Karen Pajewski

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Well...it's over....I'm now Post-Op :) But...what a bumpy ride :(

So we checked in on Thursday the 10th and all was well. Right on schedule they took me back to prep me for the surgery. I had to change into the gown and put all of my belongings into a bag, including my contact lenses. Dr. Marymor came in and reviewed the surgery and showed me some diagrams of what he was doing and what the risks were, I signed some forms and in came the anesthesiologist came in and explained what she would be doing and signed another form. From there....everything is pretty much a blur for a while.

When I was finally "alert" and in my room my only memory after them setting up the IV was me waking up SCREAMING my head off while what seemed like 20 people were all around me saying my name over and over and over. My husband thought I 'dreamed' that, but I know that I didn't.

The next couple days were ok. I was always tired, in pain and nauseous CONSTANTLY. I just didn't feel 'right', but didn't think anything was wrong because no one but me seemed overly concerned. But, what the heck did I know??? If you had asked me I'd say that I guess that's to be expected....they sliced me open and split my stomach in two...how SHOULD I feel??

Well, I was supposed to be discharged on Sunday the 13th. But, because my bowels were moving slow they wanted to keep me an extra night. Monday morning, the 14th, one of the nurses helped me get up and going and got me dressed in 'normal' clothes so Dr. Marymor would see how 'good' I was doing. So, he came in a little later and released me.

The entire drive home I was nauseous and when I got home I couldn't get comfy no matter what. Every position I got in was highly uncomfortable....again....what could I expect??? MY STOMACH WAS SPLIT IN TWO!! This was normal....right?!?!? Nope....

We called the doctor several times, he said to keep an eye out for a fever, and to lay off the pain meds, they may be making me nauseous.

About 4 AM after finally falling asleep around 3 AM I needed to use the bathroom, when I got back to the sofa I was FREEZING and bundled up in a blanket. My husband took my temp and I was 100.6, he took my temp again about 10 minutes later and it was 101.6...time to call the doctor. So, about 4:30ish it was off to the clinic :(

We got to the clinic and they got me setup in a room and it was off for an x-ray. Let me tell you the worst thing you can hear from your doctor...."We need to go back in". I hated hearing that....HATED IT! I told my husband no way...but honestly what choice DID I have?? So....about 7 AMish on March 15th it was like deja-vu all over again....the anesthesiologist was in telling me what he was going to do and I was signing more papers. And before I knew it they were wheeling my bed down to the OR.

This time afterwards I was SO much better. I was more alert, I was getting around better. Second time seemed to do the trick....as much as it sucked.

And, not that I didn't know it before all this, but it definitely reminded me what a fantastic husband I have. The poor man....everything I put him through those first 6 days. I owe him so much. I feel so bad, I know he was worried with the 1st operation, but the 2nd one really scared him, that makes me SO sad :( I really am lucky....and I love him SO much!!!! I don't know how I'd ever have gotten through it without him. I LOVE YOU HONEY!!!

I think I owe a lot of the good with the 2nd operation to my family. My Aunt Marie is a VERY religious person and she apparently called in all the troops to pray for me after my parents told her about the problems I was having....thanks Aunt Marie....I owe ya a big one :)

A few days after the operation they were giving me broth, popsickles, white grape juice, it was nice and I was keeping everything down!!! But, on Saturday the 19th my fever spiked to 101.9 and everyone was in a panic. Dr. Marymor scheduled me for a CT Scan at St. Mary's the following day to see if he could see more than the xrays were showing.

So, Monday morning I found out that at 11:30 am an ambulance would come pick me up and transport me to St. Mary's for the CT Scan. Scary. Luckily, the ambulance guys (THANK YOU NEWTOWN AMBULANCE) let my hubby come with me. That helped calm my nerves a lot. The CT Scan wasn't so bad, a little scary, but not as scary as I had thought.

Well all the tests must have been ok, because a few days later they let me have broth and icesickles and juice again.

This time I was in the hospital for 10 days....TEN DAYS!!!! The day before I was discharged Lance (the respiratory manager) came in and was talking about how long I've been there....I told him to come back later that I had carpet, wallpaper and paint samples coming because I thought the room needed sprucing...he laughed...but I was really ready to do just that.

Finally, the day came, Dr. Marymor came by Wednesday the 23rd and said that he was going to send me home the next day!!!

About 7 AM he came by and removed my central line IV and gave me my walkin' papers!!

I feel so much better this time....SO much better. Except for the 'tube' I have sticking out of my stomach....that comes out in about 10 days.

Well....I'm off to be with my hubby....he's earned it.

I'll update soon!

Well....tomorrow is my day! I'm SO excited!!! I called my parents tonight, they are understandably concerned, but they took it very well.

I took the Fleet "body draino" last night...OMG that stuff is SO gross! Who in the world ever told those people at Fleet that ginger and lemon was a GOOD flavor? GROSS....it was so nasty I thought I was gonna puke!

So, today I took a half day at work and threw some laundry in and got some stuff together to take with me. Then my hubby and I decided to go to the Philadelphia Flower Show, we had never been and always wanted to. It was really beautiful and a great way of spending my day, kept my mind off how hungry I was.

It's weird...I'm kinda hungry right now, but not as much as I thought I would be, considering what I've eaten. All I've had today is some broth, a sugar-free popsickle, and some iced tea. And as of midnight no more of that either.

So, the PAT's went well. My nurse is Pat, and she's really nice. I had to get stuck twice for the blood work, that sucked. The x-ray was painless. The ultrasound was a little uncomfortable and it tickled. The respiratory therapist, Lance, is really funny and has a great sense of humor. The nutritionist was nice and it's great to hear that she'll be there to help along the way.

I finished up in about 3 1/2 hours, but since I found out the day before that I had 12 vacation hours from 2004 that needed to be used up before the end of the month I asked my boss if I could just take the whole day, he was cool about it and said no problem. So, we went to the Oxford Valley Mall and grabbed lunch. Turns out they have a David's Cookies and a year round Rita's Water Ice!! So....we had some cookies and I had a green apple water ice...yum!

I don't know what time I go in on the 10th....I'll find out sometime between now and then.

Well....as it gets closer the happier I am! While walking through the mall I was realizing how many more stores I'll be able to shop in SOON! Nothing against Lane Bryant....but I really can't wait to shop someplace else!