I have been having issues with drainage out of my incision. I’m three and a half weeks out from surgery and have been thinking it’s really strange to have fluid leaking out of my beautiful incision. There it was however and I’ve been in touch with several doctors and nurses who have been monitoring it for me. Well, today my home nurse, Kim, came to look it over.
She was not happy with how the drainage looked. “It’s changed. I don’t like the way this looks.” She said. “It’s gone from a yellowish clear, to a ‘milky’ yellow. You’re not going to be happy with me, but you need to go to the ER.”
Why the ER? Because it’s the weekend. We tried to get an appointment yesterday with my surgeon, but unfortunately he got tied up in an emergency surgery with several other surgeons (say a prayer for that poor soul they operated on yesterday… I hope they’re ok).
I called my husband (who was out of the house for his weekly writing sessions – I hate bothering him during these). He immediately drove back home and we went to the ER. The ER nurses phoned the doctor who assisted with my surgery (because he was the doctor on call). He came right away to the ER to look me over. He pressed on my abdomen and said, “I’m gonna have to clean that out.”
Don’t ask me for the details, I’m not sure exactly what that man did to me. Luckily I really didn’t feel anything but “pressure” during the whole procedure. My husband held my hand the whole time watching (he claims he nearly passed out). Well… when he was finished he announced that I now had gauze stuffed in my belly and told me to call my home nurse as he walked out of the room to give orders to do a culture.
My husband looked at me, all the color drained out of his face, and mouthed, “WOW.”
“WHAT!?” I said nearly freaking out.
“Well, he just opened you up and squeezed some stuff out and stuffed some gauze in you to soak up what he couldn’t get out.”
The doctor returned as I was on the phone with my nurse. He asked to speak with her so I handed him the phone. When he was finished he told me that she was going to come in every day next week and unpack and pack the wound for me until I learn to do it myself.
“Who’s gonna sew me up!?” I asked with tears in my eyes.
“No one. It’s going to heal from the inside out. You had an abscess and we need to get rid of that infection.” The doctor replied.
“How long is it going to take to reseal?” I asked.
“Normally? Two weeks. But you’re on steroids… so… two weeks plus some…”
CURSE YOU, PREDNISONE! CURSE YOU!
Prednisone, I also learned, is probably the reason for this abscess (whom I have named Filch by the way) in the first place.
Again I say, CURSE YOU, PREDNISONE! You are the reason I have an abscess. You are the reason I am now colonless (well, one of the reasons). You are the reason I don’t heal quickly. You are the reason I now have a 2cm hole in my belly with gauze stuffed in it. You’re the reason for many, many problems in my life at the moment.
OH! And did I mention, Prednisone, that my beautiful incision is now RUINED and I will now have a bigger scar!? Yeah… thanks for that, too! Gah! I hate Prednisone. BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!
You are also causing a sweet nurse to have to come see me tomorrow. ON MOTHER’S DAY. Poor woman. Which brings me to the fact that I want my Mommy. I don’t get to see her for Mother’s Day (thank you UC).
So, there you have it. Another ER adventure. Before I go, I’d like to wish all you awesome Moms out there a very Happy Mother’s Day. Some of you are fighting an IBD AND raising children. I don’t know how you do it, but kudos to you. Some of you out there are raising a baby/child who has an IBD. I can’t imagine the struggle you go through watching your child suffer from such a horrible disease. You are some VERY strong women and I have so much respect for all of you.
Thank you so much! I always appreciate your comments and encouragement. Sorry this is a late response. I had such a busy week at work. Take care of yourself!!!
I am thinking of you… I know and can relate to the prednisone hate.
I wish there was something I could do for you or be there to offer support. I often feel like I take one step forward and two steps back. Only someone with an IBD can ever truly understand the physical, mental and emotional aspects of the diseases. Even I get angry when I think I feel good and out of now where an attack hits, so I understand why others think you look fine or you were just fine.
Please take the time your body needs to heal…don't worry about work or the dusting or vacuuming. You need to let your body rest and get stronger especially since you are facing a second procedure. You know you want to go into that with as much if the odd on your side as possible so you have to do your part.
I will tell you my scar secret….vitamin E. I buy the largest capsule I can find, pierce it and put the oil directly on the scar. It helps with the itching, keeps it soft and eliminates some of the redness.
Wow! That definitely helps. I keep telling myself it could be so much worse. 🙂 Hopefully this packing and unpacking of the wound will clear it all up. xx
Thanks so much. I'm trying to stay positive… but it isn't always easy!
Just catching up on your recent activities.. In the hope of making you feel better, my boss's husband had to have his whole incision heal from the inside out (Not IBD related, he got shot in the army and lost some intestine) anyway, he had to have like a vacuum that he carried with him EVERYWHERE literally sucking the infection out constantly and even his scar doesn't look too bad! I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think xx
Well that's really poo poo, isn't it?! My incision wound opened up a bit after my surgery and it took way longer to heal than it should because of that. I had to go on IV antibiotics and also get "cleaned out". Needless to say, it's healed now. I hope you don't get too bummed out!