A pancreas and a pig

First let me start by saying we made it on our annual music cruise!!! It was a MUCH needed voyage for both Randy & I. Since my cancer diagnosis in August our lives have seemed a constant stream of tests, illnesses, treatments, and hospitalizations. I’ve been worn out physically & mentally but so has Randy. When I’m sick he not only carries his usual load of housework, cooking, cleaning etc but he also tends to my needs. In addition he runs his own business from home designing printed circuit boards www.pcbdesignpro.com (shameless plug). Even though he’s “healthy” all of it takes a toll on him too. I realized how much he needed the trip when he woke up teary eyed the first morning at home and proclaimed “I’m just so happy”. Clearly the trip was just what he needed.

Since I’m allergic to morphine & dilaudid, fentanyl is my go to drug if IV pain meds are needed. Unfortunately the drug has a short half life. So I would get a shot from the nurse; it would wear off in 25 minutues, and I’d spend the next 35 minutes in pain waiting for the next shot. This went on all night with no sleep for my mom or I. Thankfully I got a pain pump the next morning which helped tremendously. The upside to pain meds is they ease the pain. The downside is they slow your GI system.


My lab results showed elevated amylase and lipase levels which indicate pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas that is extremely painful. It is more common in people with CF. I’ve only had it one other time when I was around 19 or so. The treatment involves restricting food & liquids, inserting a naso-gastric (NG) tube down your nose to your stomach to drain off bile and fluids that accumulate, and pain meds. During this bout I went almost seven days without liquids and food. At first that was “easy”. My belly was so distended I didn’t feel anything else could possibly go in. Even though the NG tube was somewhat gagging it helped me to keep from vomiting constantly. Of course I looked and felt like an elephant with it in.


Speaking of animals where does the pig fit in? Of course I’d have to fit a pig into this adventure. This pig is a pillow pet given to me by my college friends Jennifer, Julia, and Amy. It helped support me during coughing post surgery and also is a great snuggle pal. So everytime things get bad I have him to snuggle with and help ease the pain or just relax. Of course my boston terriers Rocky & Rosie usually get that job. But until hospitals allow dogs overnight the pig will do just fine.


After the first few days I was able to wean off the pain meds. My bowels had shut down and I needed to start pooping and moving stuff through. The other way to get things started was to get moving. So I walked. And I walked. And I walked some more. At first the walks were slow and short using my IV pole as a walker of sorts. As things progressed my speed picked up. The hard work paid off. The fluid in my belly shifted to my legs and ankles then eventually out as my amount of urine picked up. I got so excited about having fluid coming out finally!!! Then my bowels woke up too. One of my favorite yogis Bryan Kest said that walking is the best exercise you can do. Clearly in this case it did the trick.


Once things had settled down I got cleared for having a limited clear liquid dinner. To be honest this was a bit torturous. “Limited” meant I could only have 30ml of liquid an hour. That is about the size of a small shot glass. So I ordered jello got to eat two bites and then stare at it for the next hour until it was time for two more bites. ARGH!!! Luckily the next day liquids were unrestricted and then I was advanced to a full diet.


After eleven days in the hospital I finally returned home. I’m about ten pounds too thin and pretty weak. But lots of Ensures and Randy’s good cooking should help. And I’ve been walking some too ;)


Peace,
Steph


P.S. Once again I’d like to thank Randy, my mom Robin, Uncle John, Aunt Mickie, Courtney, Heather, Jen, and Neelu for visiting and making sure someone was there 24/7 for the majority of my stay. Thanks to many others for texts, emails, calls etc. Your support helps me keep on keeping on.Just two short mornings later we were having a leisurely breakfast. Randy started cutting up a grapefruit for us. By the time he was done I was starting to have terrible abdominal pain and vomiting. Hours later we were in my surgeon’s office for a scheduled follow up visit. I figured I’d rather go to the appointment and have him help than suffer the long wait and insanity of the ER. An abdominal x-ray was ordered and in the meantime I took two percocets. When the drugs barely made a dent in the pain I returned to the doctor’s office. A while later a hospital room was ready for me.