks? Some people do the mad rush before a due date to get things done. Others plan out the steps, and then move methodically through the process to completion. We all know many quotes about accomplishing tasks: “The early bird gets the worm.” “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” My favorite is artist Vincent Van Gogh’s quote: “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” Reader, do you have a quote that motivates you?

Susan Bogatin’s life is a series of small things – and with each situation she purposely faced or chose – and created a path to reach her dreams. She’s hit some difficult times in her life. I’ve known Susan for four years and I’ve never heard her whine or complain. She faces complications, accepts life for what it is, makes peace with the situation and figures out a way to rise above whatever the crisis. Susan and I have something in common. We were project managers in a certain point in our respective careers. Speaking from experience, as a project manager, you have to be a person that identifies problems, creates solutions, and then implements them. I see that beautiful strength in Susan. Would people identify you as someone who whines or as someone who is easy-going about their approach to challenges?

Let’s go back to her young adult years. Susan was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas. The year after high school, age 19, she moved out, and by age 20, she married.  She and her husband, Glenn, moved to San Francisco where he was a corpsman (medic) in the Navy. Five years into the marriage, her husband revealed that he was gay. Susan and Glenn divorced as friends and Susan, with their small son, lived in the Bay area.

Later, Susan became friends with a woman who worked as a detective with the Stockholm police department in Sweden. She suggested Susan move to Stockholm to advance her career. In 1983, Susan and her son, then in 6th grade, emigrated to Sweden. She lived there for a year. She attended and taught English at the Swedish Immigration School.  The teaching and learning experience helped bolster Susan’s confidence in her abilities and whetted her appetite to pursue further education. She moved back to the United States and enrolled in West Valley College in Saratoga, California. She completed her degree in B.S. in Computer Science and her B.S. in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco.

She was working for IBM as an Engineer/Project Manager. Then, she met Eric Bogatin. Well, actually, they met over a computer. They had both volunteered to help set up the exhibits for the opening of a new museum – the Technology Museum of San Jose.  In the beginning, they coordinated their volunteer work through their computer communication as they shared technical aspects of what was needed for the museum. Finally, after six months, they met for the first time and started dating. Eighteen months later she and Eric married. They lived in California for five more years. During those first years of marriage, Susan went back to school and received her M.S. in Project Management from George Washington University.

Then in 1997, Susan’s mother began having neurological issues, needing a wheelchair and their help.  Susan and Eric moved to Kansas to care for her mother, and started a new company – Bogatin Enterprises. Six weeks after moving to Kansas, Susan’s mom died, but the Bogatins and their company stayed in Kansas. 

Bogatin Enterprises was a company that provided world-wide training and education on electrical engineering. Susan was Chief Operating Officer (COO) with Project Management Professional Certification (PMP). They had developed a unique business – only four or five people in the world taught the field of electrical engineering with a focus on signal integrity. In layman’s terms it’s how the signal between two chips in your electrical devices (phone, microwave, car, etc.)  transmit through the wires. A chip contains millions of electronic components and is, most often, less than a square-cubic-inch in size. As the business grew, Eric was spending a lot of time traveling around the world working with companies such as Intel, Hewlett Packard and Cisco Systems. He also wrote 15 technical books and three science fiction books during those years.

In addition, Susan and Eric, along with others from Hewlett Packard, founded an annual conference for computer hardware designers.  It’s called DesignCon and is held every year in at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California.  In 1992, they did a kick-off tour in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. This January, was the 21^st year the Bogatins have attended. 

One of Susan’s friends in Kansas was Serena. Serena developed a growing nationwide-career working in the fashion industry as a salon manager, Aveda Institute instructor and representative.  She traveled the United States teaching.  Then tragedy struck.  In the fall of 2009, Serena was had a catastrophic car accident, leaving her paralyzed from the shoulders down. In support of her friend, Susan would travel daily four hours one-way to the hospital for the next three months. Susan would help rally Serena, feed her, help her with physical therapies – whatever was needed to help her friend get as much use of her body that was possible with this type of injury. Reader, have you ever experienced and/or shown empathy through a calamity?

