Friday, October 8, 2010

Colostomy and eating again

Tomorrow will be two weeks since I went into Toronto General emergency with a blocked bowel. We phoned for an ambulance to make sure that I was able to lie down while waiting to be seen after triage, and I was lucky enough to have been diverted into the fast track room. X-ray, CT scan, enemas, but nothing doing - it was total bowel obstruction this time, and it was painful. By Sunday afternoon I had a bed at Princess Margaret and was wheeled over there through the underground tunnel, by way of Mt. Sinai. Because I was vomiting a lot, they inserted a naso-gastric tube to vacuum out my stomach contents, something that helped the nausea overnight. By Monday the pain was overwhelming, and I was on a morphine drip till they released the built up gas in my intestines. I moved into a private room, which made a huge difference to my comfort.

On Tuesday a possible solution was to have a stent inserted in my colon to ease passage of stool, so JP and I were transported by ambulance to St Michael's (Musical Hospitals again...). Unfortunately, it did not work, because the stricture was too close to the rectum, and a stent would have made it impossible for me to sit.

On Thursday we decided that the quickest way for me to be able to start eating again would be for them to perform a colostomy, so I was once again wheeled through the tunnel to TGH for surgery. I went under the knife at 10:00 pm, and woke up several hours later in much pain. It took about an hour for them to get it under control, and then I slept well. TG has an fantastic post op wing, and they took excellent care of me for two days, after which time I was wheeled back to PM for more recovery. I was eating my first solid food in many days on Saturday.

The next few days were spent learning about pain control, walking as much as possible and taking care of my new colostomy. On Wednesday the stoma nurse removed the rods supporting my stoma and helped me change my colostomy bag. I was pronounced good to go and dismissed from hospital. It was a lovely, sunny day to return home to. Now, two days later, and I am impatient for the surgery pain to subside so that I can get back to some semblance of normalcy. It is wonderful to be eating and eliminating again. Just in time for Canadian Thanksgiving - Miriam and Viva arrive tonight, and we will be celebrating with all our children this weekend.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Quelle joie de te lire de nouveau et surtout de te savoir plus en forme et capable de manger! Profite bien de cette superbe fin de semaine ensoleillée, avec ta famille. À bientôt. Anne (et Don)

Unknown said...

Hey Anne, I'm so glad you're back at home now. Have a great Thanksgiving - eat lots! :) Much thoughts and love from the west coast.

Anonymous said...

Anne,
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family.
Maureen

Unknown said...

Dear Anne,

SO great to read you again,how was the turkey? Are you ready for an Aperol spritz now? HUGSxx Christiane et JL

Mirta said...

Getting kind of worried from this silence... ?

...Wishig you all the best...

*** said...

♡ and hope.
m

My New Boubou

My New Boubou
Boubou with handy pocket

Getting better

Getting better
Wilson and Me

Due to Popular Demand

Due to Popular Demand
I'm a Redhead

I still love my chemotherapy

I still love my chemotherapy
Who needs hair anyway?

I love my chemotherapy

I love my chemotherapy
walking to Princess Margaret