guess what happened to me since that last post 3 weeks ago!!!!

OMG! Thats all I can say. I wish and pray for your speedy recovery. Your a trooper to just have the spirits to share this with us. Truely amazing.

well, looking back, i would have had the surgery like we planned just a few days before this all happened. then it would have been key hole surgery and much more calm and, shall i say, nice?
rather than crazy emergency life saving surgery. the crash was just nuts. i can remember the whole thing too.
the thing that bothered me the most is that i felt embarrassed about crapping in the hospital bed. well, it was hemorrhaging and blood clots, but still. i must've turned beet red! LOL.
i woke up with tubes coming out of me all over the place. a big drainage tube in my side. and a cannula in my neck that had 4 lines coming out. a big long ric line in my arm that felt weird when they pulled it out cuz it was long. same with the drainage tube. when they pulled that out there was like a foot and a half inside of me. crazy.
i've had UC since 2003 or a little before that. that is when i was diagnosed. i usually flare up twice a year or once a year but it's a long one. my flares are always bad and bloody and there is always lots of pain. never a pleasant thing for me. i have had so many iron and blood transfusions its ridiculous. hopefully none of that ever again! woohoo!
the virus probably didn't help matters, but i just got the discharge summary yesterday and it says they found pre-displaysia all over my colon which is pre-cancer cells. so my hunk o'junk colon was bound to come out soon anyway.

i get better every day.
but at the moment i am in lots more pain. the vac machine they have on my abdomen wound has now healed it so much that the granulation of the skin growing back together is starting to grow nerves. nerves = feeling = pain = OMG OMG OMG!!! seriously hurts and the pain killers are not helping so much. at least my dr appt is friday and they might take it off and let the rest heal naturally with a regular wound dressing.
the vac machine may be a massive pain the arse but i gotta grin and bear it as my open belly wound has healed in a matter of a couple of weeks rather than taking a couple of months to heal naturally. it is a blessing in disguise i guess. every nurse and doctor that sees it on me says i am lucky to have that as they are revolutionary and amazing for what they do to open wounds and scars. ok, cool then i guess.

one thing i need to do is probably stop reading everything on the net. i am starting to freak out about the j-pouch surgery. but then i have to tell myself, usually people get online and write about bad experiences and those who had a good experience are too busy living life to write about it. i was like that on this UC forum too. only on here when im sick and miserable. when i am in remission, i disappear. not nice, but too true.

it's quite weird to have a bag, but im not as bothered by it as i thought i would be. its not that bad when im at home. but it definitely changes the kind of outfits you can wear. but im still early days yet.

well, sorry for writing a novel....

kazygirl, that is insane! ((((hugs)))) But I'm glad you no longer have that awful colon. Keep us updated.

Krazygirl-you can go back to your regular clothes once your wounds have all healed and you aren't as tender. The only thing I changed about clothing is that I put stuff in my left pocket instead of my right! I still have clothes from 15 years ago that I wear! My clothes all come from gap, or old navy or kohls. Just normal stuff, don't worry about that part!

What an ordeal! So thankful you received good care (post ambulance, anyways) and are on the road to recovery! I agree with everyone else, what a story! I will have to read it to DH when he gets home tonight.

i'm in australia, but i am glad you mentioned that because i totally forgot to call the ambulance people over here to complain about that. and i didn't get a 'bathroom' in the woods except to kind of lean on the foot step up into the ambulance and squat over the wet grass. gross!
and only one tiny tissue. BLASPHEMY! to a UC'er. we need a whole darn role thanks!

@bostwis1 - where do you get these ostomy secret wraps??? that sounds interesting. how does your bag fill up if it is bound tightly to you? doesn't the poop just stay stuck around the stoma? or does it all just miraculously work ok?

i went to that ostomy secrets site and they are sold out of the lacy one that i want.
how are the other ones?
are they comfortable? i am leaning towards a wrap for under my clothes.
due to the surgery, my belly / abdomen is still pretty distended and the bag sticks out quite far. yuck!
not sure when that will go away. any idea?

not too sure about the huge high waisted undies. i like my pants and undies to sit quite low.
plus, im kinda getting used to the commando thing since the surgery. (not something you can do with the severe UC i used to have!!!)

is it uncomfortable to wear a wrap?

Holy cow. That is crazy!!! I am so glad you are okay though. And yeah, I bet it was awesome to throw away all those meds... :)

so glad you are doing well now!! OMFG!

A lot of us use tube tops or belly bands instead of the wrap made just for ostomies. I just go to the maternity store and buy the belly support thing, costs like 12 or 15 dollars, and works great!