On Friday evening November 11, 2011 I had an emergency surgery.

For about 10 days I had a low fever. My doctor tested for a number of things with negative results. On Wednesday November 9th I started to have tenderness in my abdomen and I noticed that my pants were tighter. My doctor ordered a blood test for toxins. On Friday November 11th the test came back positive and my doctor said to meet her at the Emergency Entrance of Brandywine Hospital as soon as possible. It was about 4pm.  I was admitted, had an MRI of my abdomen and at about 10:30pm I was in the OR. It was the beginning of my month and a day in the hospital.

 I had laparoscopic surgery to remove a section of my intestine where I had developed diverticulitis. My intestine perforated and the infection spread into my entire abdomen (peritonitis). Dr. Olukoga said there was a whoosh of escaping air when he opened my abdomen. My abdomen was flushed out with an antibiotic solution. Right now my large intestine is disconnected from my small intestine and I have an ileostomy. The end of my small intestine pokes trough my abdomen, it’s called a stoma. In 3 to 6 months the ileostomy will be reversed and my colon reconnected. Until then I need to wear a bag over the stoma.

On that Friday evening my muscles were shutting down, my liver and kidneys were shutting down. Someone, a nurse or doctor, told me that I wouldn’t have made it to the next morning without surgery to remove the infection. My surgeon is Dr. Olukoga. He is trained in advanced laparoscopic surgery and was on duty that weekend. I was told that he was one of the best in the area. At about 5:00 am Saturday morning I was recovering in the ICU. It was a very close call. In a way I am a very lucky man.

 For some reason I didn’t feel very much pain in my abdomen. Maybe I just don’t react to pain, I don’t know. I didn’t display the usual symptoms. I heard that it’s unusual for someone as sick as I was to be able to walk into the hospital.

 I think that because the infection was very bad that my bowels wouldn’t restart properly. I had scarring from the infection that partially obstructed my intestine also. My recovery was unusually long. I was in the hospital until Monday December 12^th, one month and a day. On December 7th I complained about a pain in my back that I thought was a muscle sprain. I was walking in the hallway pulling my IVs along without much trouble and I was breathing OK. A person with blood clots in their lungs usually can’t breathe very well at all.  Dr. Bamezai ordered a test for blood clots just in case. It turned out positive for several clots in my lungs, very large clots in my left leg veins and a clot in an artery in my right leg. My exit from the hospital was delayed until the clots were under control and Warfarin was therapeutic.

Dr. Bamezai said, “You scare me.” I think that it’s because I can be deathly sick and appear healthy.

I had a NG tube (Naso-Gastro tube) down my nose and throat for at least 3 weeks. Worse yet it was removed and put back twice. My nose and throat are still a little sore.  The Dilaudid IV helped to ease the pain.  It wasn’t always easy but I managed to keep my spirits up. I think that’s half the battle. 

The nurses on the second floor of Brandywine Hospital did a lot to keep my spirits up. They made my month in the hospital almost pleasant and at times fun. A very special THANK YOU TO THE NURSES ON THE 2nd FLOOR OF BRANDYWINE HOSPITAL. They link the technology, the doctors and the patients. I could see the nurses fighting daily to make sure the medical needs of patients were met and that patients were as comfortable as possible. Hospitals are powered by nurses. It was beautiful to see them make the hospital work for the patients.

 So right now I am at home typing this on my computer. I can walk around the downstairs but the stairs are a challenge right now. I went upstairs for the first time today with an assist from Mike the physical therapist. But I get tired out very quickly. Our living room has a hospital bed that I am using until I can manage the stairs on my own.

 The biggest challenge for me right now is the ileostomy bag. The end of my small intestine is poking through my abdomen, it’s called a stoma. I stick a plastic bag designed for that purpose over the stoma and it collects what comes out of my stoma. It’s a little gross but you get used to it. Some people have them 30 years or more and lead normal lives. The hard part for me is getting the bag to stick well enough to my skin so that it doesn’t work loose.

I have a nickname for my stoma, “the percolator, Because the stoma is my small intestine, not my large intestine, the discharge is unpredictable and because the area needs to be dry when applying the bag it and it’s often “percolating” when I am trying to apply a new bag and I’m fighting to keep the area dry.  

I will get the hang of it. But right now I feel a little insecure.

GO SEE AND HEAR FOR YOURSELF

What all this means for this blog is that I won’t be able to get to a Coatesville City Council meetings and record the meetings in the near future. So if you want to know what is happening at the city council meetings go see and hear for yourself.

A few years ago there were people at the meetings that were there to intimidate residents and interested people, that all came to a stop several years ago. The meetings are sanguine now, so come on in.