Still Miles to Go

Nothing with me is ever easy.

As you may have heard, yesterday’s surgery to insert a GJ tube was unsuccessful. Apparently, my small intestines had wrapped around my stomach making it difficult to place the tube without damaging the intestines as well.

Unfortunately, because they had already began by pumping air into my stomach and placing markers (tacks) through my stomach, I still woke up in recovery with a significant amount of pain. The nurses and doctors were awesome, however, and let Keith and Stef come see me in recovery almost immediately. I don’t know what I’d do without them by my side throughout this whole ordeal. In fact, I’ve been incredibly blessed to have dozens of friends and family members visiting and/or supporting me. You’ve all made it so much better.

But on to the future… Because they had difficulty placing it in the GI OR, we need to get Interventional Radiology in on the procedure. Even more unfortunate is that they earliest they could schedule me is next Thursday. That gives me over a week still in the hospital. They do have me on the waiting list for Monday-Wednesday, but I was told it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to get me in any earlier. If you recall, the average in-patient recovery for the procedure is 2-3 days. If you’re good at math, you may realize that this has me still in the hospital come Christmas.

But this makes me feel even more blessed because I have such an amazing group of friends who took it upon themselves to make the room more festive. Erin brought a live mini-tree topped with an adorable little penguin. Stef, Ralph, Nana, and the kiddos topped me off with lights, garland, figurines, and a sparkly tree. You guys are amazing.

Right now, I’m just trying to keep myself sane. The cabin fever has certainly set in so I spend most of my time lounging on the couch by the window that overlooks beautiful Boston. I do want to thank everyone who has visited, called, sent notes, etc. because that’s what is currently keeping my spirit up. Without you all, I’m not sure what my mental state would be.

Luckily, they’ve finished up most of the GI testing they wanted to accomplish so no more torture! As we knew it would, the tests showed I have severe colonic dysmotility as well as severe gastroparesis. Nothing new there, but at least it’s documented better now.

My ng tube was replaced yesterday so I could get some more nutrition in until Thursday’s GJ placement. Unfortunately, it was causing severe nausea and pain, and I actually vomited it up this morning in the shower so I’m not sure where we’re going from here. I think they’re going to try the tube at least once more before moving on to something else.

Finally, if you could keep my dear friend Eithene in your thoughts and prayers right now, she could really use it. She’s been really sick lately and the doctors are at a loss for what the next step should be.