On Sunday March 20 (while working the J/22 Midwinter Championship in Houston, Texas), I woke up at 0400 with cramps in my stomach that came in waves about every 4 minutes. I struggled through the next 36 hours until I had to admit something was wrong.
Urgent Care leads to hospital. Hospital does CT of abdomen which reveals tumor in small intestine which created blockage and the pain. I was then admitted into hospital and spent the next 4 days doing tests and discussing bowl resection. In the end of 4 days, the general feeling was that there was too much inflammation to do surgery at that time, so they let me go with idea we would revisit surgery in 14 days.
Fast forward 65 days, I have seen gastrologist, oncologist, 4 GI surgeons and 1 liver surgeon from two different hospital systems. I have had a colonoscopy, CT, PET Scan and MRI and we now have surgery scheduled for Wednesday, May 25.
Since the first problem, I have had limited diet and limited pain. The most important thing is that I have been able to manage the medical maze long enough to attend my daughter’s wedding on May 21. She said it was the best day of her life and I must agree, it was very special!
Julie will use this blog to post updates about surgery and recovery. When possible, I will try to give you an update myself.