Hello everyone.
I just found and joined this site a few days ago. I wish I had discovered it sooner. So many helpful tips and hints that even the hospitals don't seem to know.
Anyway, with that being said, I begin the countdown to my ileostomy reversal.
Five weeks from today.
I know that sounds like it's far away, but in my head, it's coming fast and I have no idea what to expect.
A brief history of what happened to me starts at the end of May 2011. I awoke in the middle of the night with severe cramps and vomiting. A few hours later, I was on the table. The doctors say that my large intestine ruptured and I became septic. I was transferred to a larger hospital when they couldn't stabilize my vital signs. I was kept in a coma for 10 days and awoke with an ileostomy.
The surgeon tells me he removed a foot each of my small and large intestine that was damaged as well as my appendix since he was in the neighborhood. He gave me the ileostomy as a precaution to allow my body to recover.
Unfortunately, my extended period in a coma left me with paralysis, foot drop, and neuropathy in my legs and hands. I had to learn to walk, write, and handle basic tasks all over again.
I was dependent on a wheelchair and walker for an extended period. I was hospitalized for over 50 days.
The reversal surgery had been postponed due to my overall condition and fears I may not be strong enough to handle another surgery.
Since then, I have been doing regular physio and feeling much better. I even managed to put back on 20 of the 60 pounds I lost over the summer.
Surgically, since my release from the hospital, there have been no complications, no pain, no fever, nothing to indicate a problem.
A colonoscopy a few weeks ago showed all is well, and the date has been set for Feb 21, 2012.
Nothing to do but wait now..
After all that, if you are still reading, can anyone offer tips, suggestions, or even thoughts on what to expect post-op?
Thanks and best wishes to everyone here.
Dave
P.S. I will admit that after reading several posts in this section, there seems to be a lot of negativity concerning complications after reversal...should I consider not having it done?
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