2 Weeks 2 Days Post-Op

This morning I am 2 weeks 2 days post-op. I am sitting on a loss of 21 lbs so far! I have had a lot of tiny struggles this past week that have kept me from updating my blog. I had an appointment to have my staples removed on Friday December 7th. The day before I noticed some swelling in my main incision and some discoloration. I was also in a lot more pain than usual. Instead of panicking I just decided that everything was okay and I would go to my appointment the following day to make sure. I'm really glad I had an appointment because my incision had become infected. That morning while taking a shower, one of the scabs loosened up and my incision began leaking a lot of a pinkish red fluid. I got really scared and worried, got out of the shower and called my husband, Anthony, right away. He is a medic and always knows what to do! He told me to cover it and he would be home in 30 minutes. Whenever he got home he took my temperature and I had a fever, another sure sign of infection. Whenever we finally went to the doctor, they confirmed Anthony's suspicions. I was healing perfectly on 5 of the incisions, but the largest and most painful of them was indeed infected. They ended up calling in several doctors to look at it to decide what course of action they should take, and I must say I WAS NOT pleased to hear the outcome. I am extremely sensitive to pain and I have really bad anxiety when it comes to wound care. They decided to remove all of the staples from every incision, including the infected one which was already super painful. They offered me lidocane to numb the area and I GLADLY accepted. After what they did to me, I don't know how it wasn't mandatory! They took all of the small incision staples out first and placed steri-strips over them. That part was a piece of cake! The part to come, not so much. They then removed the staples from the main incision. The doctor noticed that there was a very large amount of fluid in the cavity and decided that before proceeding it would have to be drained. He grabbed a scalpel and re-cut a small portion of the top that had already healed shut over the previous week. It gave them a small opening for fluid to escape. They began pressing all around the incision trying to remove as much fluid as possible. It was terrible pressure and even with the lidocane it didn't feel good at all. After about 5-10 minutes, they still weren't getting the results that they wanted and they decided to go deeper. He ended up cutting the entire incision back open and part inside the wound that had already healed. He wanted to check for a hernia while I was open and he had to stick his finger in my wound. He had pretty big hands and sunk his entire finger in there. He pulled at every angle possible and even being numb I have never been in more pain in my entire life. It was so terrible. If Anthony hadn't been there holding my hand I probably would have ripped a hole in the chair cushion. We were then informed that it needed to be packed with gauze and that this would be a reoccurring thing that we would do at home. Again, Thank God my husband is a medic! They packed me full of gauze soaked in saline, bandaged me up and sent me on my way. My husband has been doing this for me twice a day since then. Because they counteracted all healing up to that point the gave me a refill on my pain meds which has been a complete lifesaver when it comes to having my wound cleaned and repacked. I go in every Monday and Friday to have my wound inspected and so far everything is going well. It is starting to be extremely itchy and I hope that we only need to do it for another week or so! Because they refilled my pain meds I get sick when I eat, which isn't fun at all. Nausea is probably the worst feeling I've been getting lately. I have been having a hard time getting in the necessary amounts of protein because of now nauseous my medicine makes me. I am going to post some pretty graphic photos below of my incision and what it looks like during being cleaned and packed. I forgot to take profile photos, but will try to do that tonight.

Photos That Go With 2 Weeks 2 Days Post-Op

This is my main incision after we suspected infection:

 This is the incision after the staples have been removed and was about to be cleaned:

 This is a closer view:

 This is a "wick" of the gauze that is packed into the wound:

 This is gauze that was removed during a change:

 This is the incision about a week into packing it. It is producing a lot less fluid:

 This is me all bandaged up:

1 Week 2 Days Post-Op

Today I am 1 week 2 days post op. I am already down a little over 14lbs and my rings are starting to feel loose. I had a scare one week post op where I was feeling some pain in my leg. I went to the hospital because I would rather be safe than sorry. They ended up doing a leg ultrasound to rule out blood clots which if gone untreated can result in death. Good news. There were no clots and I was being paranoid. The morning I experienced these pains was also the first day that I had not taken pain meds. The doctors all think that I had this pain all along from walking funny after surgery, only I didn't feel it until then because of the narcotics I was prescribed for pain. Everything seems to be going okay now. I am having a little difficulty getting in all 60 grams of protein that I need daily. I just get so full so easily that it can be hard on me. I do get nauseous from time to time where I am unable to eat without becoming sick. Hopefully once I get back to eating solid foods I will no longer suffer from nausea!  I have not taken measurements of my body because I am still slightly swollen in the belly and I still have my staples. The staples will hopefully be removed tomorrow morning at my 10-day post-op follow up appointment. If so I will take additional photos and upload them. I am also skipping the profile photos this week because I don't think that they are comparable to the ones last week. I will however post a photo of my staples from 7-days post op.

