I made it through!

 

 Hey Dexie , Barry wanted to add...

You'll make it through the pain,   despite your res-er-vations...

you'll make it through the pain,  without much  hes-it-ation,...

though the pain, showing others aspiration.....

through the pain, with great sense and  ad-mir-ation...

even though others here knew,........ this was true of you..

We'll keep our eyes on  youuuuuu, offering you  rest-or-ation..

Just make sure, as we do,  keep up on your hydra-tion..

And because of youuuuu... other members  will follow through...

It feels wonderful…although as I have said, I didn’t mind the bag as much as I minded the hernia.  That was my biggest issue and I’m praying coughing from this virus doesn’t cause my hernia to return! I now have some cough medicine from my doc with codiene so that should help.  I can’t take it with my oxy but I’m not taking that too much anyway.  

for the first 2-3 days my body made some pretty crazy noises, and I couldn’t tell the difference between gas and poop because they fill you up with air during the surgery so there is a lot of gas.  You can wear a Depends just in case for a while.   but pretty quickly I was able to determine the difference and haven’t had an issue.  I’m eating a low fiber diet, although my surgeon said I can eat what I want.  

thank you!  If not for this awful virus I would have been doing so much better!  But in my experience, this surgery was so much better and I worried more than I should have.  I know each person is different so just listen to your care team and the instructions they give you, and you will be just fine! 

No lie, I just got a text from my mom saying “OMG Barry Manilow is playing 1 night in St. Paul!”  Have not talked to her about this conversation or about Barry Manilow in general for years!  What are the odds….😂🎵

your body needs to reboot.  major surgery and this bug..  just messed thing up or makes it harder for you. i believe these super bugs or virus bugs  wont hesitated to attack anyone.  I believe we as anation just might be needing  masks and gloves over time.  sure there are meds out there. but not knowing there long term effects is just as  scary as being not protected from covid. Not saying you guys have covid. no.. but my entire family caught it friday before xmas. all except me, there were vaxxed and  it still took several weeks to recover.  u be careful  take your time.   keep chin up.  this will pass.     glad u got meds and some relief for them coughs.  patience hon.

xo

Warrior

proving a point....Mother always knows. !! ha ha.. 

perhaps, .. she caught  newwwwws of ....this... con-ver-sation....

learning of her daughters.....  recent  frus-tration..

all the while, she's counting down,  as other doooooo,  the cell-la-bration. 

DixieB, what belt are you using? i can not find one that fits correctly. Brand?

I spoke to my colorectal nurse today and she is checking any updates about when my reversal will be……apparently the surgeons are very busy with reversals and there is a waiting list! On the plus side I suppose the more practice they get the better 😬

Mine is a custom fit Brava that my wound nurse sized me for, ordered, and cut when it came in.  Check with your wound nurse, they should be able to help! 

That is great!  Yes the more practice the better 😂.  I think it’s sometimes considered an elective surgery…maybe that’s why it’s a long wait?  Don’t worry it will happen faster than you know! 

How are you doing Dexie?  I hope you have got over the bug now and continuing to improve x

Hello!  Doing much better now that this bug is in the way out!  My wounds look and feel better each day but my skin is sore where I have adhesive tape to hold the bandage in place over the old stoma site.  I am pretty sure I am allergic to the tape, so I started putting a skin barrier on at each dressing change.  Luckily I still had my ostomy supplies!  The adhesive remover also helps.

I had a phone visit with my surgeon today, he says I am doing great.  I am going #2 a few times a day so that has been pretty normal.  He said I can eat what I want, I was a little  nervous - but he insisted it is ok.  

All is well…thanks for checking in! 

That’s brilliant! It’s so good to hear positive reports and makes me feel more hopeful about my reversal. I’m still awaiting a date and I was hoping it would be soon as son getting married in Italy in May and need to be fit for that. 

Hi Dexie! This is great news, I’m excited to hear you are doing well (except for that darn cough, hope it goes away soon). I have a consult for reversal in a few weeks and your story gives me hope. Please keep us updated on your recovery journey. Thank you for posting your recommendations and tips. Wishing you all the best!! 

Yes I was scared because it seemed I was hearing a lot of horror stories about reversal, but there are positive stories out there too.  I just had to have faith that it would all work out!  Today I was feeling pretty good so my daughter took me out to breakfast…my first real outing in a while!  I would say my stoma wound is about 80% healed already, so less pain every day. 

congrats on your sons upcoming wedding.  I’m a little jealous about Italy…..I’m from a small town and my family has never traveled, so I live vicariously through other people’s travel stories! I have a recurring dream that I live in Italy although of course I have never even been there.  Maybe in a past life?!  I hope your reversal date comes soon :)

Hi. Well I’m booked in for an Endoscopy next Tuesday to remove polyps! Fingers crossed that goes to plan and then reversal asap I hope. Hope things are on the up and up with you?

Awesome Dexie!!! 

DexieB, it is great to hear that you are getting over your bug and getting better from your reversal. it gives me some hope that i can get reversal and it be successful. Hang in there and keep getting better.