Colostomy - My Journey

Colostomy. In April 2008, I went into hospital for a Gynaecological operation. It was to help reduce constant pain I was suffering. I had had a Laparoscopy the September before and a number of things were found that needed surgery to rectify. My Fallopean Tubes were blocked and one had adhered to my Sigmoid Colon (Bowel). I also had a number of cysts which needed to be removed. All in all a very positive operation I hoped. To cut a very long story short, after a short stay in hospital I was discharged, even though I was in immense pain and my stomach had swollen so large I looked 6 months pregnant and I had 'sloshing' noises coming from my tummy every time I moved. I lasted at home for some 4 days without eating or drinking or sleeping as the pain was so severe. I had to call for an ambulance who arrived and worked on me for some 20 minutes outside my home and in front of my mother and partner. I had very low blood pressure and the ambulance crew called through to the hospital for a crash team to be waiting for me. My mother was told that had we been much longer in calling for the ambulance then I may have died! I was examined and then sent into theatre for emergency surgery. I woke in the High Dependancy Unit. I had suffered a perforated Bowel and had peritinitus and septicemia. I also had a Stoma (Colostomy). I was very poorly and lucky to be alive. There is much more detail to my terrible experience, I even caught MRSA whilst recovering in hospital and I will write more detail as and when I can.

I am writing this Blog in the hope that other people who have suffered such trauma can contact me, tell me their stories and hopefully we can help each other along the way with advise and tips or just some soothing positive words when needed.

Severe Swelling following Gynae' Operation April 2008

Colostomy. This is my swelling on the day I was sent home following my Gynae Operation in April 2008. I am only usually a British Size 8 so not a big girl. As you can see the swelling is not localised lower abdomen but is coming from the upper torso area and down.

Tongue

Colostomy. This is my Tongue on day I was sent home from hospital following my Gynae Operation. It was brown and furry, cracked and dry. I was told this was due to the tablets I was taking. I now know otherwise. This 'reaction' lasted a long time. I was given antibiotics but they didnt help. My tongue remained like this for many months but in the end a very strong mouth wash 4 times a day cured me.

Aftermath - Hartmann's Procedure - Colostomy

Colostomy. What a suprise this was upon wakening. You can see my new friend whom I call 'Beanie'. My wounds are nicely dressed but the swelling as you can see is pretty horrendous. I had been transferred from HDU onto a ward by this time. Due to having Peritonitus and Septicemia my wound was leaking alot and I had to have my dressings changed at regular intervals through the day and night. Eventually my wound had to be opened up to allow the infection to drain away quicker.

Hartmann's Procedure

This operation is often carried out as an emergency if there has been a perforation of the bowel, especially if you have diverticular disease, colorectal cancer or had a trauma to the bowel. The lower part of the colon is removed from the rectum, the bowel is divided and the top end is brought out on to the abdomen as a colostomy. The top of the rectum/back passage is oversewn and left inside. Although the stoma may be closed at a later date this is not without some risk and you are advised to discuss this with your surgeon. This may be due to infection or scarring from previous surgery and your general physical state of health. You may still experience the feeling that you need to open your bowels. You may still pass some stool or mucus from your back passage following this operation.

Wound Opened

Colostomy. My wound had to be opened so to allow the infection to flow from my body easier. This was not a pleasant experience at all though. The procedure of opening the wound was not painful but the psycological pain hurt alot. I new that due to this I was to have a larger scar than normal but it had to be done for my own good I suppose. The scar tissue can be sorted out at my reversal operation. A bit of reconstructive surgery if you like.

Wound Opened - Bile

Colostomy. This is another picture of my Wound when opened. You can also see 'Beanie' covered with a Clear Hospital Colostomy bag. These bags are awful but necessary. They are clear so that the nurses and doctors can keep an eye on what is being produced. You can see here that the contents are Green. This is because at this stage all I was producing was Bile and Infection. I was 'Nil by Mouth' so no food was being digested. I had a terrible time with the Bile. I was projectiling the stuff every 15 minutes. I had to request a stomach drain at one stage. This is where they put tubes down your nose and the infection/bile then comes up through that and into a bag. The nurses can then measure the amount you are producing. I pulled these out one night in my sleep and decided not to have that procedure done again as its not at all nice.

Oedema Swelling

Oedema. This is swelling and I had it in my legs and private areas. Horrendous. My legs looked like they belonged to an elephant! I had to have a scan eventuually as the doctors feared I had a blood clot in one of my legs. Happy to say I didnt. This swelling took forever to go away. I had to sleep with my legs elevated at all times which was uncomfortable.

Oedema

Colostomy. Oedema.

Oedema is a condition that causes too much fluid (mainly water) to accumulate in your body. Any tissue or organ can be affected, particularly the hands, legs, feet and around the eyes and sufferers experience debilitating swelling. When lying in bed for a length of time it is the lower body ie: The Legs, that seems to be affected more. Its your kidneys' job to eliminate excess fluids from your body in your urine. If they fail to do this properly then fluid can soon build up in your tissues and result in swelling.

Weight Loss

w Colostomy. Normally a British Size 8 and weighing 8 Stone 2 Pounds, my weight plummeted to 5.5 Stone. I was skeletal. I remember my teeth looked like Tombstones. Although the bottom half of my body was riddled with Oedema, so swollen, the top half of me looked like I had been starved of all nutrients. I had bones protruding, my muscles had wasted away and I was very frail. I dont remember eating very much at all in hospital. I was 'Nil by Mouth' quite alot I seem to remember. This is not a way of dieting I would reccommend!! I looked like a little old lady, walked hunched over and yet still had the motivation in me to get well again.

A sense of humour

Colostomy. Escape Plan. With this disguise, I was hoping to abseil from my hospital room window and sneak out and off home undetected. Escape failed miserably as I hadn't taken into account the fact that I had a catheter and IV drip attached. Maybe tomorrow!

Motivation

Colostomy. What was very very hard was that my Mum and Sister and Family live over 160 miles away from me. It was so difficult for them to come and visit regularly. Here I am though on one very special day with my Mum.