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dcnovice -> DC Update: Surgery Postponed (6/6/2014 5:10:57 PM)
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June 6, 2014
Surgery Postponed
Dear Ones ---
This is not the email I planned to write today.
Next up on my literary agenda was a whimsical, cheery look at the grace notes from yesterday’s Georgetown triathlon. But writing, like life, is what happens while you were making other plans.
My surgeon and I talked this morning, and he’s postponing my operation till the end of the month. The reason, of course, is my apparently eternal infection. He thinks we need to tame it before surgery lest it destroy his handiwork. The plastic surgeon agrees. She’s slated to import muscle from elsewhere to create a “flap” that will fill the void once occupied by my dear departed rectum. Operating prematurely, she warns, could unleash killer bugs on the relocated tissue.
So . . . I’m off to see an infectious disease specialist a week from today, on June 13th. He will establish a fortnight-long regimen of IV antibiotics. The surgeon thinks I should be able to get them at home with help from visiting nurses rather than checking into the hospital. Fingers crossed. I guess I’ll find a use for the leftover equipment from my last round of at-home IVs.
Needless to say, but I’ll say it anyway, I’m not real happy about this plot twist. I’m also puzzled. Back when I was in-patient in January, a colorectal surgeon (a colleague of the doc who will operate on me) said emphatically that the infection will linger until there’s a “definitive” surgical solution. Now we’re postponing said solution due to the infection. God only knows what’s the chicken and what’s the egg at this point.
As if that weren’t enough of a character builder for one day, the fates threw a few other curveballs my way:
My work computer was mulish all afternoon, misbehaving in ways IT supposedly corrected weeks ago.
For reasons known only to itself, my debit card stopped working. I didn’t discover that till I attempted to withdraw weekend cash. And the credit union isn’t open till Monday. I have $19 in cash for the weekend.
The bag that the ostomy nurses put on yesterday sprang a leak and needs to be replaced.
My right hip and left shoulder hurt like the dickens.
And, of course, I’m exhausted.
Lest I end on such a sour note, there are two bright points to celebrate: A dear friend is visiting from New York tomorrow, and my wonderful godmother sent me a trio of cool books for my convalescence. They include a collection of ostomy wit and wisdom called I’d Like to Buy a Bowel Please! Who could resist a title like that?
As always, thanks for e-listening and all the best for a great weekend!
Cheers,
DC
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