I know a few of you have been wondering where I went these past couple of months. I was recovering from a surgery that I had to have. I am pretty healthy for the most part which is why it was a shocker when I found out that I had to be put under the knife. Now I am a very scary person. I have always feared surgery and being cut open. I have always feared being put under, but when you're in a lot of pain.... that basically goes out the window. So here's what happened..
Throughout my life I've been pretty healthy. I don't drink or take drugs, not even Asprin really. I'm not a fan of man made medicine. I also don't smoke unless you want to include the second-hand smoke that I experienced from my grandmother until the age of 16. Other than that... I pretty much don't really partake in any of that kind of life that most other adults do. However I have occasionally gotten sick. I usually have a cold or flu twice a year and every now and then I would go through these spells of throwing up. Never really thought much of it, except the occasional food poisoning from an adventure of eating fast food that I most likely shouldn't have eaten.
In May, I ended up getting really sick to the point where I had these horrible stomach pains which I originally thought was gas. However I was not able to eat and keep my food down. Then I started throwing up this clear liquid and I could not use the bathroom, in addition to me being incredibly dehydrated. So I went to an Urgent Care. They didn't really analyze me. They just asked me some questions and sent me home with a, "Well.... you should just wait it out because we don't exactly know what's going on with you.." It was one of those situations where you pretty much shouldn't have even went to Urgent Care and should have went to the direct source of information.... WebMD.
I'm kidding.... WebMD just makes me feel like I'm self-diagnosing about to dying.
However in this case, I could have or been very close to it.
Anyway, I ended up going home only to continue throwing up and not being able to use the bathroom, in addition to being in horrible pain throughout the night. I told my mom what was going on. She thought it was just gas...
I'm like,
"Oh no woman. It's something else. It's serious."
I go to the emergency room and we wait a while. They were pretty fast considering the symptoms I was having. I've been to the ER a few times before and they were never this quick. Different symptoms make the people more attentive to certain people I suppose. In a matter of time, I had a lot of blood drawn and cat scans. Within three hours of me being there, a group of surgeons came to see me and told me that I needed to have an emergency surgery because I had a bowel obstruction. At the time, they claimed that I had something creating a block in my intestines which was causing me to reject everything and not use the bathroom.
So one of the nurses shoved a thick tube down my nose into my throat, which was thee worse thing ever.
In a few hours I was on my way to the operating room. I honestly wondered what happened to all of the fear that I've had my entire life about surgery and being put under. However, pain can make you forget any type of fear apparently. I remember the surgeons and nurses surrounding me and pushing me down the hall as I joked with them about something. I just remember hearing them laughing and some time later I woke up to them asking me how I felt. I asked them when were they going to start and they said they were already done. I recall telling them that they were "fast like The Flash." I know, I'm corny. Anyway, they laughed again and I fell back asleep from what I remember.
It's amazing how the human body functions though because my incision and where they stitched me up was not in pain. It did feel weird and I remember when I was fully aware of what had happened, I looked underneath my gown and cried. However I was mostly exhausted and irritated with having that tube in my nose and throat.
The surgeons ended up telling me what was really the problem with my body. They told me that basically when I was being formed in my mother's stomach while I was still in the womb, that my intestines wrapped around each other and formed a knot. They were surprised that I had went this long in life without any problems. They also told me that they removed my appendix because it had became infected and that it was good that I came in when I did..otherwise the infection could have spread to my other organs or even gotten into my bloodstream.
The surgeons ended up telling me what was really the problem with my body. They told me that basically when I was being formed in my mother's stomach while I was still in the womb, that my intestines wrapped around each other and formed a knot. They were surprised that I had went this long in life without any problems. They also told me that they removed my appendix because it had became infected and that it was good that I came in when I did..otherwise the infection could have spread to my other organs or even gotten into my bloodstream.
