I find many snippets of stories online - I'll share them here, seems more fitting than at my main page. Here's part of a "horror story" about WLS. Note the use of "I know it sounds crazy, but I'd do it over again" and the "lol."
"I had WLS 2 1/2 years ago...seems like a lifetime! Had a Lap RNY on a Wed. started eating and drinking the next day...felt wonderful...then it all headed south...by Friday evening they were rushing me to emergancy surgery...they thought...but were not sure if I had a leak. I noticed my left side was getting more and more painful...I was told it was gas. It wasn't ...my body cavity was filling up with the meds, fluids, and food I was taking in. I had a leak....well not a leak...my entire staple line from my colon to my pouch had failed. I developed a all over blood infection...I was septic and had paratinitis on top of that. I couldn't lay down before the 2nd surgery because I couldn't breathe...I begged them to take me to surgery...they took me on that bariatric bed...raised into a sitting position rolling me through the halls of the hospital...I must have look a sight...
I woke up in ICU on a vent. I saw the crash carts around me and I couldnt move. I could hear the nurse telling the doctor "I need to get her husband in here to tell he goodbye" I could hear the doctor trying to get a pulse in my arms, legs...and they couldn't. I heard doctors saying it does not look good. They called my family at 2 or 3 in the am and told them to get to the hospital as fast as they could (they were 2 and 5 hours away). My surgeon told my brother he prob. wouldn't make it in time to see me alive.
I was in a vent. for 3 or 4 days...in ICU for 1 week...developed DVT (blood clots) in both legs. Had to be fed through a central line in my neck...was on TPN...which is like pouring bags of snicker bars into my body...so needless to say with that and all the fluid I had being pumped into my body...I GAINED 60 lbs. I developed fluid in my body cavity that had to be drained...kinda like an amneo. with the long needle in your stomach. Pretty much had to learn to walk again cause my muscles became so week.
The 2nd surgery was open...and I was left open with 3 retention stitches to keep my insides inside...lol I had to heal from the inside out...so I couldn't pick up my 1 or 3 year old for over 4 months...had to move into my parents house cause my husband had just started a new job and didn't have the time off...so I took my 1 & 3 year old 31/2 hours away from home...for 3 months or so.
With all that being said...I am back in the land of the living! God took care of me and my family. My husband is not happy I had the surgery...he never will be...but he is happy with the new me...I want to say...knowing I would have to go through all that again...I would do it over. As crazy as it sounds. There have been other problems do to all the complications...I just wanted to touch on the major ones...lol"
That is amazing you turned around. Wow. I almost died too, but it's not too amazing. I woke up in pain, and had to rush to the ER. After 9 days I went back home. They had found the infection on the 5th day.
What I wanted to write about was about someone I loved. His name was Ray. I can't take his name out of my computer email address book. He was so funny, and interesting. He was so excited about having the surgery. The only problem was that his kidneys were failing. But they wouldn't put him on a donor list until he lost the weight. Well my surgeon agreed to do his surgery. But I think the same thing that happened to you, happened to Ray. I had been sick with a cold, so I hadn't been able to get to the hospital to see him. He had flown out here from the east coast. I finally was over the cold, and I went to the ICU. I asked the nurse if I could see him. She said, "give me a moment". I stood out in the hall way. I just wanted to tell him to hang on. She came out and got me, and I walked into the room. He was all by himself on the bed, and none of his family or our other WLS friends were there. I thought it was strange. I could see he was very, very yellow. And he was sleeping. But then as I moved in closer...I could see that he was not breathing. My heart broke. I was not "in love" with Ray, but I just loved him from the get go on line. He was gone. And he had died only about 30 mintues before I walked into the room. I always get so sad when I think of Ray. He loved to fish. He loved his red truck. And he was sooooo funny. We would spend hours Intant messaging each other...he did this with lots of woman. And we all knew about each other, and we still loved him. He was just one of those kind of guys. Honest, funny, and real.
It's been over a year now, and I still miss him.
Posted by: Hot Topic | May 03, 2007 at 07:49 PM