I'm still alive - not kicking, though - that would hurt too much - just a bit about my second surgery and the aftermath
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 5:38PM ;)
Boy. Thanks to the second, emergency, surgery, this has turned into a real ordeal. Had the need for that surgery not arisen, I think I would be well on my way to being fully healed right now. I think this because just prior to the strong cough I experienced in the afternoon of Sunday, July 8, I was making real good progress. My digestive system was still trying to readjust itself and certainly I continued to feel pain, but I was growing stronger and more viable by the hour.
The day before, I had Margie drive me to Metro Cafe where I found that a pilot and Democrat by the name of Jay Cross had bought me a coffee card, so I got a free coffee and had a nice visit with Carmen. Then, on that very Sunday morning, July 8, Margie drove me to Abby's Home Cooking, where I ate a modest breakfast and got in a good visit with Abby and also her big brother, Cowboy Tim. I took a couple of pretty good walks, too, like over a mile.
A bit later, I coughed, and at no time since have I been up to a nice visit with anyone at Metro, Abby's, or anywhere else.
When I coughed, it felt like I got shot right in the middle of my tummy, where my incision is. I felt a burst of fluid and such blast through my abdominal wall. In medical terms, I had "dehissed."
For awhile, I wanted to pretend that despite the painfulness of it all, I was still basically okay and that if Margie and I just kept my dressings clean and changed, everything would return to where it had been and my healing would progress unhindered.
As to the picture here, I took it last Thursday on my iPhone as Margie drove me to Anchorage for a followup visit with my doctor. Margie is really here for me. She is babysitting Lynxton, too, but still she looks after me, good.
;)
Continuing on: come that Sunday night it came time for Margie and I to change my dressing. Due to a little infection that had struck me earlier in the week, I now had an open wound, healing in a "v" shape from the bottom up. So I would roll two gauze pads into a tubular shape, Margie would drench them with a saline solution and I would carefully fit them into the wound.
Now, as we prepared to put in a new dressing, I removed one gauze roll, then turned my attention to what I thought was the other. It appeared to be fully drenched and satured with fluids and I was amazed at how much this caused it to look like human flesh. I gently took hold of it to pull it out but instantly discovered... it was not gauze... it was human flesh. MY flesh. It looked to me like intestine.
This totally creeped me out.
Maybe it was something else - muscle or something, curled up to look like intesting.
I don't know.
Either way, it was creepy.
So we cleaned it up as best we could and bandaged the dressing back in place.
It was about midnight. I had to go back to the doctor. I decided to try to get a few hours sleep and go back first thing in the morning when they opened.
This picture, by the way, was taken Saturday, July 14, on my birthday, after I had returned home from the hospital following the second surgery. Kalib has volunteered to blow my candle out for me.
;)
Okay. This story could get too long. I must write more briefly.
That idea did not work. By 2:30 AM, things had gotten very bad and maybe one day I will describe it all to the best of my memory, but I lack the energy right now. Margie drove me to the Emergency Room at Regional Hospital in Anchorage. They called my doctor and he scheduled the emergency surgery for 6:30 AM. I could not wait to be put under anesthesia so I could leave all the pain behind and then come to in a dozy, pain-free, wonderland.
It did not work that way. I went through a long, drawn-out hell - both going into and coming out of anesthesia and there were times I thought I might be dying, although I was surrounded by the best of medical technology and human expertise andthe idea struck me as illogical so I figured I probably wasn't.
It was simply hell and it seemed to go on forever. Again, I lack the energy to describe it all right now.
But finally it was over. The doctor had sewn some kind of elastic brace into my tummy - right over the belly-button area to hold my guts in place. He assured me that with this brace, I could not dehiss again - altough I tell you, a cough still feels like a 30.06 bullet piercing my tummy.
I dread coughs. I must cough to clear out phlegm. I try hard to cough gently.
This picture, by the way, is of Lynxton biting his dad's hand on my birthday.
;)
Anyway, I must keep this contraption sewn into my tummy for a total of six weeks. It hurts 100 percent of the time, sometimes quite badly. I do have my pain killers, but I must be careful with them. They interfere with bowel function.
The doctor says I am doing good and I believe I am. It is just a matter of putting up with the pain until this can come out and then maybe a day or two beyond that - a bit over four-and-a-half more weeks, maybe.
I am under doctor's orders to walk and I take two or three very short walks every day. Melanie had been in Barrow on my birthday and Lisa had to stay in Anchorage and work all day, but they both came out on Sunday, July 15, along with Charlie and brought Kalib and Jobe with them.
We all went on a short walk together. There were puddles about. Toy trains became toy boats. Well, here's Jobe. Where's Kalib?
;)
There he is!
;)
Yesterday, I walked by myself. I came upon these two dogs.
;)
Afterward, an airplane flew over me.
Reader Comments (19)
Ohmygosh, I'm sorry! I've been reading your travails, but not commenting (I've had my own adventures the past couple of years and am still too close to the events), but when your last post was a week ago, I began to worry about you.
Having been-there-done-that, you do begin wondering after a while when it'll all be over and you feel like you did before...
That was...interesting...to read about your gut coming out of the wound. Hmmm.
