Semicolon; The Adventures of Ostomy Girl

"Semicolon; The Adventures of Ostomy Girl" is a unique and engaging American documentary film from 2015 that dives deep into the life of Dana Bernstein. A woman in her thirties, Dana is far from being ordinary. She is a crusader, an apostle, and a living embodiment of courage and resilience, as highlighted in this poignant documentary. This film is much more than just a chronicle of Dana's life. It digs deep into disability discourse, medical challenges, patient advocacy, and human resilience, among other themes.

This gripping documentary, directed by Robin Greenspun, captures Dana Blair Bernstein battling the day-to-day complexities of life with an ostomy bag—an artificial external pouch that collects waste products from her body via a surgically created opening known as a stoma. Despite her extensive medical history, including many surgeries and hospitalizations, Dana maintains a genuinely vibrant attitude towards life.

While most would view disease and disability as obstacles, Dana turns her condition into an empowering medium of advocacy through her candid expression. She refuses to affect a veil of pity or misery that society might expect from a person in her condition; instead, she marches undeterred and turns the ostomy bag from a mark of disability into a badge of courage.

The documentary's title could be misinterpreted as humoristic. However, this is far from the case. The semicolon in the title is purposeful symbolism. The semicolon is a punctuation mark typically not used to end a sentence but to pause it - an appropriate metaphor for Dana's life. Her condition doesn't signify the end of her life, merely a pause. The second half of the title, "The adventures of Ostomy Girl," encapsulates Dana's unwaveringly adventurous spirit and her penchant for life.

"Semicolon; The Adventures of Ostomy Girl" opens a window to the realm of existing with a chronic condition, a fragment of human experience that is rarely discussed or understood. The film does an outstanding job of going beyond the usual sob story or the heroic trope. Instead, it presents viewers with a brutally honest portrayal of life with a chronic condition, embodying both despairing lows and inspiring highs.

A leading strength of "Semicolon; The Adventures of Ostomy Girl" lies in its candid portrayal of the medical and emotional challenges that Dana bears with deft resilience while maintaining a sense of humor and positivity that is infectious. Viewers are taken on an emotional rollercoaster as they witness Dana's journey. This journey is both painful and insightful as it brings out the thematic polygon of struggle, survival, resilience, human spirit, love, and laughter amidst the chaos of physical pain and sickness.

Speaking of boredom in hospital wards, Dana states, "I don't do boredom. I do chaos, lots of chaos." This emblematic statement encapsulates the chaos that her body endures and the chaos that her spirit radiates, never staying idle and always aiming for more.

Bernstein's mother and medical support team, along with her friends, are recurrent presences in the film, illuminating the crucial role they play in her life and the very nature of their relationships with her. Heartfelt interviews and poignant scenes reveal their invaluable roles in her life and add another layer to the narrative, embodying the human reliance on social support and care.

In essence, "Semicolon; The Adventures of Ostomy Girl" is not merely about Dana or the ostomy bag. It is about an extraordinary woman's life and her constant quest for living unapologetically while battling a chronic condition. It's a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit, acknowledging loss, grief, and survival, channeling daunting medical challenges into advocacy, and above all, it's about an exceptional individual who chooses unabashed laughter over silent tears, adventure over stagnation, and, indeed, life over mere existing.