Soo... August 29th I woke up with horrid abdominal pain and tried to take showers, baths, irritable bowel medicine, deep breathing, and nothing worked. So I loaded up R and L (T was at a birthday party) and went into the small private hospital in Huntsville. I waited in the waiting room for almost 4 hours and was eventually given a room where they did an xray of my chest and abdomen and lab work. Everthing seemed normal so they gave me Loritab and Zofran and sent me on my way home (after I slept for 45 minutes.) Luckily, I was blessed by a good samaritain who held Lucas the last half hour before I got to a room and stayed until a friend came to get the kids.
So I went and got my meds and went home for the night. I slept restlessly and the next day the pain was not helped at all by the loritab. I went to Facebook and said that I was in the ER the night before and didn't think the medicine was working. A friend called and offered to bring chicken noodle soup (I wasn't eating at this point).. I was grateful that I didn't have to worry about dinner for the kids. But, when she got to the house she looked at me and told me we were going back to the hospital right then. She took the kids to my neighbor and had me in the car in less than 5 minutes.
She saved my life.
I waited in the ER again for a few hours. Right before I got a room I was unable to stand, sit, lean, or do anything without extreme pain. I didn't think I could go on. Somehow a room came open and all I remember is getting on the bed. (Everything else I tell you is what I have been told) I was apparently conscious and explained how bad I was feeling and my history of gastric bypass. They did more xrays and lab work. (Looking at the xray report today it says there was too much gas too see anything on the xray) and then I waited and waited and waited. I was not out of pain even with the medication they were giving me. I told the nurses that I didn't care if it killed me I needed more pain medicine. I was admitted and the next day late in the afternoon the surgeon came in and knew what was wrong just by looking at me and my history. A u/s confirmed it (I remember the u/s tech getting very scared by what she saw on the screen). The surgeon told me I needed surgery and I agreed (I think I would have agreed to anything to get the pain to go away).
The doctor called P in Afghanistan and told him I was very sick and that she had contacted Red Cross to get him home quickly. My next door neighbor and friends had been by my side or checking in on me all day and they were told to get my family here quickly because I had a slim chance of surviving. My family was here in 15 hours (when I say family I mean the whole crew) and they stayed by my side as I went through a total of 4 surgeries and two procedures.
So what happened? I had a complication from the gastric bypass in October of 2005 (complications are most likely to happen in the period of 3-5 years post op). My small intestine had corkscrewed up between the sutures in my stomach and created a hernia that then became infected. I lost almost all of my small intestine (only 15cm remain) and my left intestine (I had an anurysm in my left intestine and they were not able to repair it with an angiogram). I was intubated for close to three weeks and was on the brink of death's door way too many times. I was transported to the large hospital in town after 8 days at the small hospital (the small hospital did not have the equipment for the angiogram). So.. I woke up on September 14/15th and started to find out what happened.
I am left with a JG tube connected to my stomach that drains my stomach and small intestine contents (and any liquids I drink .. no food for me). I'm home with home health and TPN (liquid nutrition) for possibly the rest of my life. I'm hoping to have a reconstructive surgery that will expand my small intestine to a size large enough to connect to my colon so that I can eat again and not have a tube sticking out of my belly.
The kids have been amazing through all of this and until today Mom has been here by my side. She's still who she is and I have to accept that and go on. So I did. I drove for the first time in almost two months today (with my next door neighbor by my side) to pick R and L up from school. Mom may not come back and other than being disappointed in her and unable to sleep tonight, I know that I'm strong enough to go on and I have a great support system here if I get wobbly at all (even if I don't .. a great neighbor took T to and from karate tonight even though they didn't pick their grandson up.) Oh.. P is back in Afghanistan and hates that I'm not on the computer as much as I used to be.. I even got him addicted to facebook... and now I'm barely online.
So what's been up with you and your life?
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