Victory Part 2: An Even Bigger Battle (Warning: Kinda Gross)

[Miss Maple Leaf]

For Victory Part 1, go here.

So I have an update to the crap I've been dealing with.

While still waiting to see a GI specialist and waiting to get in to get a colonoscopy to confirm whether I do indeed have crohn's, I went to see my doctor. He had gotten the results from the CT scan and it showed an infection in my intestine.

He consulted with both the doctor who reads the CT scan and the GI specialist and put me on Prednisone (a steroid). I took that faithfully for about a week, trusting that all those doctors knew what they were talking about when they proscribed it.

I shouldn't have listened. I should have gotten a second opinion.

As I said, I started taking the Prednisone on Wed., Apr. 24th. Not only did it not help at all (and only serve to give me a puffy face), but by the first of May I was in terrible shape.

I was still swollen and in agony from the pain, but I had also woken up that morning leaking pus and with a small sore on my gut.

I got dressed and my mother took me to outpatients at the hospital where the doctor on call there looked at the wound (which was much worse at the time from the friction caused by my jeans and underwear rubbing against it. It went from a small sore to a straight line right across my belly) and said that he would have to get the on-call surgeon to come have a look at it to see if they were going to drain it in that room or up in the OR.

The surgeon looked at my CT scan and at my wound and then threw one hell of a curve ball my way.

Apparently the infection was so severe that I needed emergency surgery. I was basically on Death's Door by that point. If I had waited another day to go to the hospital I wouldn't be here typing this post right now.

He removed the infected part of my intestine that very night and put in an opening for a colostomy bag, which I've got attached right now. Luckily, he said that it would only be temporary, and that he could reverse it when I'm doing better.

And, just because I can never seem to do anything half-assed, he also had to take my gallbladder out.
I had no idea, but according to him the gallbladder had gallstones and hadn't even been working for a couple of weeks now.
I was feeling no pain in it or anything, so I was quite surprised when he told me that the gallbladder would have to go too.

It showed up on the CT scan that I had gallstones (which my doctor didn't bother to inform me of ) which is how he knew.

I suppose since the gallbladder aids with digesting fatty foods, and I was avoiding such things just in case I did have crohn's (along with a lot of other things I'd love to eat ), that I just never ate anything that would trigger any pain or attack in it.

So here I am right now, in my hospital room, letting you guys know what's going on. I'm just thankful that I'm able to do so. I tell you, I gave everyone quite a scare once they heard just how bad I was.

But don't worry. I'm doing so much better than I was, and feel better than I have in a month. Can't keep this lady down for long!

[Mishi]

Oh wow!
So glad that you're okay and sending you best wishes for a speedy recovery!

[Mikkel]

Ouch. Getting well is of course first priority, but can you go for the doctors afterwards? You should get some compensation for your pain, not to mention almost dying.

[Miss Maple Leaf]

Ouch. Getting well is of course first priority, but can you go for the doctors afterwards? You should get some compensation for your pain, not to mention almost dying.

That's the plan. My mother already has a couple of lawyers we're gonna talk to, once I'm fully recovered. We're gonna make sure we have every duck in a row, so to speak, first. When we go after them, we wanna make sure it's with an iron-clad case that I'll definitely win.

Recovery is coming along very well anyway. I still have a long road ahead of me (I need another surgery to reverse the colostomy, plus to stitch me back together from where the surgeon had to remove infected skin tissue; I've got a VAC in me at the moment that I'll have for a few weeks. Quite a weird experience, let me tell you.), but everyone who's been in to see me has said I'm doing excellent so I don't expect to be in the hospital for much longer at least.
I'm looking forward to getting home, let me tell you.

And Mishi, thanks for the well wishes.

[42_42_42]

That had to be so scary! I am so glad to hear that you are doing well and that the surgeon and his team are on top of things! Here's to a speedy recovery!

[BeeMused]

WOW just WOW, it never rains, it pours... good thing you found very competent doctors and nurses now, and just in time, too!
Sue these other doctors collective asses off, you deserve every penny for the scare (and scar) you've got.
And now get well soon!

[Miss Maple Leaf]

Another step closer to recovery!

Today the surgeon took me off the liquid diet I had been on the past few days and told me I was allowed to have solid food! You guys have no idea how happy I was looking at the menu and deciding what my first meal would be (for anyone curious, waffles with peanut butter instead of butter and syrup, a fruit cup of mandarin oranges, and a small carton of milk. After not having real food for almost a week, it was one of the best breakfasts I've ever had).

I'm also up and moving around, doing laps around the hallway. I even out-walked my stepmom this morning.

And 42_42_42 and BeeMused, thanks for the well wishes.

The surgeon and nursing staff here have all been wonderful. I love them all and while I'll be glad to be home, I will miss them.

And like I said in my first post, I don't half-ass things. When I get sick, I get sick. But I always bounce back really quick.

