Oh Norma, I hope you know we have all been thinking of you, worrying about you and sending thoughts and prayers.

It does sound like a doozy, and I am so very sorry this has happened.

On the toher hand, it might explain some of the reasons you hadn't been feeling well and I am hoping you have a full recovery and that you end up feeling better than before.

Please keep us up to date in your journey, and try not to get too frustrated if the healing takes a while. Altough my operation was different, I remember feeling fraustrated and worried that I would never feel well again. Well it took time, but I did heal and now all that discomfort, fatigue and the emotional issues that went along with it are gone.

Glad you are "back"...sending you lots of love!

glad you are back and I hope you are well enough to participate the way you used to.
your surgery sounds like hell but we all know whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger. not that you needed it because you are very strong already.

Holy smokes Norma!!! It sounds like you have REALLY been through a LOT. I am so glad to hear you are beginning the recovery. Wow. I agree with Lindsay, perhaps this has a lot to do with why you were losing energy, and all the other symptoms you were having. I sure hope this is going to find you feeling a WHOLE lot better now.

This kind of sounds like something that the new friend that I ended up staying with near Seattle, while I was recovering from my transplant, had gone through a few years ago. And it really sounded like it was quite difficult and painful. I have to say, it helped her to understand me, knowing how incapacitated she she had been been, and helped me to trust her to help me out. Wow.... what an experience this has been for you.

And yes, I am sure we are all relieved to hear from you now. Much love to you dear.....

Heather

Oh Girls, thank you so much, it means the world to me that you really care. This sure hasn't been fun one bit, I can't eat anything that has much of anything in it or it comes out immediately from one end or the other. So I am down to scrambled eggs and perhaps a chicken broth, plain white rice and pasta, nothing on them. I don't know how long this will last but being that my intestine is much shorter now, I don't imagine it's going to go away any time soon. Yes, I guess you girls do know what major surgery is like, I didn't until now that is. Heather - Is Maria doing ok now, can she eat normal food? How is her general health? I'am dying to know if this is the same surgery that I had. They actually removed the right colon and replaced it with some fabric and hooked everything back up again, but I don't think the new intestine works the same way the old one did...:( Oh I hope you have good news for me. Thanks so much girls, I appreciate your notes so much. I'll be back full force before long, not to worry.

lots of love,
Norma...

aww.. Good to hear that you are feeling a lot more better.
What a journey you had! God Bless and stay strong!

Hey Norma, I need to ask my friend more questions, I don't know if she had anything placed anything in her, but what she said was it was a "resection". She said it took her quite a while to heal, and she didn't really have anyone to help her out, so that would have made it more difficult. So, I think that there are a lot of things different in her life, she is a lot younger than you and I, she is diabetic. But she seems to really live a full life now, and get around well. She says that she kind of works between having to take fiber in the mornings, and a stool softener, to being constipated. That could have to do however with some of the drugs she has to take for diabetes.

Please keep up with us as you can, we all want to know how you are progressing. Love you much dear!!!!!

Hi Norma,
Two years ago, my husband had about eight inches of colon removed due to cancer. Instead of using a synthetic (how interesting), they pulled down another piece of colon and reshaped it to resemble the sigmoid (the holding pouch of the colon). It's called a J-pouch procedure. Even after two years, when he gets the urge to go, he has to go because the new pouch can only hold so much. He says he feels like his life revolves around knowing where the closest bathroom is. There have been incidents where he does not make it. Sorry to tell you this, but, I know you like the plain truth. HOWEVER, he has done nothing to modify his diet, do any reading to see what might help, etc.
The surgery was horrendous and he was as shocked as you, never having had any surgery in his life. Give yourself a good two months before attempting to do any working out. He tried yoga after one month and ended up back in the hospital, in pain, but without any real damage. Now, he's back in action, no restrictions on any activities - and, he gained back all the lost weight.
My suggestion is, after your insides have healed some more, is to add fiber. This is non-scientific but I think practical advice. Fiber holds water, therefore, if diarrhea is a problem, the fiber will help suck out that water.
PS You'd think a colonoscopy would have spotted the problem years ago?
Lisa

Hi Lisa, You are so right about a colonoscopy showing "something" after all of these years, but it didn't. They only show the insides of the colon and not whats actually going on with the colon. I do remember always hearing what a job it was to get around a certain corner of my colon, but not much else. The surgeon has recommended that I take metamucil once or twice a day and sure enough, it has worked, the diareeha has gone because I was adding fiber to my diet, just as you recommended. Today is the first day that I have not lost any more weight, going to 17 lbs. now. After I found out about the "material" put in there, I was very concerned about a "leak" But he has assurred me if it was going to leak, it would have at this point, so I am golden!! Thank God for that anyway, material is used most all of the time anymore. I don't know when I'am gonig to feel myself again and am getting a little annoyed, as patience is not one of my best virtues and the doc told me yesterday to give myself another two weeks and I should be feeling much better. UGH.. Thanks ever so much for the information, I need all I can get. A little point of interest during my hospital stay and that was they kept a good eye on my creatinine, knowing I had kidney disease. Some of the pain meds they were putting in my IV was causing my creatinine to go up and they would tell me every time, so I told them to stop giving me those pain meds and they did. I suffered a bit more, but my creatinine came back down to "my" normal which is 1.5, thank God for that anyway. Thanks so much Lisa.

Love,
Norma...

Norma, what an ordeal. I am so sorry to read what you have been going through. You are such a strong woman, and such an beacon of light for so many of us. Your attitude is always one of love and concern for so many and you are always filled with determination to get over the next hurdle. You don't complain, you share the facts of what is going on in your life. What an admirable person you are, but in the same note, I wish so badly these burdens would just go away. What a year you have had. Please know I send my love, prayers and concern your way for a speedy, complete recovery. You are full of life and this can't get in your way no matter how hard it tries.
Sending love,
Heidi

Oh gosh Norma, you sound so much better in this new update, and I am so thankful. And your creatine is at 1.5!!!! Wow, that's just wonderful!

I remember how bad I felt after my transplant, wondering how long it would take to feel better. My friend in S Africa who had a transplant told me that one day I would wake up and feel as if someone had pulled back the curtains and the sun was shining in. That happened..... and I was so encouraged. I think that's going to happen for you as well.

Bless you dear!!!!

Love
Heather

Heidi and Heather, H & H !!! LOL

It's so strange to me to get such words of encouragement when I really have had nothing happen other than my innards taken out! YIKES! But let me tell you, if anyone ever mentions the word Hemicolectomy, or colectomy anything! Run as fast as you can, LOL and don't let them catch you either!! You know if I hadn't opened my big mouth and was so explicit about my kidney function and creatinine, I very well could have ended up in big trouble, but I have worked too hard to stay where I am and had no intentions of letting any hospital anywhere, let me go backwards and they didn't. I'am not so sure if that would always be the case, so remember this when ever you find yourself in a situation you had not counted on or in an emergency room. I was bearly able to speak up for myself, but I managed to get the words out and they listened and of course Jim was with me as well, but no words are as effective as the words right from your very own mouth. Thank you girls so much for your encouragement, I am doing so much better today and no more weight loss. I am almost back up and running again.

Love to you all,
Norma....

Norma,
I'm buying metamucil tomorrow and force feeding (drinking?) it to my husband!
lisa