In late 2004, I began to get pain around the stoma area. My back hurt whenever I tried to do anything, and now my riding had to stop, as I had a hernia. Coughing, sneezing, etc., made it bigger, and I had to start wearing a support in order to reduce the pain.
Early 2005, and another repair followed - now in Oxford, an eminent colo-rectal surgeon; this would be it, all sorted? Of course, it was not to be - once more the wound became infected, and the whole thing broke down once more. The same occurred late in 2005. From what I can remember, they made me a new anus at that time. Not sure why really, as there wasn't anything wrong with the old one, but hey, not everyone can say they have a new model! By this time, the ileostomy had settled, and the bypassing of the loop was less. I had got myself a different job, with less stress and responsibility, and things, although not right, were manageable. I was on the waiting list for another repair, but I think I got canceled a number of times.
Finally, I went in again in November of 2006 - after surgery this time, things went from bad to worse. Between November 06 and February 2007, I had 5 admissions, became a diabetic, had lots of infections, and was off work for months. I finally went back to work part-time and moved locations to make things easier. By this time, my hernia was huge, and I needed a specially built 'corset' from orthotics, as nothing on the market was man enough for the job! My mobility had become affected; I couldn't walk far, stand for long, or sit for any length of time without pain. I wore a fentanyl patch for pain relief. I now also had pernicious anemia and was having 3 monthly Vitamin B12 injections, as well as my twice-daily injections of insulin. In June of that year, I was in again for another try; despite all good intentions, my body just seemed to rebel against the surgery, and another failure ensued. I was now struggling with waking up in the mornings, being hardly able to move, very stiff, all my muscles, but with pain particularly in my neck and upper back.