Another surgery
I just spent another two weeks in the hospital for vomiting and stomach pain. After a CAT scan and ultrasound, they realized I had a bad gallbladder. I was rushed to emergency surgery to have it removed. They said it was hugely swollen. But they didn’t do any blood work up prior to the test which later showed my potassium was critically low. I had to be brought back four times with the paddles during surgery because my heart stopped. The gallbladder was extremely diseased. It had 25 stones and was full of puss. I had been telling my oncologist and everyone that I was experiencing nausea about three weeks after the surgery which continued to get worse each day. They gave me nausea medicine and pain meds, but no one checked to see what was wrong. They just attributed it to the cancer. The hospital stay was awful. I waited in the ER for 6 hours for a bed. Then I spent another two days being shuffled around to find a room and bed because UMC was over loaded with gunshot and other victims from a gang war, and just generally overflowing. I spent two days on the cancer floor, followed by a CAT scan and ultrasound, each of which had a two day waiting list. I had been 8 days by the time they rushed me to emergency surgery, and then spent three days in critical care, followed by two more days in the old cancer ward area in the South unit. What a crappy section of the hospital! The floors are cracking, there was no shower in our room, food sucked tremendously, the beds were so old and uncomfortable you could not sleep much, and people were dying right and left. It was so depressing.
I’m home again now but in pain from another surgery. At least I can eat a little. Problem is about 6 out of 10 times I eat I get sick for a day or two. The glucerna snack beverages would really help, but at $3 a pop it just cannot be. I’m suppose to drink two a day, but that’s $180 a month. Not much hope there.
A lovely sweet lady sent me $40 to my Paypal, but I had to acknowledge receiving it, which I missed due to this surgery again, and that took away the money I planned to use for glucerna. I couldn’t access a computer while in the hospital.
I still feel like crap. I still have cancer, I am still recovering from the surgeries. I am not cured. I merely received a small reprieve by agreeing to the surgery which may have lengthened my life a year or two, maybe more, if I am very, very lucky. But I don’t know if I want those two extra years if it means I feel like crap all the time and practically live in my bed.
