Crohn’s Emergency Part 3 - Recovery
Hey everyone, Sorry it's been some weeks since the last update. Nothing bad happened, I just had a lot going on mentally that was stressing me out and I went into a small bout of depression. That is pretty typical for people after surgery because they are limited in what they can do for some time. For me not being able to move around much and being in constant pain like I was when I was younger from a back injury took me down a bad path. There was a lot of pain, and eating that brought my weight up to where I was at my heaviest, and I'm seeing that happen again. I've gained back almost 30 lbs that I had lost last year and it's just not good for my head. But enough about all that. I am in a better head space now and we can get down to where I left off a few weeks back.
The morning after my Surgery was eventful. My roommate was quiet and I got to finally eat some food. I got to have some eggs, toast, jello, and juice. After not having solid food for nearly 60 hours at that point it was all amazing, even if it was hospital food. The nurses came and took vitals every couple hours, the floor doctors and Surgeon team made their rounds and checked up on me. They wanted me to be up and moving as much as I could be, and they wanted me to at least pass gas so I could be released.
I wanted to stay a couple days after just to make sure I could handle being home by myself. I had some pretty strict restrictions that would last 2 weeks and up to 4 weeks. The worst one to me was not lifting anything over 5 lbs for 2 weeks. Being someone who was working out and lifting a lot only 5 lbs was super unbearable as most things in my apartment are over 5 lbs. So the only thing I could do was basically move around food and some clothes
That night things took a turn for the worse for me mentally. My roommate came back from surgery and being an older gentleman he did not do well coming out of anesthesia. He also had a number of complications, so overnight I did not get any sleep. The nurses were just doing their job but the situation called for him to be put into another section like an ICU or a surgery recovery area as he needed constant attention. I maybe got 45 min of sleep and that is not good for someone trying to recover. I think I got up and out of the room at least 6 times just to not have to listen to him asking the same questions over and over as he didnt understand basically anything.
So the next day my surgeon team was basically giving me an out and saying “hey you had a bowel movement you can leave”. I had only 2 meals at that point and I was still pretty weak so I didn't want to leave, but the roommate was not improving and not being very neighborly. So after my uncles visited for lunch I asked to be discharged and we got out of there.
Overall the staff was great and I know a lot of people have had bad situations at hospitals but I've been very fortunate during my stays at this hospital. I think it might have to do with the fact that I listen to my medical professionals, I'm polite even when I'm in immeasurable pain, and I'm a very personable person. Showing kindness and compassion to these professionals goes a long way. A lot of patients think these professionals are their maids or something. No, they are people just trying to do a job and I always try to make people's jobs as easy as I can so they can have a good day. I know it's corny but I also know it's extremely appreciated as I always appreciated that kind of customer when I was working retail.
Anyways, My mom wouldn't let me go home the first night. I had to stay with her so she could “make sure” I could take care of myself. I know it was out of love but I really just wanted to be home and with my kitties. I hadn't seen them in like 5 or 6 days at this point and they help a lot with my stress and anxiety. But it was just one night and I proved to my mom I could take care of myself and the following day she took me home.
Over the following weeks I followed what my Surgeon suggested to the T. My mom came over almost every day or every other day to help me move some stuff around or do some laundry or clean asI could really bend over or lift anything. It was about a week after that we took a trip to Costco for me to try and get some good walking in. It was a very long drive and I only slightly regretted the trip the next day but it was definitely worth it.
I always want to give a massive thanks to my Manager, Director, and VP at work. They called and checked up on me a few times. They made sure that I knew I could take as much time as I needed. And they even got me a little care package that had some super soft socks, blanket, neck pillow, and a couple other things. I am truly grateful to have such an amazing management team. Also a number of my coworkers called or texted to check up on me. It showed me that I am cared for and it meant a lot to me.
Next week I will get you caught up from the last 4 or so weeks. I've made some good progress but still have a long way to go
Thanks for reading and like and share!
