Monday was President's Day and K had it off so we thought we'd go to the movie together. About half way through it I started to feel really cold. By the time the movie was out I was shivering uncontrollably. It has been unseasonably cold here in San Diego so I thought it was just that.
A few hours later I had a routine check up with my surgeon to check on the course of the infection that still was unresolved in my surgical wounds. I was obviously ill but when my vitals came back with a pulse of 119, temp of 103.7 and respirations of 20 it was clinically obvious as well that something was wrong with me.
That is when my surgeon told me to lay down as they were going to admit me to the hospital and his MA started packing me in ice and giving me Tylenol. Four hours later I was in a hospital bed and getting ready for my CT scan. Their initial thoughts being I had a fistula, needed to be NPO (nothing by mouth), and be on TPN (the fancy liquid food into my vein) through a PICC line (the iv line from my arm to my heart).
Tuesday morning found me with no food or water. A CT scan where they were sure I had a fistula and then a change of their minds. A test where I drank blue dye to see if it would leak out of my intestines out through my surgical wounds. That didn't happen. And then the idea of a PICC line was shot down as my veins were unsuitable and I would have to get a central line through my jugular vein in my neck!! So Tuesday was a day of no progress and no answers.
Wednesday was more of the same, no food or drink. Just me walking around and watching tv. About 4pm I get a call to my room telling me that Pre-Op is ready for me. Pre-Op?!?!? I'm having an operation?? No one told me that! Guess what, I was. Surgeons "cure" things with a knife and since I had not demonstrated anything medically for why I was sick, why my wounds were still producing pus he was gonna take me to the OR and check it out himself.
The anathesiologist gave me Ketamine, aka Special K, to help calm me down before surgery. It made me vomit on the operating table. I also vomited in recovery too. And the strap they used to hold my face in place for the endotracheal tube gave me a horrible "chin strap" rash. But really, as far as weeks in the hospital and surgery goes this was pretty dang easy for me.
So basically since imaging didn't show anything my surgeon decided he was going to cut out any infected tissue, find any hidden pockets or tracks of infection, wash it all out totally, send tissue to pathology and then put a wound vac (negative pressure wound healing system) on my new surgical wounds to try and get them healed up super quick and in a newly infection free environment.
Thursday they let me jump right back into solid food since I obviously didn't have a hole in my intestine and they couldn't give me the fancy iv food so why not throw some bacon and french toast at me? All day Thursday I felt better than I have in a llllooonnnnggg time. Other than being connected to a machine that is sucking on my abdomen all day, every day until my wound is totally healed.
Friday was fighting "the system" and just trying to efficiently get discharged from the hospital and get all the drugs and home health stuff set up. I've said it before and I'll say it forever, the pharmacy at my HMO is THE most poorly run entity I have ever encountered. They make the Army, DMV and the post office seem like super efficient Asian models of efficiency. Horrible!
How it has all basically shaken out is that I am on a new Crohns disease drug, Humira. It is like Remicade but all human made, no mouse stuff. Sadly it is also a painful shot I have to give myself in my stomach every two weeks. Or at least until it gives me cancer. Hahahaha. So we are attacking my Crohns in a new way after this hospitalization. Secondly we are trying to get my wounds healed up with no infection. I'm on the wound vac, a high protein diet for the next month, tons of vitamin supplements and home nursing care. A nurse comes to my house 3 times a week to take care of me. Sadly I can only shower those days as well to as that is when the dressing and hardware for my wound vac gets changed. And that could take anywhere from two weeks to two months.
I am of course still not out of the woods yet. Things still could turn for the worse, which I was warned about a few times before leaving the hospital. But I feel really good and the past two days have gone well, so I am hoping and praying for the best.
And of course not to let you down, here are some pics!
I could see my house from my hospital room. How sad is that?
The box of supplies I went home with! I had to walk down to the car when I left but it got a ride in a wheelchair.
Banksy came to my room one night.
This is what my wound vac looks like. Well if you are upside down.
Chillen in my room, settling in for who knew how long at the time.
