It has been about a week and a half since my second surgery on March, 24th. I have been eating, lightly exercising, and in relatively no pain- until Tuesday. Tuesday evening I began having severe stomach cramps and noticing very low output from my new loop ileostomy. My initial thought was that I ate something that just did not agree with my newly re-engineered digestive system. But as the evening turned to night, my stomach cramps became more and more severe. I reluctantly read the side effects of an obstruction/ blockage and knew that had to be what was going on. It was now midnight and I was pacing the the hallway, trying to ease the pain and clear the blockage with no relief, however.
By the early hours of the morning, the pain had not subsided and was continually getting worse. I laid awake trying to manage my pain, but the situation quickly became out of control. Around 4:00 a.m., my dad took me to the ER of our local hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital. I was given some medicine to help with the pain and nausea and started on fluids. It had now been hours without any output and the likelihood of an obstruction was looking greater and greater. After a couple of hours in the ER, I was taken for a CT scan in hopes to verify whether I was dealing with an obstruction or a complication from surgery. The CT scan revealed a complete obstruction of my small bowel, with large amounts of air and fluid backing up into my stomach. St. Joseph's hospital contacted Johns Hopkins, seeking their input on my delicate situation.
A little while later, the nurse came in. "The doctors have requested that you receive an NG tube in order to help empty your stomach and relieve some of the air backing up. Have you ever had one?" My eye widened. I had heard horror stories about NG tubes and never imaged that I would be in a situation where I would need one. I was scared, but the thought of possible relief from some of the pain I was experiencing was convincing enough for me to agree.
Several minutes later, the nurse returned with a bucket and an intimidating bundle of tubing. She began explaining the process to me, detailing that the tube would be inserted into my nose, past my nasal cavity, down my throat, and into my stomach. She directed me that once the tube was passed my nasal captivity, she would have me drink water to help push the tube down my throat and into my stomach. This was one of those moments when I really began having second thoughts, but if the doctors ordered the tube, I wanted to honor their orders in hopes of some relief. I sent a worried glance over to my dad watching from the side and told the nurse I was ready.
When she began inserting the tube, there was instant pain. My nose started burning and the more that she inserted, the worse the pain got. Then she told me to start drinking as she began to push the tube down my throat. I started gulping down the water but started to instantly gag. Panic set in as the tube moved down my throat. Instinctively, I grabbed the tubing and began pulling it out. The nurse grabbed my hand in an attempt to stop me from pulling the tube out, but at that point, there was no stopping. All I knew was that I wanted the tube out. I frantically began pulling until the tube was out. The tears then let loose and I started sobbing and shaking while also gagging still. The nurse remained calm, but called for help holding me down the second time. The thought of having to attempt that process again was left me feeling sick to my stomach. I was running on absolutely no sleep from the night before and this process was draining every ounce of emotional, physical, and mental strength that I had left. Despite all of this, I agreed to try the tube again.
This time, my one of my shaky hands held the cup of water while a second nurse held the other to stop me from pulling the tube out again. The nurse began inserting the tube, instructing me to start drinking again. I tried to swallow the water as the nurse began pushing the tube down my throat. I started to reach for the tube again, but the second nurse held my hands down. By this point, I was shaking, crying, and throwing up all at once- what an attractive scene that must have been. After what seemed like the longest couple of minutes in my entire life, the tube was down my throat and in my stomach. The gagging was almost impossible to control as my body naturally rejected the foreign object in my throat.
The last year has been an overwhelming and painful one, but this experience far surpassed anything that I have gone through thus far. For the next couple of hours I sat in silence struggling to talk or swallow with the tube in my throat. Every movement reminded me of the tube scraping up against the side of my throat. The NG tube did remove the contents of my stomach, though not providing much relief pain-wise.
The tube was removed several hours later after my stomach was empty and I was continuously gagging. It was a relief to no longer feel it down my throat and I cannot even imagine having it in for longer. I sincerely hurt for those who have to endure that horrible experience.
The picture above is me mustering up the only smile I could with my splotchy face and puffy eyes. All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, right?
I was moved out of the ER and to a room shorty after while I waited for my transfer to Johns Hopkins to process. Around 6:00 p.m., my admission was approved and two amazing EMS workers volunteered to take me to Baltimore very last minute. I am so thankful for their willingness to volunteer so last minute for such a long distance. They are just another two of the many, many people that I am so thankful throughout this journey.
My first time in an ambulance was one to remember! Going about 90 mph the entire way, we made it to Baltimore in the blink of an eye. I will say though: Baltimore roads + an ambulance with not so many shocks = a very, very bumpy ride. I am pretty sure there were a few times I lifted several inches off the stretcher. I like to think of it as a high-speed rollercoaster ride. One of those old wooden ones too.
I arrived at Johns Hopkins around 10:30 p.m and by this point, I was pretty sure that my obstruction had began to clear. Finally! My pain started to subside ever so slightly and by our arrival around 10:30 p.m., it was clear that things were starting to move again. After many hours of evaluations and x-rays, I was finally able to get some sleep.
It is now Thursday and I am feeling so much better. The pain has decreased to almost nothing and the obstruction continues to clear. I am currently on a clear liquid diet to ease my body back into food again. The last 48 hours have been full of so much pain and have been a true challenge of my strength, but I am so thankful for the doctors, nurses, and EMS drivers who have gone above and beyond to make sure I am comfortable and help me get back to feeling great as soon as possible. Thank you so much to everyone for your love and prayers. I am so grateful for each and every one of you. Here's to getting back to a speedy recovery and preparing for surgery #3 in a couple of months!