5 Days Post-Op

Today is the day that I am finally feeling well enough to update my blog. I am 5 days post-op. I am already down  6.4 Lbs. I am still swollen so the numbers won't reflect the actual loss until probably around 2 weeks post-op. Still, seeing a 6.4 loss is encouraging. 

DAY OF SURGERY- TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH:
The morning of the 27th I was at the hospital at 6 AM. The chaplain met with us and said a prayer lifting up the people who were having major surgeries that day. It was very comforting to have someone there willing to do that for us. After our prayer the nurses came out and got me. They took me back to the pre-operative area and had me change into a gown and set me up on an IV. Once we were done with that they allowed Anthony to come back and sit with me until it was time to go to Anesthesia. They asked him to hug and kiss me goodbye, and the next thing I know, my anesthesiologist gave me something in my IV and I was instantly feeling loopy. Anthony left as they rolled me to the OR. The last thing I remember was a lot of people and machines surrounding me in a very bright room. Nurses were all saying my name loudly, and then I fell completely asleep.

Next thing I know, I'm waking up to a doctor and a male nurse in my room. This ended up being my ICU room where I would be the rest of my 3 days stay. I was groggy and in and out of sleep. I can't really recall what the nurse and doctors were doing. Once I was finally awake enough and was conscience for more than 10 minutes at a time, they allowed Anthony to come back and see me. I looked a hot mess, but I was so happy to have him near me and holding my hand again.

That day I slept a lot and ended up walking a few laps in the ICU hallways with Anthony and my nurses help. I wasn't able to have anything to drink, and I had a catheter and an IV allowing me to intake and release fluids. I slept good, for about an hour at a time. I had to have my blood pressure and blood sugar taken every hour. I had high blood sugar and so I was out in an insulin drip for a good majority of my hospital stay. I was given a blood thinner every few hours and had massagers on my legs to prevent blood clots. Anthony was not allowed to stay overnight in the ICU but they did allow him every day from 6AM - 10PM.


WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH:
This was the morning of my swallow study. The purpose of the swallow study was to make sure that there were no leaks in my pouch and to ensure that I would successfully be able to intake fluids. I had to drink a solution in front of an X-Ray machine. This liquid completely filled me up in 2 sips and I was required to take six. It had the taste and consistency of liquid laundry detergent. It was a wonder that it didn't make me throw up. They took several X-Rays of my pouch as I was drinking and my results came out perfect. The next hour I began drinking protein supplements and lots of fluids. I was also walking a lot more the second day in preparation to hopefully go home the following day. My catheter was also taken out and I waited to use the bathroom for the first time on my own. It was a difficult task and I required assistance from Anthony.

The night of the 28th was particularly hard on me as I got mucus stuck in the back of my throat and I was required to cough it up. I had to hold a pillow close to my stomach while attempting to cough it up for  over an hour and I experienced some of the worst pain I had had since being out of surgery. It was even harder on me that Anthony was not allowed to be there.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH:
This was the day that I would eventually come home. I was taken off of my insulin, oxygen, and IV pain medication. I started taking my oral medication and I was keeping down fluids. It was basically a waiting game. This day also had a pretty big challenge. My fluid bag had to be removed from my upper right incision before I could go home, and my left middle incision had to be probed. I am extremely squeamish when it comes to wounds, blood, pretty much anything nasty. Thankfully, my husband is an Army Medic and Certified EMT. He was there for the demonstration so that it could be done at home. I don't know what I would do without him! We finally received our clearance and I was sent home!


COMING HOME:
Coming home has felt great. I have had my ups and downs while being here. Mainly the hardest thing it taking in the necessary amount of protein and fluids without being nauseous or getting unmanageable gas bubbles. I was able to shower for the first time, which was very hard. Anthony showered with me to help me along. I think today I may be able to take one without assistance. I gain new range of motion every day and I am feeling healthier already. I am very pleased with the outcome so far.  I call tomorrow to schedule my 10-day check up and they will determine if I am ready to have my staples removed then. I will update probably on Tuesday with profile photos and updated weight, even though by then it still may not be accurate.


Photographs of things mentioned in the post are located in the post below. For some reason Blogger is messing up my formatting of photos today. Frustrating!!!

Photos That Go With 5 Days Post-Op Entry

Me right after surgery:

 Me with Anthony right after surgery:

 Me sitting in my bed that turned into a chair:

 These are my incisions before taking my first shower:

 This is my worst incision, the one that has to be probed:

 This tiny incision is where my fluid bag was removed from:

This is me, GOING HOME: