Hi all. I'm sorry it has been so long, but things have been a bit up in the air for me lately. As you can see from the title, I am not at home, but I am Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. I was admitted to the hospital when I was still in Michigan nearly a month ago, but they were unable to do anything more to help me. We requested a transfer to University of Michigan, but they flat out refused to see me after seeing my records. So, the next request was to Mayo and thankfully they said yes. After a round of testing, they decided that surgery was going to be necessary. On Monday, I am scheduled to have surgery - a skin graft - to my abdomen, but they won't be repairing the fistula at this time. They say that I will have to come back in about a year to have that done. So, as long as they don't worry about the infection that I currently have, I will be having surgery on Monday around noon.
Sorry this is fairly short, but I am getting tired and should get back to my room. I'll try to update more later. If you really want info, just send me an email at SallyLovesSnow@sbcglobal.net and I will include you on the email list.
Sally
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Saturday, August 4, 2007
It's been a little while...
Hi there. Sorry I have been MIA for a bit. Things aren't going all that well around here for me and I have been reluctant to share because sometimes saying it outloud makes it seem more real than one wants to deal with.
As you know, I have been using the wound VAC on my abdominal wound for about 2 weeks now. Well, on Wednesday, we took off the VAC to find that I have developed a fistula in that area where the abdominal wall ruptured this winter. It isn't a large fistula, but it is a fistula, nonetheless. For those who are unfamiliar with fistulas, let me explain. I have an area of my abdominal wall in the wound bed that was thin due to a coughing spell when I was hospitalized for bronchitis this winter. We knew it was a thin area and the wound clinic has been trying to repair the area for several months with no success. The way the wound VAC works is that it is a sponge that is laid on top of the wound bed and then suction is applied to it to pull out drainage and promote healing of tissue. Because we knew the entire wound bed was thin, they placed a contact layer over the wound bed before applying the sponge so the suction would be less apt to create fistulas. Unfortunately, in this one small area the contact layer was not enough and a fistula has formed.
A enterocutaneous fistula is an opening between the intestine and the skin whereupon bowel contents leaks from the intestine out through this opening. So, when we removed the sponge on Wednesday, we were greeted by my bowel contents (i.e. crap) leaking out. As I said, this is a very small fistula which has not matured and really is not all that severe. The problem is that it is going to be difficult to get it to heal and not get any larger being that we have been trying to get this area to heal for months and that was without the additional complication of an actual fistula.
For right now, they are reinforcing the area with additional products and then have reapplied the VAC because the rest of the wound is looking really good. Like the nurse said, she would rather be dealing with a smaller hole, even if it is a more complicated hole. So, if we can get it to heal up a little more with the wound VAC and have a smaller surface area to treat, all the better.
What is frustrating to me is that I kind of feel like this is the beginning of a very long and trecherous road that I don't want to go down. I always feared that if I started developing fistulas that it was a sign that my body just couldn't keep up anymore. After having the problem with the fistula tracts a couple months ago that just came out of the middle of no where and then to have this happen, I don't know what to think. Is my body just wearing out?
The good news is that I feel like things are starting to come together in terms of having myself set in a financial sense. Now that I have been approved for disability, I have a little money coming in. My bankruptcy was filed last week and I anticipate that it will be discharged within the next couple weeks and then I will no longer be responsible for that debt. I ended up filing for $40,000 in medical debts. As much as I hate to think this way, if something were to happen to me, I am glad to say that my family would not be put in the horrible position of having to struggle to pay my debts or even having to deal with them. I have no debt beyond my student loans at this point and my life insurance would cover the cost of my last expenses. No matter how morbid it is, it is nice to know that you are set and your family will not have to carry the burden of your expense.
I am enjoying a quiet night at home tonight. I was going to go out to a movie this afternoon, but instead decided to get some chinese (I love subgum fried rice!!!) and rent a few movies. Right now, I am watching Capote. It's very interesting. I know very little about Capote and have never read "In Cold Blood" so I am intrigued by it. I am also working very diligently on my cross-stitch. I got the stuff back from Dimensions this week and they have sent me a new project to do for them. My problem right now is that they want me to fill out tax papers. I was under the impression that the money they sent you for doing the pre-production projects was a "gift" and so I have to find out how that is classified because I don't think I can earn any money without jeopardizing my SSDI. I only have 14 days to get the project done, so I am going to start on it tonight and if all else fails, I will just end up sending it back to them without completing it if they won't let me do it for free. I have to check with social security though because I just don't see how making approximately $100-150 a year from craft work should make a difference.
Anyway, I better get to it or I will be sitting here all night. I hope you all have a wonderful day!
Sally
As you know, I have been using the wound VAC on my abdominal wound for about 2 weeks now. Well, on Wednesday, we took off the VAC to find that I have developed a fistula in that area where the abdominal wall ruptured this winter. It isn't a large fistula, but it is a fistula, nonetheless. For those who are unfamiliar with fistulas, let me explain. I have an area of my abdominal wall in the wound bed that was thin due to a coughing spell when I was hospitalized for bronchitis this winter. We knew it was a thin area and the wound clinic has been trying to repair the area for several months with no success. The way the wound VAC works is that it is a sponge that is laid on top of the wound bed and then suction is applied to it to pull out drainage and promote healing of tissue. Because we knew the entire wound bed was thin, they placed a contact layer over the wound bed before applying the sponge so the suction would be less apt to create fistulas. Unfortunately, in this one small area the contact layer was not enough and a fistula has formed.
A enterocutaneous fistula is an opening between the intestine and the skin whereupon bowel contents leaks from the intestine out through this opening. So, when we removed the sponge on Wednesday, we were greeted by my bowel contents (i.e. crap) leaking out. As I said, this is a very small fistula which has not matured and really is not all that severe. The problem is that it is going to be difficult to get it to heal and not get any larger being that we have been trying to get this area to heal for months and that was without the additional complication of an actual fistula.
For right now, they are reinforcing the area with additional products and then have reapplied the VAC because the rest of the wound is looking really good. Like the nurse said, she would rather be dealing with a smaller hole, even if it is a more complicated hole. So, if we can get it to heal up a little more with the wound VAC and have a smaller surface area to treat, all the better.
What is frustrating to me is that I kind of feel like this is the beginning of a very long and trecherous road that I don't want to go down. I always feared that if I started developing fistulas that it was a sign that my body just couldn't keep up anymore. After having the problem with the fistula tracts a couple months ago that just came out of the middle of no where and then to have this happen, I don't know what to think. Is my body just wearing out?
The good news is that I feel like things are starting to come together in terms of having myself set in a financial sense. Now that I have been approved for disability, I have a little money coming in. My bankruptcy was filed last week and I anticipate that it will be discharged within the next couple weeks and then I will no longer be responsible for that debt. I ended up filing for $40,000 in medical debts. As much as I hate to think this way, if something were to happen to me, I am glad to say that my family would not be put in the horrible position of having to struggle to pay my debts or even having to deal with them. I have no debt beyond my student loans at this point and my life insurance would cover the cost of my last expenses. No matter how morbid it is, it is nice to know that you are set and your family will not have to carry the burden of your expense.
I am enjoying a quiet night at home tonight. I was going to go out to a movie this afternoon, but instead decided to get some chinese (I love subgum fried rice!!!) and rent a few movies. Right now, I am watching Capote. It's very interesting. I know very little about Capote and have never read "In Cold Blood" so I am intrigued by it. I am also working very diligently on my cross-stitch. I got the stuff back from Dimensions this week and they have sent me a new project to do for them. My problem right now is that they want me to fill out tax papers. I was under the impression that the money they sent you for doing the pre-production projects was a "gift" and so I have to find out how that is classified because I don't think I can earn any money without jeopardizing my SSDI. I only have 14 days to get the project done, so I am going to start on it tonight and if all else fails, I will just end up sending it back to them without completing it if they won't let me do it for free. I have to check with social security though because I just don't see how making approximately $100-150 a year from craft work should make a difference.
Anyway, I better get to it or I will be sitting here all night. I hope you all have a wonderful day!
Sally
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