THE PERFECT STORM

Ok, so are you ready? Here we go...

SATURDAY.FEBRURARY.5.2011: Started vomiting uncontrollably after dinner. Lasted all night. This was very different than the stomach troubles I'd had and lasted far longer. I was worried and so was Josh. Something had to give.

SUNDAY.FEBRUARY.6.2011: Called GI doc's after hours line and GI doc himself called me back. He said we would set up a CT for Monday. Felt ok for the rest of the day...didn't eat, of course.

MONDAY.FEBRUARY.7.2011: CT at Rex Hospital with inconclusive results. Directed to see my surgeon ASAP. Not feeling too terrible.

TUESDAY.FEBRUARY.8.2011: Visit with my surgeon who concludes we should go in and check things out laporoscopically. Out of work for 3-5 days. Him: How about tomorrow? Me: Right. Cause I don't have two preschool open houses to attend, a birthday, Valentine's day with my own kids and kids at school, plus a field trip. How about February 21st? I wasn't feeling too bad. Of course, I wasn't eating.

FRIDAY.FEBRUARY.11.2011: My birthday. It was an early release/staff development day at school and all I could do was to make it until the kids left the building. Drove home and commenced vomiting. Or wretching, I guess is the better term. Nothing was coming up but a little bit of bile. It lasted all night.

SATURDAY.FEBRUARY 12.2011: Still wretching. The bile had turned dark during the night and I started to get scared. Josh called his parents to come and watch the kids and we left for the ER around 1:00. Triage was immediate. Being seen by a doctor was not. We waited for three hours, me in a wheelchair with a trashcan in my lap. Miserable.

5:00pm they came to get me. As usual, me feeling lame...like somehow I must be overreacting. I couldn't be that sick. I'm just vomiting. Right? Wrong. They started an IV and hit me with dilaudid and phenergan. Better. They admitted me.

9:00pm Finally took me from the ER room to have a CT, (so not comfortable laying flat when you're in pain and nauseous) and then up to my hospital room.

11:45pm My surgeon calls with the result of the CT. They can see an area of concern which may or may not be scar tissue. They put an NG tube down my nose to see if they can sop up any bile/digestive fluid. They can't get much, which means...there's a blockage. I am literally about to pop. There are several emergency cases in the OR at the moment and I will have to wait a bit. I went to sleep. Josh didn't.

SUNDAY.FEBRUARY.13.2011: 2:00am I was wheeled down to the OR for surgery.

4:40am Josh got the call that I was ok. I was back in my hospital bed at some point but I don't remember much.

Later that morning my surgeon came in an explained what had happened. Honestly, he really called it "The Perfect Storm" and said he'd never seen anything like it.

 1. My gallbladder had malfunctioned back in the fall. That may or may not have caused much of the pain I'd been having since it was removed in November and the pain continued. But still, it was probably part of the storm.

2. Due to scar tissue from previous surgeries, one portion of my intestine had adhered to another portion and had tangled. This tangle was causing an obstruction, which apparently was getting worse and worse over time. That was the main cause of the pain which was always associated with eating. Because when you eat, you make digestive fluids. They usually keep going through, mine were not.

3. The line that runs from my lap band to my port was tangled up in the whole mess. If you're not sure what a lap band looks like on the inside, here's a diagram.


Josh and I saw actual pictures from the surgery. My surgeon has promised to get me copies and I hope to add them to this blog. Pretty amazing to see your insides in a wad.

Throughout my hospital stay the doctors had a lot of trouble keeping my heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration stable. Had I come into the hospital in good condition, I could've probably had this surgery and been up and about in a week. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. I was just so, so sick that surgery hit my body like a brick wall at 75 mph.

I came home with what I estimate to be 60 lbs of extra fluids. About half of that is gone so far. I look and feel pregnant with the flu. PT is helping and I'm moving around a lot better. Once again, I just find myself thankful to be alive. I'm so appreciative of all the good thoughts and prayers as well as all of the support from Josh's parents and our friends and family. We were fortunate enough to have my mom come stay for a few days. Friends have brought meals.

We are blessed and I look forward to feeling better and better each day!