This post was written on Wednesday, 7/30, which was exactly 1 month since my surgery. Wow, I cant believe it has already been exactly four weeks since I had my big colon surgery! Some days it feels like it has been longer. And some days, not so much! These last four weeks have been a huge emotional roller coaster, and Im just trying to let my body heal on its own time. It has tested my strength, and pushed me mentally, physically and emotionally. I always say it could be much worse..but man, I dont know! I have been so thankful for the support of my brother and all he has done, and grateful that he has been my reality checker ;). I dont know what I would do without him! And, Denny has been great too. Always knowing how to keep me in check with knowing if I am truly in an emergent situation. This last surgery hopefully has solved some issues that I kept having re-occur, like the obstructions that would come on out of nowhere. I was grateful to be able to finally find out that after opening me up during this, my fourth colon surgery, that I have much more of my small intestine remaining than I was ever told. Going into surgery we thought I had about 12 inches (1 foot) of bowel left to work with, [which is not much!] It turns out after Dr. Sudan took out and unrolled my entire bowel, (what I have remaining anyway, which is just my small intestine,) she figured out I have about 39 inches left! Thats a huge relief! Because if I ever need any future intestine removed, we know there is some wiggle room to work with. That 17 day hospital stay is such a blur to me, and Matthew still has to constantly remind me of certain things. I say all the time, those days feel as if they were one, combined, mostly bad day. And, if I talked to anyone during that time, I honestly dont remember. To now hear the stories of all the scary events that went on post surgery, and all the medications they tried to use to sedate me or make me more comfortable, is shocking! I knew I had a high pain medicine tolerance. But to have me on six different pain drips, including Ketamine, (a horse tranquilizer,) to try to calm and comfort me, plus an epidural with multiple medications, all while I really was unable to get any sleep, is amazing and mind boggling! It just made me, (from what I have been told,) irritable and not the best to be around! But, also from the horrible experience of having the NG (nasogastric tube) placed 4 times into my nose, and being stuck more times than I thought was humanly possible, made me want to give up some days! Those 17 days were trying. But here I am on the other side. Like, somehow, I always manage to come out on the other side. Here I sit 30 days post-op! Now, things arent at 100% yet. But they are surely so much better than 30 days ago! I am ever so grateful to our family friend Sheri, (more like family,) who came all the way from Florida to stay with me for two weeks. If she could have stayed longer I would have kept her, (I know selfish, right?!) Sheri is such an amazing person inside and out, and her two weeks here could not have come at a better time! She has some medical issues of her own, so she not only could sympathize with me, but was truly able to empathize and understand what Im going through. Those first 2 weeks out of the hospital were pretty rough. But she was my round the clock nurse, pushing me to my limits, when sometimes I didnt want to be pushed! She was also my wonderful driver to multiple appointments, even spending half the day at Duke for my first post-op appointment. We spent many hours having long conversations that I will always remember, and she gave me some advice that I will hold dearly for life! I love you Sheri, and am so thankful you are in my life. I dont know how I can ever repay your act of kindness. But just know you are a dear heart to me!!! So, I know all of you want to know how my three week post-op appointment went. At that point things were still a little rocky. Just remember, I had major surgery. They cut my belly all the way open from above my belly button all the way vertically down to my pelvic bone. I have stitches on the inside and had 29 staples on the outside, (which were removed that day.) That was not fun, but my scar is healing very nicely! Usually, since my body doesnt heal quickly, it takes a lot longer for surgical sites to heal correctly. But, since starting TPN, my body is getting all the correct nutrients it needs. And, I am guessing, that is why this time I am healing so well! The doctors said I looked great, but I did have a few areas they threatened me to work on. Like my eating! Since my surgery, and getting home, I really have not wanted food. I was still on a pain patch and oral pain meds, plus a strong antibiotic to treat the Pneumonia. So all of those did not help with the constant nausea I was already feeling. Also, probably a week or two leading up to the surgery I was so sick, and in such severe pain, food was the last thing I wanted. Then I was admitted to the hospital, and not allowed to eat at all. I had the NG tube, and that was draining all the bad fluid and junk off my belly, (so they had me on complete bowel rest). Then I had surgery, and still was not allowed to eat food. Up until a few days before I was released they slowly were reintroducing small amounts of a soft, bland diet. So all together it was probably more than one month, or so, since my body was used to my version of normal eating. Needless to say, my stomach has shrunk and, since coming home, the thought of food has not been high on my priority list. Or, I may feel hungry and crave something. So I get it. Take 1-2 bites and Im nauseated. I know, frustrating for everyone around me. Trust me! So, my doctor team told me that I needed to force myself to eat up to 4-6 small meals/snacks a day. That if I was not eating, this could not only be a danger to myself but , also, my organs. That if you are not using that body part, then it starts to go dormant, and could potentially die off from not being used. So, if I was not eating my stomach and other organs would get into worse shape. Also, they told me they would change my TPN from 7 days a week/12 hours a day to 24 hours a day and up my calorie count, if I didnt start eating! Now, that is something I never want to have to happen again. So, this has been a daily struggle I am trying to work past. But it sure hasnt been easy. I am now starting to do a little better with my eating, but I know I still have a long way to go! And, those of you that know me know I have a weakness for sweets. And that, along with high fiber, and high fatty foods, are all types of foods Ive had to try my best to cut out of my diet. I no longer have a gall bladder (the bodys fat filter) after this last surgery. Also weve learned processed sugar, even in healthy people, can lead to inflammation. And the fibers found in raw fruits and veggies increase the chance of me getting a blockage. So, while I understand how important eating is as a fact of life, the very basic food choices Im continuing to have to adjust to makes that fact very hard to swallow, (literally.) I am still very weak and get tired easily. I have wanted to start walking around the neighborhood here, but the weather has been so crazy hot, that you walk outside and it makes you want to pass out. So hoping the days to come will be better, and I can slowly start regaining all the muscle tone and strength that I have lost! That has been hard for me also to learn to just take things day by day. I want everything to go back to normal for me, or whatever normal means in my eyes. But I know Ive come along way from 30 days ago. So, just one day at a time! My headaches/migraines have been a little better, in the big picture. I do still have some daily headaches, but some of them are not as severe. So I am thinking that the Botox has helped, and am waiting to have a return appointment with my neurologist . I unfortunately missed that when I was in the hospital. But hoping that the second round of 31 Botox injections will give me even greater relief than the first time. Dr. Adkins said it usually takes a few times to get the full affects of the injections, so this is such good news for me! I also have a new patient appointment next Monday, with a top OBGYN at Duke. If you dont remember they found a grapefruit sized ovarian cyst during surgery, which was drained, (and thankfully did not have any dangerous fluid inside it.) So, I am being referred to a specialized OBGYN to have further testing. I am very nervous about this appointment. But hopefully he will have some insight into what has been going on with my female problems for so long! Again, so sorry it has taken me so long to update everyone. As usual, this turns into a huge blog! But I just want to thank those constant family and friends that have seriously been there from the beginning! It can be so discouraging at times living with a chronic illnesses. I am forever grateful to those of you that always have words of encouragement for me on days when I may have not be able to see the light!
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 18:19:38 +0000
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