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What happened next?

After the complications at the start of the week you're probably wondering what has happened since?

Well on the whole it's good news. The pain I was experiencing has greatly reduced and I'm off the PCA and just having oral morphine if required. The surgical doctors are happy there hasn't been a leak otherwise I would be very poorly by now and would have definitely required surgery. 

I'm more mobile and getting about is less painful although I'm still shuffling about like an old lady. But more like an old lady on pension day, you know- has a slight skip to the shuffle. 

I'm still not really able to eat or drink anything. I'm allowed but every time I do then I get terrible tummy pains. The Stoma nurse has said that this is quite normal but because I haven't had anything proper to eat in over a week the nutrition doctors had now put me on TPN (total parental nutrition). 


Basically they are feeding me through my Hickman line 1400 calories a day. This is ok but it means that you are hooked up to a drip for 20 hours a day so there's only a small window of opportunity to have a shower etc. 

You're probably wondering why I'm still seeing a Stoma nurse when I don't have a Stoma anymore. At St Marks the Stoma nurses have specialisms so they may be a general Stoma nurse or in this case my nurse is a stoma nurse who specialises in stomas and pouches. She only looks after patients that have a Stoma because they are, or will be having, a pouch at some point in the future or have had their Stoma removed after having pouches formed. 

There was a little hiccup on Wednesday when the medical doctors came and told me that the report from the CT scan showed that I had got a leak and there was evidence of gas bubbles in the abdomen. They weren't happy with the antibiotics that the surgical team had prescribed and felt that I should have some different ones to ensure that any infection was going to be gone completely. I couldn't understand why the surgical team had told me there was no leak when another set of doctors where standing there telling me that there was. Sometimes it can be very confusing being under two different teams and you can feel like piggy in the middle.

The surgical doctor, Mr Aziz, came to see me Wednesday night on his way home and explained that he was confident that they had 'done the right thing' every step of the way and that there was no leak. He came again on Thursday morning as he had received a text from his junior saying they thought I was confused about why there was a difference of opinion. 

He explained that on Monday he saw me all day and saw the whole picture but that the medical team only saw a snapshot and read the report from the CT scan. The scan did show some gas bubbles but these were indicative of having just had surgery and were not considered a worry. He said that the scan did show a collection that could have been a leak and on Monday that was what it was pointing towards, however as I've improved it may just be some fluid left over from surgery and I'm obviously none the worse for it. Again he kept telling me he was confident that they had done the right thing every step of the way- something that I don't question at all.

The surgical doctors and the Surgeon A have been to see me today and have said that they're happy with my progress and how the wound is healing (even though they didn't look at it!) and they are now going to hand my care over to the medical team. It's now up to them to try and get me better and get me home.

Today has actually been quite a good day. I've managed to paint my toenails and washed my hair with my Mums assistance. I also bumped into a lady in the hospital Costa that I made friends with the last time I was in St Marks in the summer and we had a quick catch up with the promise of meeting up when we are both better. 

I feel that I have turned a corner. Yesterday I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and was thinking that I would begin hospital until February but I've decided that although I can't control my body I can control my mind. If I think positively then that can only help my body to heal. Good thoughts make good things happen inside, well that's what I think anyway. 




So I'm determined to think of all the blessings I have, how well things are going now and all of the things that I will do when I get of here and get a life back.

I was on the phone to a very good friend this afternoon and we were talking about summer holidays and the things that there are to forward to. Picnics and bike rides in the country park, feeding the ducks, spending days at the beach building sandcastles, music concerts, maybe even a skydive? 




So here's to 2014- watch out because when I get out of here I am coming to get you! That's a promise.

NB x
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