And I am gonna sue, but not until I'm better. One thing at a time. Recovery first, rake in cash second.

[Eevie]

Thank goodness you're okay! CS wouldn't be the same without you around! It's awesome though that everything has been figured out,and good luck with the lawsuit. Something like this shouldn't have gotten so serious.

[fireheart]

Yay for getting better.

[Mikkel]

I'm also up and moving around, doing laps around the hallway.

I'm sure you have been told repeatedly. Walking really helps your recovery after having that kind of surgery. The motion get things moving inside and they won't let you go home before those waffles have gone through .
Good thing you recognized that something was REALLY wrong and got help.

[Miss Maple Leaf]

I'm sure you have been told repeatedly. Walking really helps your recovery after having that kind of surgery. The motion get things moving inside and they won't let you go home before those waffles have gone through .
Good thing you recognized that something was REALLY wrong and got help.

Well, my bag is definitely doing its job. It's been emptied a few times already, and I haven't been on solid food for very long.

I was told that I had to be up walking, and I've been increasing my distance every day.

Yeah, I'm so glad I came in when I did. Thank goodness bodies do gross things sometimes when they're messed up. Pus is a life-saver.

And thank you Eevie and fireheart.

I have another update for you fine folks:

They took me off two of the IV bags today. I'm on pills now. I was really looking forward to that because I was peeing like crazy with all the fluid being pumped into me. It hasn't been 24 hours since I've lost the bags, and already I notice that I don't have to go as much, or as urgently.
I'm still peeing a fair amount when I do go, though, so don't worry that it means there's something wrong with my kidney or bladder. lol

And the surgeon said that my blood-work was coming back very well, so I can lose the third and last bag (a nutritional bag to counterattack my malnourishment) either tomorrow or the next day.

At this rate, I think I'll be able to go home early next week at the latest.

[Eevie]

Yay! I'm so happy everything is going well and better than expected!

[Miss Maple Leaf]

Yay! I'm so happy everything is going well and better than expected!

Thanks! So am I!

So, another update:

Well, I must have misunderstood the surgeon about the timeline on losing the nutritional bag, because when I asked him about it the next day, he said I'd have to keep it a few more days since I'm still behind.
Oh well. That doesn't bother me. If I still need it, I still need it. The important thing is that I lost the other two bags.

Also, he told me that he put in a referral to a plastic surgeon who's gonna come in and look at my VAC area. The plastic surgeon will determine if I can be put back together while still here in the hospital, rather than having to be hooked up to a portable VAC at home for a while and then coming back later to have it removed.

I really, really hope he says yes. It'll mean staying in the hospital for probably another week or so, but it will be so nice having the VAC gone. It hurts like hell having the area hooked up to my wound changed, even with a painkiller. (At home a nurse would be coming in every couple of days to change it if I went home with a portable one).

Plus, they took out my JP today! So glad to have that little bastard gone.

While I can ignore the VAC for the most part (unless it's being changed), the JP really bothered me.
Since it was just hanging there from the tube, the area it was attached to could get pretty sore, especially if the ball end had enough fluid in it. That made it kind of painful to go to the bathroom with, since it would just hang there as I sat on the toilet to pee. (If I went for a walk, I tucked it into my underwear so that it wasn't just hanging all over the place.)

But now it's gone, and the area has a bandage over it. That bandage looks absolutely beautiful after having had the JP for so long.

And in other news, dilaudid is some pretty potent stuff. That's the painkiller the nurses give me in advance before they change the VAC. They give me the pill about a half-hour before they change it, and by the time they come back I'm stoned out of my gourd and ready for a nap.
They all seem to find this very amusing.

[Akasa]

OMG! I'm just now reading this and I'm beside myself! I'm so glad you're ok, you were so close to not being ok! You're taking recovery like a champ. Keep getting better, I'm sending good juju your way.

[Miss Maple Leaf]

OMG! I'm just now reading this and I'm beside myself! I'm so glad you're ok, you were so close to not being ok! You're taking recovery like a champ. Keep getting better, I'm sending good juju your way.

Thanks!

That's the plan. It seems like every day I just keep feeling better. I woke up this morning and felt like a million bucks.

The plastic surgeon still hasn't been in yet (I probably won't see him until Monday), but all the nurses who have changed my VAC have said how pink and healthy the skin around it looks, so I think there's a very good chance I can lose it while I'm still here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

Also, I came to a decision yesterday.

With all the stuff that's been going on with my body, and all the questions I've been asking about everything (what can I say? I'm very curious.), I've developed some interest in the medical field.
While I could never do what a nurse does (seriously, you guys all deserve medals), I've been reading up on what a paramedic does and when I'm healthy again and have saved up some money for the school I'm going to become a paramedic myself.

I feel so grateful for all the medical help and attention I've gotten since I was admitted that I want to do the same for other people, and paramedic sounds like a job I would really enjoy doing.