|
 |
 |
| Joey's Story Page 2 |
| Joey's Story Page 3 |
| ...You feel you are all alone. You feel you are the only one. You search the internet...at that time folks were afraid to talk...so you find not a soul. It's a secret. The thing is, we all felt this way...from Richard on down to little Tony...we all felt we were the only ones...all alone. |
| I was going into Septic shock from the purulent infection now filling all quadrants of my abdomen. For a week my body had fought, pooling every available resource in its attempt to heal itself. The heavy doses of intravenous Rocephin adminstered by the Urgent Care Physician,, including an “accidental” double dosage, served only to temporarily mask my symptoms, this antibiotic being powerless to provide healing or cure or to stop the sloughing off of necrotic tissue from the minute thermal burn to my descending colon that threatened my life My body fought hard to heal itself and protect me by forming an abscess, a protective wall around the burn, to pocket and contain the poisons preventing them from leaking into my abdominal cavity and serving to hold back the contents of my intestines that threatened my very existance. This walled off area serving as the only barrier of protection keeping fecal matter from contaminating my abdomen and its organs. Not unlike the little Dutch Boy whose finger held back the wall of water protecting the city and it’s inhabitants against a devastating flood, this protective wall formed a sack or abcess which held back the contents of my intestines which were slowly oozing into the ever growing pocket of purulent fecal matter heavy ladden with infection and bubbling gasses...this abcess my body formed in a desperate attempt to protect my sensitive abdominal cavity...buying the doctors time to figure out what was wrong with me...or you would have thought anyway... When the dam, unable to hold up to the pressure producing gasses burst, spilling it’s caustic odorous poisons throughout my entire abdomen permeating and filling every empty space and engulfing and enveloping every organ from my liver and stomach to my bladder including every nook and cranny of my twisting intestines. I felt that moment. I felt that very instance. I felt everything. I felt as the pressure built...and finally as it burst... I felt the pain as the gasses and air filled my body cavity. I felt as never prior I had felt. ...and my husband called my physician within ten minutes. Ten minutes it took to sit, take my temp, and vomit. Ten minutes it took to figure out I could not walk, swallow, or move. You would think these symptoms might constitue an emergency in a post abdominal surgical patient. ...But, they didn't. ...And because they didn't, my family shares this story with you... We hope by reading our story you'll be left with a memory filed away in your mind, that should one day yourself, a family member, a friend, or an aquaintance be facing similar surgery that this memory will make itself available to you...not to instill fear...but to provide you with guidelines, the ability to recognize red flags, the ability to identify potential problems, the ability to discern the appropriateness or inappropriateness of a surgeon's actions, lack of action, decisions, behaviors, responses, the courage to question everything that concerns you, the assertiveness and support to continue that questioning until you feel satisfied with an answer that is clear, comprehensible, sensible, and address your every concern. We also wish to provide you with the ability or the resources to seek out information on your own. We hope to encourage you to seek out and find the support of others...you need support...I'm not simply speaking to the patient here...patients are too busy fighting or healing. I'm addressing the caregivers and advocates. Our family does feel very strongly that a patient advocate must be available and in the room with the patient at ALL TIMES. This is not based on one or two hospital stays. This is based on our experiences with many hospitalizations and emergency room visits. This should not be a difficult feat. As humans; friends, relatives, neighbors, we are to be there for each other. This is a priority. The lives of our loved ones are far more important than anything else I can imagine. ...we can give of ourselves and of our time...this is a great gift and a truly selfless act of compassion, humanity, and love. As you read, you'll see many lessons. Another important lesson is not to forget the children... I'll leave this for now. You'll understand as our story unfolds. My first painful ovarian cyst came at the tender age of 14. I awoke one morning to fever and intense pain. I tried everything seeking relief. I soaked in a warm tub, showered, used a heating pad, but nothing helped. Finally I sought relief from my family physician. My symptoms resembled those of appendicitis so my doctor drove me over to the hospital. He admiteed me to the pediatric unit with high fever, elevated white count, and severe pain. I was hospitalized for a week and placed on IV antibiotics and pain medication. While in the hospital an ultrasound was conducted and I was found to have a large mass in my lower abdomen. My doctor took pity on me and allowed me to return home for the weekend with a supply of antibiotics and pain medication.. I was to follow up with the surgeon immediately and then return to the Pediatric Unit. The surgeon ran tests and reviewed the ultrasound. He determined the mass was about the size of a large grapefruit. Once again I was admitted to the hospital and this time prepped for surgery. I had my first IV...I was ever so afraid. During surgery the mass was found to be a large cyst. They removed my right ovary and my appendix at this time. Little did they know my body would go overboard in an attempt to heal itself. The doctor drew a crude picture of my anatomy and explained in detail what they had found and what they had done to correct my problem. He reassured me that I would be able to conceive a child with one ovary. I greatly improved following surgery but over time I would feel a gnawing and nagging pain that would come and go. The quality of the pain was similar but