I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque...

Warning: I am still on drugs- sorry for typos or stuff that does't make sense. I'm doing my best
Warning: Rambling post, about mostly bad stuff that has happened to me the past couple of days. You may want to skip if you have not gotten your band yet- I will say even with everything I have been through this last week  I would still get my band it was my BFF for 2 years! It has changed me for the better and helped me develop lifelong friendships with some totally fabulous ladies :)


This is going to be a ramble so try to follow along, if you have any questions feel free to ask...


So I thought my appointment was on Wednesday but it was actually on Thursday. My doctor was in surgery in another city, so they couldn't even try fit me in somewhere on Weds. So we went home and I had an awful evening, I was in a lot of pain in my abdomen, I was having some cold chills and a little fever, nausea, and of course starting to worry that there was something really wrong! My pain meds helped a bit that night. The next day was my appointment and I was definitely ready to see my doctor to deal with the pain. It was also the day I was scheduled to get my drain removed.


So I'll start with the least traumatic part first- getting my drain removed. Now let me start by saying I thought this drain tube was maybe just 3-4 inches long. No big deal and I wasn't stressed about getting it out (they just cut the stitch that holds it in place and gently pull it out- I've done this with many animals). Well I was wrong. This dang drain tube was like 14 inches long and it felt like it weaved through my whole intestines and my stomach as he pulled it out. At least the PA was honest and told me that it was not going to be comfortable, it usually hurts a bit. I can appreciate that. I am a pretty tough cookie. So he cut my stitches loose that were holding it in place and got it moving a little, um yeah that hurt. So then he was like I'm going to do my best to just go steady but if you need me to stop just say so.  ok. Wow! about 3 seconds in I was like owwwwwwww stop! this is when I realized the dang thing was more that 4 inches long- i could feel moving in my stomach. so then he was like, well I could just leave it in for one more day...I cut him off right there- no way!  gimmie a second to catch my breath and we are getting this puppy out. So I said I'm ready took a deep breath and let him go at it- all the way out. ow. ow. ow. but I do have to say the first part was much more painful that the second part. So onto my pain, redness etc. He let know that I had a wound infection that needed to be drained. of course it is my biggest incision the 2 inch one right next to my belly button. My surgeon came in to help with this. I was already crying (scared). 


I have to say my husband must be one of the living saints in this world today. He held my hand, reminded me to take deep breaths and most importantly he kept his composure and stood right by my side the whole time. I love him so much and I am so thankful for him!


So Dr. B was basically straightforward and said it is going to hurt, I'll do my best to make it as comfortable as possible but we have to take care of this right now. First the lidocane (numbing shots so they could cut the suture back open and drain out the infection). Dear mother of the most painful thing I have ever felt in my life- I was sobbing, my entire body was shaking- all I remember saying over and over is ow, it hurts it hurts it hurts. sobbing, owwww it hurts it hurts it hurts. Once it was numb the pain was a little better, I just felt some pressure from the scalpel- but holy gross the infection pressure was so great it literally squirted out as soon as he started opening the wound. it got on my hand that was laying across my chest! Dave said this was the most disgusting part because there was a lot of infected fluid in there- a lot!  It was a little painful to have them pushing all over my sore abdomen to try to get as much out as possible. He also took a swab thing and stuffed it into the would to wipe it out. After that he flushed it with saline (that actually didn't hurt) but the last painful part was packing the wound with gauze, again that was not the worst pain the worst was the numbing shots. The whole procedure probably only took about a half hour from start to finish, but I was exhausted. I could barely walk to the car.  We stopped on the way home and got my antibiotics (two of them) and a new pain med and some anti nausea med. I had to change my dressing (except the gauze that was packed into the wound). It was really bad smelling from the infection, but again my hubby was helpful and even washed my clothes for me so I could have my favorite jammies and blanket for bed time. 


My follow up appointment was this morning, it was way less painful than yesterday. I didn't have to have any of the numbing shots and there was a lot less infection already.  It was painful because he had to pull out the gauze that was packed in, he didn't have to repack it because it is already looking better. It was still tender as he palpated around on my abdomen but I am confident I did about 10 million times better than yesterday even though I did cry again today. Of course my saint of a hubby was right there with me again the whole time. The PA said I was doing great so far and that it definitely getting better already. Which I can definitely agree with. Today was the first day I could actually eat! It was awesome :)Things aren't perfect yet, I'm probably going to be out of work for another week finishing up this recovery, but I do think I am finally really really on the upswing...My next follow up appointment is Monday around noon.


I'm getting pretty groggy from my pain meds so I am sure I've left stuff out, feel free to ask questions. I'm an open book at this point. You can thank me too because all of the stuff that has happened to me so far (from erosion to this crazy infection) are very unlikely, which means that hopefully NONE of you will ever have to deal with any of it that would be CRAZY rare!! 


Signing off before I nod off with the computer on my lap.... I love you guys so much, thank you so much for all of your positive support and notes and good wishes- you are so wonderful and it does make a difference! 


love you!