Molly McGlinchey
PRE-WARNING: My Story consist of details of complications. I am here and alive. But details get gross and emotional. If this is something you wish to avoid. Do not read.
As most of you know- I had Gastric Bypass surgery laposcoptically done on Mon. June 23rd.
But I happen to be that small little tiny percent that has major complications.
I had the the surgery at 8- but didn't get done till 2. Which is way to long for such that type of surgery. Turns out my liver was really big so they really had to move stuff around and spend a long time working on me.
I woke up from surgery- I felt good. Crappy from the drowsiness- and just a little swollen. But I felt awesome. I walked and walked and walked. I thought I was home free.
Ya. NO WAY.
So the following morning- around 6 am I had some major stomach cramps- the kind where you are like- wow this is going to be a KILLER juicy fart (you get those after surgery). So I had to nurse help me to the bathroom. Im sitting there (this is going to get graffic btw), and liquid and farts are just coming out of my butt like non stop. But I started to get kinda light headed. It kept going and going. I look down- and I have overflowed the toilet with bright red blood. On the verge of passing out I pull the emergency help string in the bathroom and the nurse comes in and basically has to try to clean me up enough to put me back into bed before I pass out. Blood is all over the bathroom and all over me, my gown and my bed. It was bad. After the other nurses looked at it. They decided to just see how I was for the next few hours (sometimes old blood takes 24 hrs to go thru your bowels- so they thought it was blood from the surgery). Well, they brought a port-potty like thing next to my bed so I wouldnt have to walk that far. Everytime I sat up- I would turn white- my hearing would go- my eyes would glace and I would black out. But I HAD to go to the bathroom- so for about 4 times, I would pass out going to the bathroom against my mom (with my head on oh stomach) passing blood and blood and blood and then people would lift me back to my bed.
Something was wrong. My blood pressure shot down to nothing- my heart rate went up to over 160+ bpm. The surgeon came up to my room looked at me and ordered for me to be brought as a code blue to Intensive Care Unti down stairdown stairs.
Now, Ill be honest- I dont really remember the next 48 hours down there in my first room in the ICU. I was getting a blood transfusion-plasma-fluids-you name it. When I woke up on Thurs in a different ICU room I was able to talk and find out what was going on. By then I was up to 10 pints of blood (you have about 5 in you at one time- thats how fast I was loosing blood). I had about 7 liters of fluids in me. I was bed- panning blood thru my stool every 20 minutes. I had a A-line (an artery type IV) thru my left shoulder, a V-line (the big vein in your thigh/crotch type IV) thru my right crotch/thigh, 2 IV's in my left hand, an IV in my right hand, and 1 blood pressure IV in my right hand as well.
They were trying to figure out where I was bleeding from. So I drank this weird stuff and went down for a CScan- that showed nothing really. Then they decided to do a scope down my throat to see if the inside of my "new stomach" was bleeding. Scopes you are usually totally knocked out for. Well with my blood pressure being so low and my heart rate so high- they gave me little medicine to knock me out. Guess what. I wake up in the MIDDLE of the scoping with all they staple guns and cameras and tubes down my throat. Im gagging and choking on my self- coughing up blood and having blood come out of my rear at the same time. I was covered, blodd was pouring the floor. So they are trying to knock me back out while Im crying- having 7 nurses holding me down.
Well- I woke up. In this BLACK room, strapped down, numb. I start crying and trying to yell to figure out where I am. Im in a NUCLEAR SCAN- where they shoot nuclear fluid in you and you go under this black box under radiation and it shows up on a screen telling you where the bleeding was. Well because I was so histerical and in so much pain they had to stop the scan 1/2 way thru. I get back to my room. They have to do ANOTHER scope. So now Im a little more coherant- Im crying because last time I woke up- Im begging them to knock me out all the way. Well this time I wake up towards the end when they are taking the scopes out- it still sucked but it wasnt as bad. After they I go BACK to the Nuclear scan- Im crying - Im in so much pain- Im strapped down soooo tight, Im numb. They shoot me up with a ton of Valium. So I can at least last thru the scan.
Now Im a little more alive. Back in ICU for day 4. Im awake. Drinking water barely. Talking. Barely shuffling. No passing out. Still passing old blood- but nothing new. Turns out. Where my new stomach was connected to my intestine on the inside there was major bleeding. So with the scopes they put extra staples and shots to stop the bleeding.
I stay in ICU till Fri. Go to a normal room Fri night- and come home Sunday.
Alive.
16 pints of blood (thats over 3 complete blood transfusions) and 14 liters of fluid later.
So Im actually 40 lbs HEAVIER than when I went in for surgery. Haha. I'm so swollen I cant really move my legs, ankles and feet. Let alone my fingers- thats why I havent gotten online. Im numb from the waist down- due to being tied down and in bed for so long- plus so much water. So walking is a little tough.
