Category: Uncategorized

There is no doubt that being at home instantly brings feeling of comfort and ease. Although my recovery is far from over, home brings leisure with the comfort of my own bed, couch and toilet. First order of business was to wash my hair but since I wasn’t quite strong enough to stand in the shower my mom washed it for me in the kitchen sink.

The idea was that the stoma nurse changed my whole bag right before I was sent home, and scheduled a home care nurse to come a week later, in time to change it again. This week all I had to do was empty it on my own. Since I was wearing one from the hospital, it was transparent in order to be able to see the output. I hated it. There was nothing I could do to get rid of that feeling of being dirty. Even after emptying it, I would attempt to rinse and clean as best as I could but within minutes I felt disgusting again. After the pain in the hospital I seriously considered opting out of the second surgery after about a week with the bag I realize I still want it.

Continue reading “Home Is Where The Colon Isn’t” →

Although recovery from my colectomy is far from over I figured I could at least document how it went in the hospital while it’s fresh in my cloudy drugged mind.

I was taken in to surgery early Saturday morning after a bit of confusion since “emergency” surgeries aren’t scheduled on weekends. In the actual recovery room I apparently took an extra 45 min. because my pain wasn’t under control. From what I remember, the pain I felt was from the largest incision lowest on my tummy that was held together with 7 staples, burning under layers of gauze.

Continue reading “Hospital Recovery” →

Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert or doctor so this information may not be 100% accurate. Everything here is based on my own knowledge from conversations with doctors and research I’ve done. I apologize if I don’t use all the correct terminology.

Several people have asked me to explain exactly what will be done with the surgery so I’m going to try and clarify it the best I can.

Ulcerative Colitis is an Inflammatory Bowel Disease cause by an autoimmune disease. For reasons unknown my immune system attacks my large bowel causing inflammation. The word colitis can also be used as an adjective to describe basic inflammation of the bowel. Other reasons besides IBD can cause colitis like C-Diff (the bacterial infection I had in April). Ulcerative Colitis though is the specific disease, which for me causes bleeding, diarrhea, increased urgency and frequency. This is what could not be controlled all year.

Continue reading “The Logistics” →

With the final decision made about having the surgery, now I wait for all the players to communicate and come up with a plan.

Because my surgeon was booking elective surgeries into December, she decided that I needed to be treated like an emergency patient, and admitted to the hospital so it can be done Saturday. So on October 27^th I was admitted for a fourth time this year and spent the 29^th, 30^th and 31^st days this year in the hospital. It was a little bit different this time because I didn’t have to go through Emergency but it also added a lot of confusion for the Bed Allocation department, the Welcome Centre and the nurses station.

Continue reading “The Lead Up” →

First of all, I always wanted to be an intermediate teacher but my work in a childcare centre has given me an entirely new appreciation for ECE’s. You work extremely hard all day dealing with diapers, boogers and snow pants.

On a day-to-day basis, going into childcare is draining and taxing. But when you’re away from it, you really miss those little munchkins. (“Munchkins is a really old word that Mom’s used to call their kids,”: one of mine explaining the meaning to his friend).

Continue reading “Working with a Chronic Illness” →

At first getting admitted is new and exciting but that novelty wears off really quickly so here are my suggestions to get through the days.

Continue reading “10 Things to Ease the Boredom in the Hospital” →

One of the hardest things about having an invisible illness is getting people to understand, even my people. They’re not going through what you are so it’s difficult for them to empathize. But I give them credit for trying and that’s why I think the best thing for me to do is open up.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people try to convince me I look great, or they don’t even notice the changes, in a genuine effort to help. I appreciate it, but please do me the courtesy of being honest with me, allowing me the opportunity to be honest with you.

Continue reading ““I Didn’t Even Notice It”” →

The emotional rollercoaster that is Ulcerative Colitis does not only include the series of flare-ups and remission but when you get as sick as I did this past year, there comes a string of secondary side effects. My initial greatest fear was gaining weight and having a puffy face because of prednisone. I thought going on steroids would be the worst course of treatment (HA!). I was fortunate enough not to gain a lot of weight because the disease has the opposite effect and I actually lost close to 25lbs. But my face was not so fortunate and I quickly looked like a chipmunk. My Dad described it as actually quite odd to see because my face got so big but my body got so small. But I embraced it as best as I could, recognizing that it would only be temporary, and cheeky girls need love too.

Continue reading “Losing My Hair” →

This year involved several hospital admissions and I feel like somewhat of an expert now. I can give you the ins-and outs of Southlake but I can imagine these tips of the trade to be fairly standard across the board. In most cases you have to go through Emergency to be admitted which is a grueling process so here is what I have learned and my advice to give:

GET A NOTE: My first trip to the hospital due to colitis was in December 2013 after I passed out at a Christmas Party from being so dehydrated and anemic. I went to the ER in the evening and after waiting several hours, was sent home and told to follow up with my GI. This is why a year later, I waited for an appointment with him instead of going to the hospital, allowing the disease to get worse. This time though, because my GI was sending me, he wrote me a note. And this is what helped speed up the process. Triage, nurses and the ER doctor took me far more seriously seeing a note from my doctor telling them to admit me. Generally the process in Emergency is waiting for them to decide whether or not you’re sick enough to be granted a bed, but with a note, that part is sped. His notes explained what was going on with the disease, what treatment I’ve been receiving, and what he would like done in the hospital. Cut and dry: Admit her and do this. The end. The triage nurse actually said to me, “Oh Dr. T. doesn’t send people over unless they’re very sick so let’s get you in.”

Continue reading “My Advice for Getting Admitted to the Hospital” →