Surviving to Living!

hello again all! well my total colectomy is in 2 days and dare i say... i am excited!!! iv been doing so much research on here and other places and have found some invaluable information from you all and you have been so supportive. i work in surgery and have seen most of what i will be going through in the operating room and in a way it adds a little comfort to the situation. i just titled this post after an epiphany i had about the whole situation. every single day i wake up, after a night of 3-4 bathroom trips and very little sleep with cramping and gas, and take a bunch of toxic medicine just to SURVIVE the day. to survive driving a mile down the road, or survive work, or survive eating dinner. i am a very overly optimistic person but it just dawned on me that this time spent with UC and or Chrones has left me a "survivor". i am at the mercy of a disease... being that im so optimistic when ppl ask me how im doing all i think about is, well when theres a bathroom around im doing ok i guess. i tell people im doing fine but mentally i know im still "surviving". i see this surgery as a chance to start LIVING!!! living for my family, living for my future wife, just plain ol LIVING!!! i want to enjoy the ride to church every sunday morning without wondering if i will survive to the next gas station or through the next stop light. enjoy long car rides, enjoy dinner without rushing to the toilet 10 times, enjoy being in wal mart (if thats possible lol) and looking in the part of the store thats farthest from the restroom, enjoy not having a clue where the bathroom is!!!! lol judging by you awesome folks on here and all your stories in which i see VERY little regrets, i feel that in 2 days i will be going through with a decision that i have prayed about, and have been prayed for about, for years now that God has seen fit to open the doors to that will allow me to LIVE and no longer just survive!!! sound about like how you guys felt???

Absolutely, this is how I felt (with quirks toward my own personality, spirituality etc). I'm pretty good at adapting and so I tried to appreciate what was good in my life, just losing touch with how small my life had become (work, collapse, find bathrooms....).

I feel like the minute I decided on surgery, my life started getting bigger. It's just amazing....

Really, you sound so ready. Keep us posted on how it goes. I'll be thinking of you.

You have a great attitude about this that will make things so much easier on you! Remember it will be hard at first, don't get frustrated with the recovery process, keep your great attitude! I cried when I stopped at McDonald's on the way home from surgery and got some fries and wasn't worried about eating them in the car,lol. Keep remembering the little things that you are grateful for!
Good luck

Your post is so reminiscient of how my husband's life was before the surgery too and so many others.

Best of luck to you in your recuperation. No doubt you will find you need some advice even with the professional help you will get. So ask away.

Remember to wear your normal type pants to your stoma appt for when they mark the location for the surgeon.

That's awesome that you "get it" even before having surgery!!!

Some before and after surgery tips...
* ask your surgeon if you can have a pain pump after surgery (it will be your best friend!)
* use a pillow to press against your stomach where the incision is when you get in and out of bed
* hydrogen peroxide is a good odor eliminator in the pouch
* walk as much as you can after surgery to wake up your intestines
* bring a suitcase with robe, slippers, toiletries, cell phone, laptop, books/magazines, and Gas-X

That's all I can think of right now. Praying that everything goes perfectly on Wednesday!

Cecilia

When my husband woke up from surgery the next day his back was very itchy...I had to run out to the dollar store and fortunately they had a backscratcher...that was a lifesaver..lol.

Also if you have a cell phone or anything important to you, make sure there is a label on it with your name and room # if it gets misplaced, falls out of your bed and picked up etc.

I brought several pillows for the drive back home as it was almost a 3 hr drive for me..he had pillows to position himself and support himself more comfortably in the seat and a small soft one to put in between the seat belt.

Also blistex cream for his lips kept them supple and not dry and cracked.