What a summer!
Or, really, what a year. I began the year with a carcinoid tumor in my duodenum, and after surgery at the end of February, I was laid up most of March. But, it was successful--the tumor was removed, and there's no sign of recurrence. That was awesome. Spring went on, when suddenly I started noticing that I itched. I don't remember when it started, exactly, but I remember driving over to Alex's BBQ, and Jordan asking me why I was scratching my hands on the steering wheel. So, that was, what, late April? It became worse thoughout May--primarily my hands and feet itched, but at times it was my whole body. Hot air or water made it worse--showers were horrific--and no amount of pills or creams seemed to help it. I was sent to an allergist, when suddenly my liver function started to go crazy. Guess what--liver produces bile. Surgery had caused scarring that began to seal off my bile ducts, backing the bile up into my blood and eventually onto my skin. Horrific itching, and no amount of anything could make it better.
So, I went to MCV, and they did a little thing to put a stent in the bile duct, and things went back to normal. Whew. I don't want to overdo it, but that month was really torturous. I couldn't sleep because of the itching, and there was no relief. Forget waterboarding. If we could someone deliver bile salts onto someone's skin non-invasively, it would be gangbusters!
That crisis was over--and by then, so was school. Thank goodness, because I don't think I have any sick days left. Summer got underway, and I threw a BBQ. It was fun, but I wish it had lasted longer. It was fantastic to see folks like Cat and Caryn--just sorry the folks didn't stick around to watch UFC there, I'd have been more than happy. But it was fun, and I'd love to throw another something soon--maybe Halloween?
A few days after the BBQ, I woke up with these weird abdominal aches. Since my surgery and the liver problems were so recent, I went to the ER, where the pains were nice enough to become intense. My phone had died by then, and so I spent about a day in the hospital with not a soul knowing where I was. The pains subsided, and they ran myriad tests, but they couldn't find anything the matter. There was a small problem with my gallbladder, but they didn't think it was causing the pains. I was there about a week, and then discharged.
I really don't remember what I did for the next week or so--I went to see Moon with Alex, that was cool. I grilled some steak, and made some s'mores, also nice. I went to PA and spent a nice day with Nicole, that was pretty sweet. And then I went down to Richmond for my normal kidney appointment at MCV...
That morning, everything went well at the doctor's. All of my blood work looked good, and I was feeling great. I was planning to drive over to Nature Camp that afternoon to visit camp and visit with one of my former students who was now a counselor there. About ten minutes after I left the hospital, I was hit by terrible abdominal pains. I had to pull off the road, and I called my parents because I couldn't drive any further. It was lucky I hadn't traveled far from MCV--my parents drove down and were able to get me back to the MCV ER. At first, they couldn't find any real problems with me either, and my pain subsided, but they kept me for observation. During the night, I spiked a fever, and after further testing, they knew it was my gallbladder.
The next morning, the abdominal pain became worse. It felt like I was being stabbed, and the knife twisted in my gut. I've never felt anything so bad, and I've been through a lot. So, emergency surgery it was! The surgeons tried for laproscopic surgery, but as soon as they got a look inside, they knew they had to open me up. My gallbladder was so badly infected, it had GANGRENE! Every time I talk about it, I put GANGRENE in caps, because it's just that bad. Anyway, they opened me up all the way, got the gallbladder out, and cleaned out my insides. I had at least three strains of infection, and one was MRSA, so, awesome. It was a good thing I got the surgery then--they said that the infection was bad enough, but if we had waited even another 24 hours, "it would have been a different story altogether." Bum bum bum!!
I was only in the hospital for a week, and I've been recovering at my parents' house since then. Because the incision was so large (10 inches, maybe?), I've been slow to get going, though I haven't been entirely homebound. It ruined a few of my August plans, but I still went to the beach for a couple of days, and that was awesome. I mostly went so I could see Bree and Andy, and it was time well spent. I saw the docs for a follow-up yesterday, and things seem to be going well. I got all of my staples out, so I'm well on my way. Of course, the incision opened a bit, necessitating a trip to the ER, but it doesn't seem to be a big deal. Me, I'm a little concerned when my skin splits apart, but not so much doctors.
And there we have it. 2009 has been four hospital stays, three invasive procedures, two major surgeries, and one big-ass scar. I'm thinking it's all done, and somehow my transplanted kidney has remained fairly healthy. Summer's almost over--I report for work on Monday--and I'm excited to get into Catullus with the advanced kids. There will be plenty of headaches, but after the summer I've had, I'm anxious to get started.