Hi everyone
I have been meaning to post an update for a while, but time has got the better of me! My 14 year old daughter had her surgery on 5th November, having gone into hospital a week earlier on the 29th October. She had a general anaesthetic while they inserted a PICC line and an NG tube. The hospital she was in was an hour's drive away, so I stayed with her on a camp bed next to her bed. My husband and son had to fend for themselves during that time, which did them good I think! Seeing her coming back from theatre with lines and tubes was horrible. She had a week of TPN before the surgery on the 5th. Waiting for her to come back to the ward was awful, it seemed never ending. She had morphine to help with the pain, plus local anaesthetic through two tiny tubes on her stomach, though the local didn't work as one of the tubes came out! They removed 33cm of small bowel, and the surgeon kindly took a photo for us of her whole bowel during the operation! The difference between the diseased part and the healthy part is amazing
. She was in hospital for a week after the operation; she wasn't allowed home until she was eating and drinking and had had several bowel movements. The surgeons and everyone at the hospital were fantastic, kept us informed and were just generally so kind. My daughter and I said that in some strange way we quite enjoyed our time in there; does that make sense? We're very close anyway but this experience has made us more so. I just love her so much :heart:. I think in one of my previous posts I mentioned that she hadn't started her periods - well two days after leaving hospital, it happened! In the couple of months since the operation, she's grown taller (catching up with me!) and has put on all the weight she lost, and maybe a few pounds more. Her stomach still 'gurgles' sometimes, but she's had no pain. Her last blood test showed that she's no longer anaemic and her inflammatory markers were almost normal. I'm so grateful for each day that she's feeling well, although I know nothing is taken for granted with this horrible disease, but I hope this post might help anyone who has to have surgery. It was the only way for my daughter because of the stricture. She's been so brave and uncomplaining through everything, I'm so very proud of her.
I have been meaning to post an update for a while, but time has got the better of me! My 14 year old daughter had her surgery on 5th November, having gone into hospital a week earlier on the 29th October. She had a general anaesthetic while they inserted a PICC line and an NG tube. The hospital she was in was an hour's drive away, so I stayed with her on a camp bed next to her bed. My husband and son had to fend for themselves during that time, which did them good I think! Seeing her coming back from theatre with lines and tubes was horrible. She had a week of TPN before the surgery on the 5th. Waiting for her to come back to the ward was awful, it seemed never ending. She had morphine to help with the pain, plus local anaesthetic through two tiny tubes on her stomach, though the local didn't work as one of the tubes came out! They removed 33cm of small bowel, and the surgeon kindly took a photo for us of her whole bowel during the operation! The difference between the diseased part and the healthy part is amazing
. She was in hospital for a week after the operation; she wasn't allowed home until she was eating and drinking and had had several bowel movements. The surgeons and everyone at the hospital were fantastic, kept us informed and were just generally so kind. My daughter and I said that in some strange way we quite enjoyed our time in there; does that make sense? We're very close anyway but this experience has made us more so. I just love her so much :heart:. I think in one of my previous posts I mentioned that she hadn't started her periods - well two days after leaving hospital, it happened! In the couple of months since the operation, she's grown taller (catching up with me!) and has put on all the weight she lost, and maybe a few pounds more. Her stomach still 'gurgles' sometimes, but she's had no pain. Her last blood test showed that she's no longer anaemic and her inflammatory markers were almost normal. I'm so grateful for each day that she's feeling well, although I know nothing is taken for granted with this horrible disease, but I hope this post might help anyone who has to have surgery. It was the only way for my daughter because of the stricture. She's been so brave and uncomplaining through everything, I'm so very proud of her.
