Surgery Run-Amuck (not for the weak of stomach)

OK I apologize for not having updated, but it has been an INTENSE few weeks.

I went in on the 19th of January for my surgery. Arrived at 5:30 am went to surgery late at 9:30 am.

OK YES it was VERY painful. I woke up after and felt like I had been broadside by a Greyhound bus. Swallowing was awful, and I was so loopy from all the drugs in me. I threw up blood later in the afternoon, which made my father very ill and his pressure drop. This then sent him down to the ER where they had to run tests to see if his heart was acting up again. Of course I have to be upstaged!

I returned to my parents house later that evening about 7:00. For the next 4 days I was on liquids and jello and Ensure and Slim Fast...well you get the idea (NOTHING solid). I was feeling well enough on Monday to return back to my apartment. I was starting to go stir crazy at my parents, having no cable or computer to pass the time, and I can only handle so much QVC (MYRNA). I convinced them to bring me home and leave my car at their house. I was so glad to be back home, and at least communicate online a bit. I began to post my blog entry later that afternoon when the back of my throat felt strange. Now for those of you who can remember a surgery like this, a membrane forms on the back of the throat, and eventually falls off when you are healed to a certain extent. This usually occurs 7 days after surgery. Well... Mine came off on Monday night after I got home. Now I spoke with a friend of mine online who said "don't panic", you see, I was bleeding a bit and was very concerned. I was assured a lil bleeding occurs and it should stop soon. "Go lay up in bed and rest and I'd be ok" was the advice. Now normally this is good advice, but an hour after I layed down, I awoke not able to breathe and tasting lots of blood and feeling VERY sick. I got up and immediately ran to the bathroom where I threw up so much blood, I could have re-created the scene in "Carrie". I got on the phone and called my parents to come get me, and to call the Dr.

My Dr. called me back about 10 mins later, and said chew on some ice, it will stop the bleeding, I should be fine, It's very common. So I did, and waited for my Dad to come get me. Now keep in mind it is now 10:30 pm and I have been bleeding almost 2 hours at this point.

My Dad picked me up and we went to my parents house where at that point, the bleeding seemed to have stopped. I sat in my recliner, so that I would be upright, and started to fall asleep.

About an hour later I was feeling sick again, and threw up again an equal quantity of blood as before. Both times I also threw up a coagulated blob the size of a baseball. (blood jelly if you will). I had my Mom call the Dr. and said we are off to the ER this is NOT RIGHT!

We arrived at the ER and the DR. arrived within 30 minutes after I was placed in a room. He came in and said that he had to cautherize the bleeding area to stop the hemorrhaging and to avoid being placed under for another surgery. Well my parents had to walk out, they said they couldn't handle watching this.

He proceeded to try and deaden my mouth with a topical spray, which made me gag, numerous times. This all made me throw up more blood all over the ER room and myself, and the nurse. It was not a pretty sight. He was thrusting this "Electronic Meat Fork" down my throat and it hurt incredibly, as well as a vibrating sensation on my mouth and lips. The pain began to run up my ear, so he got a long syringe and shot me with a "local", right through where he had done surgery not 5 days before. This indeed killed the rest of the pain, and he was able to cautherize where the blood was pouring from.

They left me in the ER for a half hour so that they could watch me. I kept complaining that something was not right, and my heart and breathing were off. I was hooked up to the heart monitors and such, and monitored closely. I called a nurse in and stated that "I felt as if I was fainting, or more so being removed from my body", as I said this I began to go black, and the alarms went off in the ER. I heard the nurses and Dr. rush in and start talking as I kept fading, and going very cold. I heard them yell out about some shot which they put in my IV and that brought me back to a semi-awake level. I felt stronger now than I did after the ER procedure.

The Dr. then decided to send me to the observation floor and admit me to the hospital. I was in observation about 30 mins. when I felt very sick again and started throwing up buckets of blood. Within minutes, I was rushed down to the OR put under anesthesia and on the table again, so the hemmoraging could be stopped. Two hours later 2:00am-4:00 am, I was rolled out the OR and back to the observation floor. When I was pulled out of the anesthesia, I fell right back asleep out of pure exhaustion.

I awoke at 8:30 to find myself in the observation room, in the same gown from the ER. (ICKKKK Gross) My parents had been sent home at 4:00 and were told get rest and come back after, that I'd be out a while.

Well I woke in great pain again, and very groggy, BUT I felt so much better. I found that in the 2 hour surgery, They had to clean my breathing passage of all the blood, find the hemmorage, and pump my stomach of all the blood and fluids that had collected their . Also, I was "typed" for a transfusion, which luckily I did not have to endure.

My lips were killing me and I didn't know why. I was very raw, and in pain, but could not figure out why. When I finally looked in the mirror, I realised why. I had been burned severely by the cautherizing machine a.k.a. Electronic Meat Fork. I had burn marks on my lips inside and out, and they were swollen to almost an inch thick. When my Dr. finally came in to see me, he initially thought I had a cold sore, until he turned on the lights, to see the full extent of the damage. The machine was faulty in the ER and had to be removed. To which he immeadiately acted on.

So recap so far.. Surgery hemmorage ER (burned) and OR.

YES it was awful.

I was released on Wednesday so a total of a 3 day stay in the hospital for this 2nd go round.

I went to my parents for 2 days and returned to my house on Friday. I felt strong and was glad to be home. I even went to Barkus with friends on that Sunday, and took it easy, but had fun.

I actually went to work on Monday, and took things slow. I just had to be careful.

Ill post a Mardi Gras update soon, but it took me till the second weekend of Mardi Gras till I was fully ready to get into the swing of things.

BTW...today is Feb 14th, and the lips are still not healed, it will take some time, and I pray no scarring.

But that's the way it was....

Sorry it was so graphic, but it is what happened :-(

Oh and BTW Liquid Lortab ROCKS!