September 14, 2013 If you don’t want to read this, just pass it by. If you do, go to the bathroom, get a snack, or whatever. Oh, and take your dog out. This may take a while. OK. I had written earlier that I was “under the weather.” Read on if you want the details—and oh, by the way, I’ve lost almost 35 lbs. Peaked your curiosity or interest? Here goes. On June 1, I woke up and wasn’t feeling too well. As the day progressed, my stomach began hurting, and also, I was vomiting. My diagnosis: stomach virus. I took all the precautions I knew to take; but, as the day went on, I felt worse, my stomach hurt worse, and I just felt terrible. I called my Dr. (and, of course, it is Saturday so no doctor in the office.) I did reach a doctor on call who advised me to go to a walk-in clinic. Well, I did that, but I didn’t stay because they were not equipped to deal with the symptoms I was having. So, sick as I was, (Mike was playing golf!!!), I drove myself to the Emergency Room and was examined there, sent home with medication, and that was that. And so I thought. Sunday, June 2. Woke up and was still not feeling well. Ate a light breakfast and immediately threw it up. And my stomach! Hurting still. My lips even began to swell. I called Mike into my bathroom and told him I had to go back to the ER. From here on, my memory gets a little fuzzy. I was in so much pain that the Dr. and staff at the ER began treating me right away. One test after another. EKG- an abdominal sonogram. I was in and out of consciousness by then. I did manage to hear from the ER doctor that I had a gallstone that had gotten stuck somewhere and was causing blockage. Therefore, vomiting and pain. I was immediately transferred to the ER at Tennova Medical Center and after a while was moved to the Intensive Care Unit. Now remember, this was on a Sunday. I had to wait until Monday morning for Dr. Rangnekar, a surgeon, to operate. I was asleep anyway---I barely knew where I was and what had to be done. I didn’t even meet Dr. Rangnekar, but Mike and Richie spoke with him several times. Dr. Rangnekar removed the gallstone and placed a stint in the duct to prevent anymore blockage. Done, right? Not quite yet. The next three days and nights were the worst three days/nights I believe I’ve ever had. I had to remain in the Intensive Unit in case I had any more problems. Dr. Rangnekar told me that I needed to have my gallbladder removed and that he would like to do it while I was at the hospital. He also told me that the stint needed to come out following the gallbladder surgery. I told him that I had to get over this first and that I would contact him when I was ready for my gallbladder surgery. He didn’t like that-I think he thought that I wouldn’t come back. After the third night, I had just had it. I was transferred to a regular room the next day. I had some good nurses and some I would like to punch, but I made it. After the four days in Intensive Care, flat on my back and asleep most of the time, to my surprise, I could hardly stand, let alone walk. It was extremely hard for me to even turn over or push myself up in the bed. I even had to work with a Physical Therapist to walk! That was so hard. Just to walk down the hallway in the hospital was a tremendous feat for me. On Saturday, June 8, I got to come home. My legs and feet, my whole body, really, was swollen because of my not being up and moving around. It was still hard for me to walk. Food made me sick. I had no appetite. Mike and Richie had to do practically everything for me. I had to have a Home Health service to come to my house for therapy—I did not realize that being off my feet for that short of a time would affect me like this. Day by day, I began to feel almost normal. I still had no appetite and could not eat very much. Even though it isn’t related, Mike and Richie knew my health was in jeopardy and that I needed to try to be healthier. In other words, lose weight. So, I began a healthier lifestyle. Not much exercise because I was sore and did not feel up to it. But I cut down on carbohydrates, fats, sodium, sugar and calories. I have not had ANY cola products since June 1—no diet colas either. I drink a lot of water and light cranberry juice. Mr. Bill Hux, my basketball coach way back when was on to something. He had a rule, among several, not to drink cokes. If you did, you had to run a lap for every coke that you drank. Honor system, of course. Yes, I believe he was on to something. By then, I had to think about two more surgeries: one to have my gallbladder out and another to remove the stint. The two surgeries could not have been done simultaneously. You may be wondering why the doctor did not remove the gallbladder immediately. He told me that there was so much inflammation in my gallbladder and surrounding organs that it would be better to wait. He also took a biopsy of my liver—now I am going to a gastroenterologist. Lose weight or else was his advice. I am trying to adhere to this advice. Since that six day stay in the hospital, I have had my gallbladder removed as well as the stint. I was a little sore after the gallbladder surgery, but time improved this. I saw Dr. Rangnekar yesterday and was released. I thanked him for all that he had done for me. HE SAVED MY LIFE. Like I said earlier, I have lost 35 pounds and still have weight to lose. It took a gallstone to wake me up and get me to realize what I needed to do for myself as well as my family. I realized that this could have been much worse. It made me realize that other people are suffering more than I had suffered. I’ve thought a lot about life……. I came close to dying, I believe. It made me realize that some things needed to be done in my life. I know this isn’t my entire story. You see, I don’t remember a lot of things that happened. But, I guess I’m ok now. I told you it was going to take a while. Now go to the bathroom-- or whatever!
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 17:01:49 +0000
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