P.S. the word is actually "dehisce", a medical term meaning to burst open or to gape open. Sorry about that.
Oh, crud. That sounds like no fun at all. I hope your recovery is now well underway, and that the pain will diminish daily.
Hang in there, Bill.
And thanks for giving us an update. I'm so sorry for your pain and misery. Hopefully, you are finally on the mend, for real!
Try hugging a pillow to your stomach when you cough. That's what they tell patients who have had open heart surgery. It helps support your stomach muscles instead of making them do all the work. Remember, every hour and every day that goes by, you are a little more healed.
The pillow idea is a good one. And the cats could have told you ~ much better to hiss than to dehiss. Sorry. Thank goodness that wasn't funny. I'm sure that laughing doesn't help.
Sorry Debbie - that WAS funny, but I was spared because I am not a sick, suffering (long suffering), twice-operated on Bill. Gotta admit I just had to groan over it before laughing heartily. I'm sure Bill will appreciate the humor though, he's just that great kind of guy.
Bill, I am soooo sorry to hear about your travails, I've been following along, not commenting, just worrying about you. I send you gentle hugs, round the neck so they won't hurt, & all the positive wishes and vibes i can offer. Bless Margie for being such a wonderful wife & nurse, & for your great and loving family, cats included of course.
Bill, I can't even imagine (could but don't want to) the horror you felt seeing your insides on the outside, let alone the accompanying pain . When I was in 1st grade, I tripped, carrying my chair back from reading circle & bit my tongue almost in half. I saw the inside of my tongue, but it stayed in my mouth. Rolling my eyes at myself for disclosing that stupid bit of info. Absolutely a non-story in light of what you're going through & trust me, I wasn't making a comparison, just being silly.
Take care & I'm hoping the time will fly, as it tends to do in good times, (defying the bad times) and soon you'll be "all better" and feeling your oats again. In the meantime, don't feel obligated to write, we're a patient & loyal bunch.
Darn !!!...i hope you feel better real soon.
So glad to see you post! As a wise woman told me recently, this too shall pass. (Though when she told me I was like, yeah, right:))
I was going to suggest the Hold A Pillow To Your Stomach idea, but somebody beat me to it! So I'll suggest instead that unless your doctor has ordered you to take long walks, that you instead start with much, much shorter walks. Having walked upright all of our lives, we no longer think about how we do it, but your gut muscles play a big part in keeping you standing and moving, so the longer you walk, the more stress you put on them. Try shorter walks, like down to the street and back to your house, and maybe only once a day, or once every other day, until you're more healed.
I know that'll make you feel claustrophobic, but that's only temporary.
When do you go back to the doctor for a post-op check-up?
Ouch Bill. I honestly can imagine how horrible that was either because you described it so well (true) or because I have an overactive, morbid imagination (also true). I so wish all this could pass in the blink of an eye.
Gentle {{{hugs}}} Bill. Been checking everyday. So glad to see your post. Good to know you are walking and gaining your strength. Nice it is summer and you don't have to fight the cold and ice. Cough gently and often to keep those lungs clear. Pillows are good! Give Margie a gentle hug for me. I hope Thomas survives the mud puddles! :-) This post is a giant step back to "normal" but we will survive if you don't feel up to it. Thanks for keeping us up-dated. Now go heal and get your strength back! Bless you!
I was *very* worried when you didn't post for so long. Sending healing vibes from New Mexico!
Bill, My own experience parallels yours in so many ways. It DOES get better, but it takes time and patience and good help. I wish you well, and am glad you have support...I hope a bit of moral support from us helps as well. Lots of good thoughts winging to you and your family!!!
bob
So glad to hear from you, but so sorry you have had to go through so much. Hopefully you are now on your way to recovery. Be good to yourself, and get well soon. Prayers being said, and good thoughts and gentle cyberhugs to Alaska. Margie is taking very good care of you. Listen to what she says.
You will be better by the hour as you said. But the hours do seem so long! I remember being very fatigued after a surgery for so many days and then the days seemed to become regular and predictable. You will feel a bit tender emotionally and physically for some time. This is a big deal. Thank goodness we live in a century when good outcomes are so commonplace.
Oh, Bill, it's so good to hear from you with news that you'll be okay. I've been beaming good thoughts and wishes toward you for days now. So sorry you're having to go through such a nightmare of pain and discomfort for what seems like a long time more. Thank goodness your wonderful wife and family will be caring for you so lovingly. Just lay back, rest and heal, and let the good vibes wash over you from all of us out here. Let the cats lounge on the bed with you so their furry love will help you, too. That's their job and they do it well.
I feel like I should thank every one of you individual, but I have zero energy right now. Still, another day has passed and I am that much closer. I am also very much aware of the fact that so many suffer so much more than I do.
Thank you all!
This does not sound good. Sorry you had to go through this. Keep us posted on your progress. I will tell your Aunt Betty and put your name on the temple prayer roll. Wish I could do more.
Chamomile tea, with 1 TBL .of honey, 2 tsps. lemon juice should loosen up the phlegm so clearing your throat isn't such an ordeal. Try to drink it as hot
as possible. Some people add a pinch of cayenne pepper which seems to help, also.