Sorry I haven't written in a few days. I meant to write every other day, but work has been crazy busy and by time I get home I just want to make dinner and then relax on the couch with my boyfriend until bedtime. Plus these last 3 days my neck has been so stiff and tight I can't even turn my head, and I've called 3 license massage therapists and none of them can help me...TALK ABOUT FRUSTRATING!!
So now...back to my trip to the ER. I had been sent down for a CT scan, and the techs started the scan and immediately found 2 pockets of fluid in my abdominal area. The fluid had been coming out of my surgery site. I had an adhesion leak after surgery.
Side note about this. At my pre-op my surgeon had been very confident in his ability to resection my intestine and not have any issues. He also had never had an adhesion leak in any of his previous surgeries. WELL, dun dun dun surprise Annika's body has to be difficult. I was his very first adhesion leak. See my surgery went as planned, and I seemed to be healing properly when they released me from the hospital. But like I just said, my body had to be difficult, so my intestines although stitched together decided that they wouldn't grow back together which left an opening that allowed fluids & digested food to leak into my body. That became infected because it's waste that is inside your body pushing against organs, and the pain was immense.
The doctors had to relieve the pressure that was on my organs caused by the pooling fluids, and also remove the fluids from my body since they are toxic to my system. So 2 tubes would have to inserted and the pool would have to be puncture and most sucked out, and then the tubes would remain until the pooling level was less than 10cc. So I was given another diluadid and sent to a CT operating room area where they could use the scan to see the needle placement, and make sure they were puncturing the fluids. The doctors decided they would try for the one in my back first, and I thought they were crazy. Here I am a girl in terrible stomach pain and they need me to lay on my stomach, but I should of known how well the diluadid worked...I rolled over slowly still hesitant, but felt no pain at all until they got the needle close to the fluid sac. The needle and tubing didn't hurt at all, until they were unable to penetrate (Hate that word) the pooling. I remember screaming out in pain, crying, and pleading with the technician there to stop. After 3-4 times of them trying to poke through they finally were able to, and what came out was the most disgusting fluid that was brown and had small floaty things in it, and yeah it was just nasty. I couldn't keep my eyes off of the cylinder they were filling though, and the doctors removed 600cc from my back, and with that tubing in place were now ready to start on the front pouch. I don't remember the needle placement in my stomach because the drugs make you loopy, and they had no issue with poking the front fluid pouch so I can recall any pain. The doctors had extracted 600cc from my front pouch as well, and with all tubes in place each tube was then attached to their own bag.
I was instructed that I would remain in the hospital until my fluid leakage levels were under 100cc, and I would not be allowed to eat because I needed to be on COMPLETE bowel rest so I had a Hickman placed. A Hickman is a port that goes in just below the collar bone, and the line runs right into the artery that enters the right atrium. Outside the port are 2 lines, 1 is used for feeding (TPN) and 2 is used for administering medicine. The lines have to be cleaned out every morning and every night with saline.
There I was stuck in the same hospital room where I was right after surgery....I was even in the same bed, the nurses thought they were doing me a favor. I was not allowed to eat or drink anything. I was given a swab and a cup of ice water to keep my mouth from drying out. I would be "fed" TPN, which is a large bag of your body's daily nutrient requirement, and calories to maintain weight. Since the liquid is going straight to your heart then there is no need for any digestion, and the heart mixes the liquid with blood then sends it to its appropriate places.
So I was unable to eat, and now had 3 tubes just hanging out around me on my bed. I spent my days watching Food Network because I'm a glutton for punishment, and my boyfriend was there every day before he had to work and would allow me to smell his food. What a loving man :) I know it sounds weird to say I smelled food, but not allowed to eat it. I missed it so I just sniffed it and thought about how good it would taste if I could eat, and imagined I was full. I was never full, and always felt hungry even with my TPN. Finally after 5 days my leakage had decreased to about 110cc a day in each bag, and my surgeon felt that I may be able to go home in the next day. Best news ever for anyone whose ever been stuck in a hospital bed. Needless to say I was ecstatic to bust out of that Popsicle stand, but once again my body had to be difficult.
I'm going to end here for the day sorry for the cliffhanger again, but not really sorry because it means you have to return to find out what happened. Take care of yourself!
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