June: Part 3 Life Post Hospital/Surgery

After spending 9 days in the hospital going home was a wonderful blessing and I was so happy to be there! The next week was full of doctor appointments and eating all of the time it felt like. I was still very weak and doing much of anything took a lot of energy which meant I had to take a lot of rests. I had a routine, well somewhat of one, and it worked pretty well. Kevin works Monday-Friday and so each morning he would get ready for work and then get me my breakfast and all of my pills. Then I usually fell back to sleep awhile longer, unless I had to get up for an appointment. My mom would come over each day and help me get ready and do whatever I needed her to do. Due to my staples and somewhat open incision, I wasn't allowed to get my abdominal area wet and so showering proved to be challenging, but I got that down to a science too. She was once again, a life saver! Not only was it nice to have some company but she helped me to feel normal again, taking me to Kohl's or on her errands with her. And sometimes just to the shaved ice shack (my favorite summer treat) to get me out of the house to have a little treat. She also helped me around the house, doing the laundry, cleaning and even rearranging the furniture. It was such a blessing. We were also privileged to have our ward bring in meals for an entire week, which was a life saver another huge blessing!! They were so delicious; we were spoiled rotten!

One day I was feeling adventurous and since I had to get ready for a doctor appointment anyway, I had my mom take me to Walmart to get us a few things. I couldn't walk very far or for very long, and so I knew I'd have to have my mom push me in a wheelchair. Well, they only had electric wheelchairs, and so that was my ride around the store. Of course mom wanted to take a picture. I was mortified at first and DID NOT want to see anyone I knew. I quickly realized it wasn't that bad and really was quite convenient to use. I was very grateful for that electric wheelchair. It made my life so much easier. I had to use these multiple times over the next few weeks and it was actually kind of fun haha. Everyone was so nice and polite, especially the employees, it was a whole new Walmart experience.

Many of you may be wondering what ever happened with our baby? I'm happy to report that she is still healthy as can be and growing like a weed. She is quite the little fighter and proved that time and time again. Each time I go to the OB the doctor reminds me that I am so fortunate to still be pregnant as it would've been very natural for me to miscarry after being so sick, in so much pain and my body under so much stress. She saw me weekly for a few weeks after my hospital stay so that she could closely monitor the baby and my weight gain. It took a couple weeks for me to start gaining any weight and she even threatened to put me back in the hospital if I didn't gain weight. I had lost 18 pounds and couldn't remember the last time I weighed so little. I was still looking pretty thin and frail and they were concerned for the baby's sake mainly. I prayed so hard that I wouldn't have to go back to the dreadful place. I ate so much food that next week until my appointment and I gained 6 pounds!!! I had never been so happy to gain weight in my life! I'm still working on gaining back all of the weight I lost, but as along as I gain some at each appointment I keep the doctors happy.

Baby girl gave us a thumbs up, letting us know she's hanging in there for the long haul and doing great. We just love her!

As for my GI or stomach doctor, I am also happy to report good news! Although I was malnourished and my body lacking in so many nutrients I quickly became healthier again and my labs are looking better with each poke. I still have to take a potassium supplement twice a day, my prenatal pill with extra iron, my Humira shots every other week, and B12 shots every other week as well. The part of your stomach that absorbs B12, the ileum, I no longer have as it was all removed, and so my body will probably always be deficient. Kevin gets to give me these shots as I can't administer them myself. The B12 shots I do myself in the abdomen or thigh. The doctor is monitoring my labs closely and keeping an eye to ensure they don't start to go in the wrong direction, even the slightest. My Crohns symptoms have also lessened with time, and for that I am grateful. As my body has healed from surgery I am once again realizing what it feels like to be healthy. For so long I thought my good days were good, but compared to a healthy person, my good days were still bad days for them. Make sense? Pretty much, the surgery is supposed to make my life so much better and it really has! I still have Crohns Disease, however it's kind of in a dormant state and I have to continue taking medication and being monitored by my GI to ensure that I don't start having symptoms and flares again, especially during the rest of this pregnancy. One day, a couple weeks after surgery, I had a sudden realization that I hadn't had a Crohns stomach ache since surgery and how great it was. A definite tender mercy moment for me. I have also seen a huge improvement in my lactose intolerance and can sometimes sneak a small amount of ice cream here and there. Before that was always my worst culprit. The GI is hoping that my Crohns symptoms stay dormant for years to come and that we can prevent another bowel resection for as long as possible. So am I!!

The last update is from the surgeon. I got my staples out two weeks after surgery and I was scared. I had heard that getting staples out hurts but it really didn't, in fact, I could hardly even feel anything except a little tugging here and there. My incision was looking even better at this point but I still had some open holes, so I learned how to doctor them  up. I had to keep those covered until they healed shut, but I could shower and not have to cover anything up at all. I was so happy to take a real shower, and I did just that for about 20 minutes that first day. It was marvelous after weeks of none or few showers. I had to go back one more time to make sure it was healed up, which it was, after 5 weeks post-op. My incision is still somewhat numb, even today, but the doctor said that I may never completely get the feeling back in that area. He was pleased with my progress and wished me well with the baby and sent me on my way. I am SO, SO GRATEFUL for this wonderful surgeon and know for a fact that he was supposed to be the one that did my surgery that dreadful June day. His hands were truly guided by the hand of the Lord that day so that my baby girl was protected and that I would be healthy again. At my last appointment he said that I was lucky he got to me when he did and that I was very, very sick. I feel like he gave me back my life again, at least for now, and for that I am truly grateful.



Still with the staples in

After the staples were removed. It was looking pretty good!

I have learned to be grateful for each piece of good news, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem at the time.

I ended up taking 5 weeks off work for medical leave and when I did go back the middle of July I only worked part time 3-5 hours/day for the first 4 weeks and finally jumped back to my regular full time shift. It was hard to go back and even harder to go back full time, I was scared that I wasn't ready and I was going to overdue it but my employer was amazing and told me to take breaks whenever I needed to and not overdue it. I am so grateful to work for such an amazing company. We were also very blessed financially during my time off work. It was definitely unexpected and a lot of it was unpaid but in a blessing I received shortly after getting out of the hospital, I was promised that we would be blessed and watched over financially and that I shouldn't worry about that but just take care of myself. It was amazing to watch those blessing unfold before our eyes. We have so much to be grateful for! The amazing part was that we have been saving money each month for when the baby comes and I was so disappointed thinking we were going to have to use that and struggle again in a few months but we hardly had to touch our savings and I know that that is a huge tender mercy from our loving Savior.

This experience has been the hardest, most challenging thing I have ever had to endure. Not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. My testimony grew leaps and bounds during this time and I continue to reflect on this experience and am able to recognize more and more blessings each time. Although I am pregnant and that isn't always easy, I haven't felt his great in years! I didn't realize just how sick I was and how badly I needed this surgery.

Once again, I hope that others can read of my experiences and be able to recognize their own blessings and tender mercies a little easier. Trials are not easy, they aren't supposed to be and if we have faith and trust in the Lord we can endure all that is required of us! I know this to be true, now more than ever!!