The car accident changed Serena’s life, and it also dramatically affected Susan and Eric too. The incident created what they refer to as the “Serena Syndrome”. Susan said, “It scared the crap out of us- that in a heartbeat something so unexpectedly could happen that changes your life.” Eric and Susan reassessed their lives. Now 20 years in the business, they sold it to a Fortune 500 company which gave the Bogatins a financially secure retirement and a new way to live. They moved to Colorado, and with Eric’s unique knowledge, he started teaching electrical engineering at the University of Colorado – Boulder. The classes are based on the information in Eric’s textbooks. Reader, what might be your “Serena Syndrome” or “wake-up- call moment”?

During this time, Susan noticed progressively troublesome symptoms with her bowels that, when she looks back, plagued her throughout her whole life. Within three years, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis which is an inflammatory bowel disease. Eighteen months later, Susan had ostomy surgery – in her case an ileostomy. For Susan, it means she had her entire colon and rectum removed. Now, she wears a small pouch on her abdomen to collect body waste. 

Three common abdominal ostomy surgeries include: ileostomy (like what Susan had), colostomy, and urostomy. A colostomy is where some of the colon remains and is redirected to the abdomen. A stoma (opening) is formed to allow the elimination of bowel waste. For a urostomy, the newly formed stoma allows the release of bladder waste. Have you ever had a surprise surgery? How did you handle the news?

In the United States, at any given time, it is estimated that there are upwards of 1 million people with an ostomy.¹ The list of famous people who had ostomy surgery include: Former President, Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower, professional golfer and champion of eleven PGA tournaments, Al Geiberger, Green Bay Packers offensive lineman football player, Jerry Kramer, and even Napoleon Bonaparte. Similar to Susan’s diagnosis, former NFL placekicker, Rolf Benirschke, was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and had two ostomies. After surgery, for the next eight years, he continued to play for the Los Angeles Chargers.²

A month after her hospital stay, Susan and one of her nurses talked about the need for a support group for people who experience ostomy surgery. With Susan’s nurse contacts from Longmont United Hospital and Susan’s energy and persistence, the hospital helped to coordinate an ostomy support group. The first month no one attended, the second month two people arrived. Now three years later, and many more attendees, Susan is the founder and Associated Support Group leader for the Boulder County Ostomy Support Group which is affiliated with the United Ostomy Association of America offered at Longs Peak Hospital and Longmont United Hospital.

 

There are times when Susan’s duties go beyond the actual time in the support group discussion. She goes out of her way to meet with participants and help them brainstorm solutions to any problems that arise because of being new to the care of their ostomy. Charlotte Anderson said, “Susan has been so helpful to me. She came to the hospital to see me. She encouraged me when I so desperately needed it. She is a real asset to the group”. 

In addition, Susan also works closely with Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurse (WOCN), Charles Sloan, from Longmont United Hospital. Charles often gives education programs for the support group. He provides ostomy training for the nursing staff at Longmont United Hospital and he manages a Wound/Ostomy outpatient clinic at the hospital. Susan and Charles have collaborated on a magazine publication³ and have another one slated for release. Their topics cover the insight and knowledge they have about ostomy-related issues.

Susan regularly makes time in her schedule for conferences such as the National Conference of the United Ostomy Association of America. She also attends ostomy-educational trips. She monitors world-wide forums and folks from other countries have contacted Susan asking her help about ostomy information. 

In 2017, the director of the Volunteer Services at Longs Peak Hospital called Susan and asked if she would attend a specific training. They were starting a new program called Stepping On. They wanted Susan to be one of the leads. That year, Susan became a certified instructor. “I was lucky enough to be in on the ground floor [of the initial planning],” Susan said about the introduction of Stepping On. Now, Susan is the Co-Leader for this all-inclusive fall-prevention program that teaches balance and strength to seniors. Stepping On is offered at Longs Peak Hospital and Longmont United Hospital and uses instructors from many different fields. 