So I was fine.. exhausted but fine. The nurses encouraged that I start walking around which I did within 8 hours of having the surgery. Let me tell you that walking around after surgery is tiring. I almost passed out in the hallway. They had me hooked up to an IV that was feeding me Potassium and something else to sustain my nutrition needs. So I wasn't hungry, but I was still very dehydrated and thirsty. I unfortunately could not drink anything until they took the tube out of my nose which I had in for 5 days, but they did give me this sponge stick thing and a cup of water that I was supposed to dip and suck on occasionally, It was awful because the nurses said I was going through the cups of water too quickly.... So they almost cut me off. Having the tube in my nose and throat was uncomfortable and painful. I couldn't sleep because of it.
Okay, so here's the part of the story where it gets to be pretty bad. Within this situation I did have 2 unfortunate things happen. I could not go to the bathroom after the surgery, so they had to put a catheter in. Okay... I have heard horrible things about having a catheter in and honestly it was VERY painful, but it only lasted 5 seconds for me which I appreciated it. Having it taken out was the same thing as well, but I feel like having it taken out hurt more than having it put in for some reason.
The second thing that I had happen to me was I had an infection within my incision where a lot of pus was leaking out. The day after I had my surgery, the surgeon noticed that my bandage was leaking way more than it should. It turned out that I had an infection. So they cut my stitches open and pressed all of it out.............. WITHOUT ME HAVING ANY PAIN MEDICATION!! That was thee most horrible thing about this experience. I cried as I grabbed my mom's hand because it was too much for me. Even walking every few hours was not as bad as that.
The second thing that I had happen to me was I had an infection within my incision where a lot of pus was leaking out. The day after I had my surgery, the surgeon noticed that my bandage was leaking way more than it should. It turned out that I had an infection. So they cut my stitches open and pressed all of it out.............. WITHOUT ME HAVING ANY PAIN MEDICATION!! That was thee most horrible thing about this experience. I cried as I grabbed my mom's hand because it was too much for me. Even walking every few hours was not as bad as that.
Within them pushing on my incision to remove the infection, they told me that I had to have packing put into the hole so that it could heal from the inside out which I had to have someone do for me everyday for about 2 months. The process of having the packing put in everyday was painful. I had to have the packing, which is kind of like this thick gauze that is stuffed into the hole. It absorbs the bad stuff and helps it heal. I actually recorded a video of the nurse doing it, but I'm not sure you guys want to see it since it is kind of graphic.
I did have a lot of scary moments within the healing process like when I had dry heaves and I thought I was about to pop my stitches. Then there were the times where I would move and knock my IV out of place or I'd accidentally push it all the way in which was painful. Or sneezing..... SNEEZING WAS THE WORSE. I would feel it go through my entire body. It would shake my entire chest.
Discovering my appetite again was also very difficult. Everything made me feel sick for the first couple of days. My nose was extremely sensitive as well. I was on a soft diet for a while and I ate a little bit everyday.
Some time passed and eventually, they released me. I ended up staying with someone for a while so that he could help me everyday with changing my packing, helping me get around, shower and such. Showering and getting around was hard for the first 2 weeks.
I did feel a lot of self-doubt and I didn't find myself attractive for a while because of the scar and me just being drained in general. I've just started returning to my old self. I am slowly becoming very proud of the scar I have...
I mean, I am still self-conscious about it.... but it's still pretty awesome.
The Scar
I successfully dealt with this hard time in my life and I did not realize how strong I was until this happened.
I did feel a lot of self-doubt and I didn't find myself attractive for a while because of the scar and me just being drained in general. I've just started returning to my old self. I am slowly becoming very proud of the scar I have...
I mean, I am still self-conscious about it.... but it's still pretty awesome.
I successfully dealt with this hard time in my life and I did not realize how strong I was until this happened.
It was a tough experience. Surgery was not the bad part. The aftermath of it was, but I know everything happens for a reason. I am thankful that I went to the hospital in time and that everything worked out. I guess God has some more plans for me.
Within all this being said, I would just like to say that you should ALWAYS listen to your body!
If something doesn't feel right, see a doctor guys!
For more stories about my life, check this out...
Don't forget to follow me for more stories!
