What just happened???

Flashback to early February 2010...

Now for the good stuff...I started TPN on Saturday January 30 as a temporary measure to "beef" me up for surgery. On Tuesday evening while Mike was visiting, my surgeon checked in on me to discuss the surgery. He was still on the fence about it because my belly felt soft but I still wasn't passing anything. We decided to go ahead with the surgery for the next day. All I remember of the next day was that sometime mid-morning I started having the worst pain in my abdomen that I had ever had (even worse than labor pains!) My belly also became very hard and distended and I started begging for pain meds to make it stop. At one point I remember my surgeon and his residents coming to check on me since the nurses had called him about my worsening condition. He bump up my surgery since they had just put someone under anesthesia. They soon took me down to the pre-op area where I continued to beg for pain meds and pray that this would all be over soon. Finally I was taken into the OR but I don't remember anything until I woke up on a day or so later (I think...) in the ICU with my family around. When I think about that time know I remember seeing happy but worried faces looking at me and a bunch of questions running through my head. What had just happened?? Where was I? Why do I have all these IV poles and pumps around me?  Mike, who had been by my side ever since the surgery, told me that my bowels had ruptured and went septic and I now had a jejunostomy, j-tube and TPN for life.  WHAT???

A jejunostomy means that they had formed an ostomy at the upper end of my small bowel close to my stomach. The stoma and bag were located under my left rib cage in my upper abdominal area. The j-tube was located where I still had some extra small bowel connected to what was left of my large bowel and rectum. I was being fed by TPN through my vein and Enteral Nutrition (EN) through my j-tube.

It took several days for me to comprehend everything that had happened! Soon I was moved to a regular room to start recuperating. My Dr wanted me to eat "anything and everything" I wanted to keep the desire for food although he had no idea how much I would actually digest. So I began to eat and quickly noticed everything flew right through me! I craved chocolate milkshakes and would beg anyone to bring me one! My fighting spirit took over and I began walking the halls to get my strength up. "George" (my IV pole) and I took many laps with my visitors. My Dr recommended that I file for disability but I was adamant that I was going back to work and wanted to walk in the Flying Pig half-marathon in May! 

A nurse from ThriveRx visited me to discuss how to go home on TPN and EN feeds. Talk about overwhelming! On top of that I had to learn how to change my ostomy appliance. While you are in the hospital the nice WOCN nurses take care of that for you! Somehow I managed to talk my Dr into discharging me on February 17th, my youngest son's 7th birthday! I really wanted to just be home with my boys and sleep in my own bed. Donna, my ThriveRx nurse, got everything arranged and Mom and Dad brought me home. That evening was more overwhelming than anything else I had every experienced! I can't tell you how many boxes Donna brought with her and what all the medical supplies where! Sadly I received more presents than Jake did but I think the best gift was Mom was home after 3 weeks!

All I knew I was home to begin trying to Live, Love and Laugh again...



Me and George..my new BFF                                    
   

                                                                 George & trusty Peter Panda!