Susan has a quote that she heard in high school and it has motivated her often in life – “you can always go farther than you think you can.” Remember, earlier in the blog, I said I have never heard Susan complain. I want to retract that for a brief moment. Susan has a clear sense of justice, and I have heard her complain about situations where others are affected by unfair situations. However, Susan’s frustration doesn’t stop with a complaint. She immediately goes into problem-solving mode to figure out what can be done to assist that person as they work to solve their difficult unfair issues.

Susan, now 69, also finds time to travel. It is one of her most favorite things to do. She is a world-traveler, having visited places like: London, Mexico, Iceland, Berlin, Japan and Canada.  She traveled on the SJ (Swedish national rail system) that is connected to the Eurail system (Europe’s railway system) for an overnight trip from Stockholm to Paris. “I remember it was the first time my son had been around so many people speaking English. He loved it”, she said. This was immediately following their year in Stockholm. Susan’s bucket list includes spending more time in Paris. As well, she wants to travel to Normandy, France and the Panama Canal. I have no doubts that Susan will make her dreams a reality. Like Van Gogh, Susan understands the need to plan the organized steps to accomplish her tasks. 

Last month, you were introduced to Leonard Barrett Jr. who is an actor and inspirational speaker. Readers such as Peggy, Mike, Ann, Hazel, Larry and Sharron, from Longmont, enjoyed the blog and Hazel added, “You sent a touching blog on another remarkable human being!”

Diane from Pennsylvania said: “Well, you got me interested and thank God for YouTube. I was able to get on and listen to Leonard sing quite a few songs. He brought back many memories and he has an amazing voice.”

Jan from the East Coast: “I’m beginning to think that all roads lead to Longmont. It seems no matter the life, each one finds his or her way there. While details may vary, each one has taken adversity to gain inner strength. Everyone needs to hear this. Your blog is the most encouraging words I read each month. It makes me want to find my ray of light to shine. You are demonstrating that when you are the teacher the students come to you. You don’t need to search for them. These remarkable people cross your path and then through your blog we find them. You are a conduit of grace.

Until next month, may peace be at your side,

Debbie Noel

We have several ways to interact with Debbie!

• Email her at DroppingInWithDebbie@gmail.com

• Register at the blog site (very bottom of the page) to have your comments viewed online

• Send your letters to:

Debbie Noel
C/o Longmont Senior Center
910 Longs Peak Avenue
Longmont, Colorado 80501

 

City of Longmont’s recommendations concerning the coronavirus based on CDC recommendations: COVID-19 News

You can regularly check in at https://www.longmontcolorado.gov/news to get the city’s latest updates.

Boulder County Ostomy Support Group which is affiliated with the United Ostomy Association of America offered at Longs Peak Hospital and Longmont United Hospital offers monthly meetings on the first Thursday of each month. The group offers support and understanding as folks go through the introduction, changes and ongoing lifestyle as they live with their ostomies. As well, guest speakers, supply and healthcare information are part of the agenda.  For more information and meeting place and times, go to the website: www.BoCoOstomygroup.com 

Susan Bogatin can be reached at BoCoOstomygroup@gmail.com or 720-378-8411.

Stepping On Workshops for Fall Prevention information can be found in the Longmont Senior Center GO Catalog in the Health and Wellness section. The program is sponsored by the City of Longmont Senior Services, Longmont United Hospital/Centura Health, and UC Health Longs Peak Hospital. Each workshop is co-sponsored by Longmont Public

Safety, UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital and Longmont United Hospital. One in four people age 65 or older has a fall each year. Don’t be one of them. Join a Stepping On workshop. The programs run once a week for seven weeks and subjects covered include:

• Strength and balance exercises
• Home modifications
• Community Safety
• Medication Review
• Vision

Presentations by a pharmacist, community mobility expert, vision expert and a physical therapist.

Here is the link to the current Longmont Senior Center GO Catalog – a catalog of quarterly activities offered by the center and other agencies: The Latest GO Catalog

 

Footnotes:

1. According to the United Ostomy Association
2. According to Laura Cox, Ostomy Lifestyle Specialist with Shield Healthcare – a company I personally use for some of my medical equipment.  https://shieldhealthcare.com 
3. The Phoenix Magazine [official publication of the UOAA], Summer Edition 2019,”Enteritris and an Ileostomy”