not as intense as the pain I originally had felt. For the most part I did my best to ignore it. I rarely took aspirin for it. In 1981 I became pregnant with my first child, my little angel Kristen Elizabeth. During my pregnancy I felt my best and suffered no pain. I was in labor for 72 hours. My aunt was a labor and delivery nurse, an RN for over 20 years, who worked at the hospital across from where I lived. She was able to bring me in and hook me up to the monitors to keep an eye on the baby. The hospital where I was scheduled to deliver was 20 miles away. Finally the time had come. My aunt stayed with me throughout my labor and delivery. My daughter's vital signs began to diminish with each contraction and the nurse was unable to convince the OBGYN to come in. He said to call once my water broke. The nurse tried many positional _______to relieve the stress on my daughter’s umbilical cord. These were met with failure and it seemed a crises was impending. The hospital nurse consulted with my aunt who then asked my permission to break my water so she could convince the doctor to come in. It worked. He came in and I was taken to a delivery room. My daughter’s head was not in the correct position for delivery and labor was not progressing despite strong regular contractions.. Labor actually seemed to be reversing itself and my cervix was beginning to swell closed from the pounding. Finally the doctor decided to use High Forceps. I had no anesthetic. Nothing for the pain. My aunt said I seemed to just leave my body. She said it was the most horrific delivery she had ever witnessed and she also stated that no doctor in the USA uses high forceps. I also had others present to witness the birth of my daughter. A close friend fainted when she saw me rip. My beautiful baby girl was born. While in the hospital I noticed my sheets were constantly soaked...to the point I could squeeze and obtain dripping. My temp was never monitored. When I arrived home the sheets continued to be soaked. I took my temperature and it was quite high. I also passed very large tissue...not blood...tissue that looked more like an organ. I went to the hospital and was treated for post childbirth fever and infection. The infection came on within 24 hours of giving birth.I nursed my daughter and had no pain for quite some time. Then once again it began its periodic flair ups only a bit more intense than before. In 1989 my son Joseph was born via ceasarean section. Once again with this pregnancy the pain ceased for the duration. The cesarean was necessitated due to cephalo pelvic displacement. I had once again been in labor for 72 hours. The doctor explained that my son’s head was beating down on my cervix with each contraction. This was causing swelling and my cervix was closing due to that swelling. He stated I would need a C-section immediately. Richard and I turned to each other and held each other. A C-section was not something we had ever considered as a possibility. At 4:44 pm Joey was born weighing 9 lbs 4 ½ oz. Healthy except that he was tekipnic. Richard cut Joe's cord, inked his foot for his hospital and baby book footprints, and wrapped him in his blanket. He laid him on my chest helping me to hold him. I nursed Joe as well. Several months after his birth I began having fleeting lower abdominal pains of differing intensity than the previous pain. When I ceased nursing and my periods started back up the old pain did as well only this time it was of a differing quality and I also had new pains. Over time the pain was intense and I consulted with a doctor during one of my worst episodes. He preformed an ultrasound and I was found to have a large mass. He told me I would require surgery. I underwent surgery and was found to have a 9cm cyst. He also found severe scarring, called adhesions, which were adhering my organs and other structures to one another. My tubes were found to be barely functional due to this scarring. Following the surgery the pain returned only now with veracity. It became relentless although I did note it became even worse in an episodic and almost predictable pattern easing somewhat for a couple of weeks then becoming intense, nauseating, and unbearable.. The doctor stated I was forming huge ovarian cysts cyclically corresponding to ovulation. Most of the time these types of cysts don't cause women problems. I became pregnant with my third child in 1990. Richard and I wanted to prevent another ceasarean and more than anything wanted a normal natural birthing experience for myself as well as my child. My OBGYN basically refused stating I would need a C-section. As much as I respected him I sought out another doctor. I found Dr. B. He said he would carefully monitor my pregnancy as well as my son’s growth and do what he could to prevent a c-section. He and his wife had nine children. When my baby reached 7lbs 13oz he decided to induce. He felt my son was large enough and that I was far enough along for his development to be near completion. He felt at the rate he was growing, by the time my due date came along he would weigh in excess of 10lbs. During my second pregnancy it was discovered that I had gestational diabetes. It was believed that my grandmother also had this condition. My grandmother had 4 boys. All three weighed over ten lbs and my own father weighed 21 lbs at birth. Each child she bore weighed much more than the previous. |
| Post Surgical Red Flags: This is a partial list of Karen's post surgical red flags. Continuing Pain Increasing Pain Lack of Appetite Nausea...increasing Fever...increasing No increase in strength...continued worn out and tired New Pain Feeling something isn't right |
| We began making phone calls reporting the above symptoms begining the day after the surgery. As the symptoms increased we began phoning Urgent Care & Nurse on Call...not just the doctor. We knew something was wrong when they had difficulty awakening her in the recovery room. She had never before had any trouble Karen has always bounced back from surgery so that in itself was of concern to us.. |
| This story will be continued...We are working on it and will post the link once it's available...thank you for your understanding.... |