June 19, 2014 Hi! Well another day has come and gone. Wow. It has been a busy 24 hours. Even though I just told you tons of info, so much more has happened within the past 24 hours. I can’t believe it. Well… I went for the exploratory surgery this morning. It was very long because they actually got to “see” what they kind of speculated and knew. Today’s surgery just confirmed everything that doctors really were thinking and it also gave the doctors a glimpse as to how bad things really are with me. They knew that it was bad, but they didn’t realize it was this bad. What a long and exhausting day we had today. I am so glad that I have my doctors here at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles because they are simply the best. No other doctors have been able to discover and to do what they are able to do. Plus, their knowledge and bedside manners are simply untouchable. They have such superb knowledge about my condition and they treat me so well. I have never met doctors that are willing so much to take the extra mile to make sure things are done as good as can be or willing to make me as comfortable as possible. I have never met a nicer team of doctors and I must say that I had the best anesthesiologist today, doctors, and nurses. Everyone at Cedars-Sinai is just simply amazing. Anyway… I went for the exploratory surgery and it actually was much longer than expected. When the doctors got inside, it took them about an hour just to get to my colon because my colon was so dilated. It took all the efforts of the nurses as well in order to get to the colon because it was a huge task. It definitely wasn’t easy. After getting to the colon though the doctor saw how bad it really was inside. My intestines and rectum are extremely dilated, which is definitely not a good thing. However, it is actually saving my life right now because they found out that I do have a twist or an intussusception in the colon and the only reason I am able to live with it is because of how dilated the colon is. Most people would be dead by now. People that have twists in their colons or intussusception die because their intestines are literally being strangled and there is a huge obstruction. Yet, in my case, things are able to navigate around because of how dilated my intestines really are. Yet, in the real world this dilation is not good at all. It is this dilation that is in fact killing me and is caused because my intestines are not functioning. The dilation is definitely not normal and even though it might temporarily be saving my life because of the intussusception and twist that is occurring, it is also killing me at the same time because it is putting extreme pressure on my other organs and shutting them down. The doctors saw on the x-rays how dilated my colon was, but when they got inside, it was a different story. That is why there is no peristalsis and they are completely filled up with fecal matter that is in the viscous stage. I can’t expel anything that is in the colon because of how dilated they are. It is quite impressive how dilated my colon is in comparison to the rest of me. I am only weighing in the 60s and extremely tiny and yet, I have this huge dilated colon in me. The doctors have already put in “dibs” for when it comes out that they want to have it and test it to see exactly what happened to it. They want to run tests and do research on it to actually discover exactly what is wrong with it and everything. Everyone can’t wait for that colon to come out and to get a clear view of what it looks like. I have to say I am included in that number. I am also wondering what my colon looks like. With all that has been happening and all that they have been talking about, I am really wondering how big and dilated my colon actually is and what it really looks like. I guess we will soon find out though because the surgery to remove it will be very soon. The doctor spoke to us about a lot of things today. We found out how risky this upcoming surgery really is. I knew it was risky and dangerous, but I didn’t quite realize how big it really was. The doctors are extremely worried because the colon has the most bacteria in the entire body. Therefore, the doctors are really worried that some of the bacteria are going to leak out during the operation or during the recovery process, which I definitely can’t afford to happen. I have absolutely no “fighting” power whatsoever. If that should happen, I probably will die. Therefore, the doctors said that they have to be super extra careful to not let any of the bacteria escape when they remove the colon and they have to make sure that there are no problems afterwards like leaks and such. That is one of the reasons why they are giving me a “bag” temporarily. They rather my body heal and calm down then possibly have another problem because I won’t be able to overcome it if that should happen. The doctors are also worried about my weight. I don’t weigh a lot to begin with, as I only weigh in the 60s. However, when they remove the colon, I will of course also lose more weight. Not only will I lose the actual weight of the colon, which is about 4-5 pounds, but also I will not be able to hold fecal matter or anything else, which can also add a lot of weight onto a person. So if I am now only weighing in the 60s, the doctors are really wondering how little I truly will weigh when everything is out of me. I already don’t have any wiggle room and every ounce is crucial to me. I can’t afford to be any less, but they know it is going to happen. In addition, when the colon comes out I will have to worry about dehydrating and even losing more weight. Since I won’t have a colon, I won’t have a place that will be able to “hold” food and absorb the food and water. Therefore, when I eat or drink, it will most likely go right through me. So from not living in the bathroom now because my intestines and GI system is paralyzed, I will have to go to the bathroom about 8-10 times a day. It really will be a night/day difference.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 10:24:23 +0000
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