Hello friends!
I am so sorry that this surgery day post is so very delayed. For those of you who are following me from far and away, things did not go quite as I had anticipated and I did end up having some complications.
This had led to two additional hospitalizations and an additional surgery. So, now that I am getting my strength back and feeling a little better each day - I felt it would be a really good time to catch you up on what happened and how I am doing.
I wanted to share a photo of me from my surgery day. I felt a lot of trepidation and worry. Obviously I had nerves and concerns as anyone would have with surgery of this magnitutude.
In my last blog I talked about the pre surgery jitters and my hope for the best outcome possible (meaning no complications). This surgery was a little different because I didn't have to be to the hospital until 1pm and my surgeon didn't take me back to surgery until about 4:20pm. I did not come out of PACU until after 8:00pm.
Typically, in the past because I am diabetic, my surgeries were always in the morning. So, spending the entire morning at home and then sitting and just waiting was so difficult. I won't lie to you either. That morning I was still having my doubts on whether or not I'd actually go through with the surgery. I had a small nagging doubt in the back of my head that this was not the path that I should be going down. But, I realized those were my fears coming out. The fears I thought I had squelched but were lingering not too far away to remind me of the commitment I was making to myself.
I can remember when my surgeon came in and said are you ready to go? I started crying because I knew this was such a huge decision in my life to take back my life and my health. I was terrified, but, I knew that I had committed to this decision and I knew that because I made that commitment to myself - I wasn't backing down now. Even if I felt something felt a little "off".
When I talk about something "feeling off" I mean, my intuition just felt off. I am a natural empath and have always put a lot of stock in my "gut instinct" (no pun intended). I trust my gut and I trust myself to know what is the best for my body. Some people may not call this as empathetic, but, let's just say I am VERY in tune with my body and self. Many times I can anticipate what I need before I even realize I need it. But back to surgery day...
The anesthesiologist gave me some good medication and they wheeled me off to the operating room. I don't remember a whole lot of that - thank you to my amazing anesthesiologist team! I do remember feeling really heavy and the nurse holding my hand because I was so nervous and started tearing up a little bit when they put the oxygen mask on my face. When you are being put under general anesthesia that intense fear of loss of control is so overwhelming in that moment. You literally are putting your life in someone else's hands and ability to sustain your life while you undergo sugery. It is not for the faint of heart. Next thing I know, I was waking up in PACU roughly 3-4 hours later. All done!
I don't think that there was much that could have prepared me for post surgical recovery as a 40 year old. The last time I had major surgery I was QUITE a bit younger and my body bounced back a lot quicker. Not so much when you start hitting middle age with health conditions. The fatigue and pain were high and my type-A personality kept wanting to not rest and be awake and try and get things done and it just doesn't work that way anymore. When you are recovering from major surgery, your body NEEDS rest. I'm not just talking about sleeping rest. But, rest in a bed where you are doing nothing but letting yourself heal. Letting your body utilize the energy it needs to heal and grow and get used to the new changes. With the roux n y gastric bypass, I basically was giving all new plumbing from my mouth to my butt. A whole new route. So as you can imagine, things felt weird.
I don't remember a whole lot from the hospital from the actual roux n y surgery. I was on a decent amount of medications and was very sedated due to post operative pain management. But I do remember I was discharged the day after my surgery (June 6, 2025) home. I spent the first couple days feeling decent. I was getting my hourly walk in and getting fluids in. But then, I started not feeling well again in a big way and I wound up being readmitted to the hospital on Monday, June 9, 2025. I was having severe left sided abdominal pain and severe right sided abdominal pain.
After several X-rays and CT SCans it was determined that I had a bowel obstruction further down my intestines then where my surgeon had created the new anastomosis in the lower part of the roux n y. My surgeon who has been doing bariatric surgery for over 40 years had only seen this maybe 6 other times in his experience. Unfortunately for me, I ended up being in the hospital through Friday, June 13, 2025 when it was determined it was not an actual obstruction but swelling that crimped off my bowel (per se). It was a lot of hurry up and wait because they wanted to give medications and steroids time to see if they would open up my bowel. Which it did eventually begin to do.
I was discharged over the weekend again and ended up back in ED in severe left sided abdominal pain again around Tuesday, June 17, 2025. This time, the CT Scan showed a full on obstruction because my bowel had flipped upside down on the left side and had an adhesion holding it there. This must have been from previous surgery (either my partial hysterectomy or my gallbladder removal) because there was an old adhesion there that needed to be taken care of.
My surgeon took me back to surgery on Thursday, June 18, 2025 first thing in the morning and was able to lysis the adhesion and tack my bowel back where it was supposed to be positioned. They also had to recreate the lower anastomosis a little lower down due to the location of the obstruction - so I woke up in PACU feeling basically that I just wasted two recovery weeks and starting back at square one with recovery post surgery.
This second surgery REALLY threw my body for a loop. The post operative pain I experienced is nothing I have ever felt before. When someone asks you what your "pain number/score" is and my "10" is the equivalent of a shark biting my arm off......if I am telling you I'm at an 8 - you could have seen through me I was so pale and sweating and shaking. I have never in my life experienced pain ike that and hope to never again - EVER. It was overwhelming and all encompassing. In fact, the strongest pain medication they could give me was not providing adequate relief - so I did have to meet with palliative care/pain management while in the hospital because it was so incredibly intense. All I have to say is THANK YOU to those physicians out there who are hospice/palliative care providers that can provide relief in different ways and modalities (more out of the box thinking). I was absolutely impressed with my palliative care physician while inpatient in the hospital. (And the nicest guy too!)
So I feel this gives you a pretty decent update on what happened the last three weeks. I literally spent the month of June inpatient in the hospital and have no idea how it went so incredibly fast. I can't believe it's the 4th of July next weekend. Everything after the surgery feels like a blur.
But I am here to tell you I am doing MUCH better today and each day I get a little stronger.
I am SO looking forward to getting back to work (hopefully next week!) I have a follow up appointment with my surgeon on Wednesday morning - so I'm sure I'll have more updates and information to share then.
But for now, I think this is a good stopping point. Thank you for taking time to reach out, comment, text, send a card, call or stop by - I appreciate all of the love and the support I have received from family and friends near and far.
Yours Truly -
Emilee
Disclosure -"The information provided on this blog is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I am not responsible for any actions taken or decisions made based on the content of this blog; Always seek the advice of a qualified professional for any specific questions or concerns. This blog is a personal opinionated blog and doesn't reflect the opinions of any organizations I may be affiliated."
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