FYI....I started this blog when I first was able to sit up in bed.....it was apparent very quickly that I had KNOW idea of what I was talking about....thus the "edit" in the little I did write at that time.....now for the chain of events as I have been told by others......being in the hospital for 18 days kicked my ass and I only remember very little of it......  

Dave and I both were "anxious" for surgery day to get this show on the road......so on the 17th of June we were off to Arrowhead....and it beings....

We needed to arrive two hours early so I "assumed" this was going to be a longgg drawn out process....we spent over an hour in a half in the"prep" room waiting for the surgery room to be available....you can see my excitement below...

Naturally my port refuse to "give blood" so they had to insert that damn IV....no happy.....feeling locked up now and attached to a pole.....naturally......"I gotta pee"....like a little kid....geeezzz

Time seemed to drag as they were running behind schedule.....then..here comes what seemed like a heard of people....."are you ready".....rolling me off down the hall......digging deep.....I was out in minutes....

The next thing I faintly remember was waking up in recovery and feeling like I was going to throw up......there was a nurse by my side that kept an alcohol pad under my nose which stops you from puking.....(good to know).....I remember her the most as she came every day I was in the hospital that she worked and checked on me.....I was soon off to my room which I shared with another lady but only briefly........as I was soon removed to my own room because I was screaming in pain  they were limiting on how much pain meds I could have because my blood pressure was low......

This is where the "real fun" begins.......soon I was faced with such a bigger challenge than I could every imagine......and I didn't even know it.......

By the next day they had me on some blood pressure meds and they were able to control my pain....I was up and walking with a walker the next day and the two days that followed......by Friday evening things started to go "astray" quickly......I had family and friends visiting....dressed in there "flower" attire and all of a sudden my kidneys quit working........the next thing I knew I was heading down for surgery to have a "pic line" put in for dialysis......I do not remember much of this at all.....alot of yelling and confusion/panic.....and before I knew it someone was screaming...."get her off dialysis....her kidneys started working......when I woke up......it was over and the pic line was gone.....whewie.......what the "H" I thought......okay......onward.....or so I thought....

The next few days were a blurr......I wasn't up to par and was declining daily.......then I came down with a fever that kept increasing and I had alot of pressure in my chest....I quit eating and quit walking.....back down for a CT scan......OMG

I was full of infection........emergency surgery........bottom line.....I was septic and they had to go back in and put drain tubes in....while they were doing that they decided to open me up again....good thing they did.....4 liters of fluid......they did a total flush of my system......I ended up with a pulmonary issue with my lungs...... I wasn't breathing on my own due to low blood pressure and the anesthetic.....they ended up putting me on a vent and a feeding tube for three days to keep my in an induced coma until things were under control.......when I woke up.......I found myself tied to the bed rails....they said I was combative......they only thing I could see from my bed was these big huge letters......ICU.....I was thinking how the hell did I get here.....are they changing my room again......I was totally confused......soon the tubes where removed and I had to sit in a chair for 30 minutes before they would let me go to another new room......I was not happy nor was my body....I felt like I had been through a war.....at this point I had KNOW idea what had happened....and I couldn't comprehend anything for may days there after........I was totally sedated due to all the trauma....... 

ICU

 The next few days that followed I cannot recall......the next thing I remember is getting a shower by a nurse and walking again with my walker and thinking.....wow why is this so hard now....it wasn't hard the first two days......and why do I still have a catheter in???  I started asking questions but could hardly remember anything or understand.......apparently I wasn't "peeing" on my own....this went on for three weeks......as I improved.....I finally was released........again....I do not remember this........the first week home I was in and out......and remember being in sever pain and feeling like a train hit me.....I started asking alot of questions again to find out that I had been in the hospital for 18 days.....I thought it had only been 7........I was very lost and shaken by the whole thing......my family shared stories of things that went on and things I said....people visited that I do not recall.....I had more flowers in my room then any other patient per the nurses......I couldn't tell you anymore than that because I had very little memory of the whole thing.......even the first two weeks home......and reality was starting to set in......

Getting home was an adjustment for both of us.....I don't think either one of us had any idea what we were in for as far as my care would go....it was 24 hours a day.....poor Dave......I couldn't get out of bed alone for two weeks......it was like having a baby in the house......adjust my pillows.....emptying both "waste" bags.....food....ice....pills......heating pad.....phone calls......bathing.....it goes on and on.....I have no doubt that there is not another man in the world that could have or even would have taken such good care of me and NEVER complained one time......

The first night I was home I manage to get up in the night without him and fell hard in the bathroom....two days later I was in the emergency room again in severe pain.....they did a CT scan and found I was fine and sent me home with more pain meds......a week later....Dave called the ambulance and I was back at Arrowhead in pain.....after all that we figure out once they took the catheter out the pain went away.......something to do with the air and pressure of the bag.....with all the stomach pain and sore lungs I just wasn't winning......it was weeks of in home nurses coming in....physical therapy and doctor visits for the past 6 weeks.......I have had two drain tubes removed with one to go and two tubes with stitches removed with one to go........gearing up for outpatient surgery on August 5th to remove the last drain tube and stitch and explore the healing of the resection to give my surgeon a better idea of when we might have the reversal done...... 

Below are a couple of random pictures of being at home after surgery.....they may be hard to view.....life was not fun........my memory is a blurr of these pictures... 

Just thoughts......I was very concerned about my weight again, however I believe I have now put on a few pounds......my blood pressure was an issue last week......but now under control.......I have cabin fever bad......but still rest often.....I can do a number of things around the house as long as I rest in between.....I seriously need to work on building my muscle when all this is behind me.....I look forward to the day I can walk without pain and know that I'm not hauling vester around anymore.....I am cancer free......the doctor took out the mass and 16  lymph nodes all were cancer free...radiation did it's job......thank goodness.....this has been a life altering experience....I couldn't of done any of this without a few dedicated people that were there faithfully......Dave....Heather....Tina.....and the people that visited me....along with the others that sat with me when I was home....you all mean so much to me and I so appreciate your support.....it's been a very long road and by the time it ends it will almost be a full year of dealing with this.....and I'm super excited to be done with it....especially getting rid of this fucking shit bag.....and yes I said that out loud.....I will not be going back to work until the reversal is done.....probably September/October....I'm very fortunate that I have two attorneys who support me fully and are holding my position.....they say everything happens for a reason...for the life of me I can't imagine why I had to go through this.....for some reason I needed to get stronger.....sometimes that scares me to think about what might come next.....I'm looking forward to heading to Rocky Point in the fall with good friends and the holidays coming up.....I will be doing "Warm for the Holidays" again and I'm thrilled to get things in order for that.....however this year I will be calling on a few friends to help get things set the day of the party......on that note....NEVER take anything for granted....and always say I love you and stop to smell the roses.......nothing in this world really matters other than "people".......we all make this world in some fashion.......I cherish everyone of my family and friends more than ever.......I was one scared little girl for awhile there.....and had some challenges mentally staying strong....a bit of a break down here and there.....but I manage to bounce back......and it was because of "people".......family and friends encouraging me, helping me....just being there......I am truly blessed........

 

 

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