My 2nd medical miracle and a “Thank You”

My 2nd medical miracle and a “Thank You”

As mentioned in my “medical advice needed thread” I am quite a unique custom case and tried to become knowledgeable about my condition and possible procedures that could work in my case scenario. In the thread members gave me the necessary links which helped to educate myself. I could sense the respect by the professionals due to my newly acquired knowledge.

Now to the unsung miracle workers: The Mokwena firm let by Professor Mokwena and his team Dr. Pretorius, Dr. Holst and Sister Mapule Atong from SOPD in the Steve Biko Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa. This team proved that we still have some of the best surgeon’s in the world. Unfortunately very few of these professionals will be recognized outside this thread for their brilliance. It’s been a while since I’ve been proud and fortunate of being a South African.

The single operation was done in 3 parts with Professor Mokwena doing the Diaphragm/Stomach section, Drs Pretorius and Holst the Colon and lower abdominal Hernias respectively. I had to mention Sister Mapule Atong from SOPD because with her organisational skills she is the companionate darling that miss nothing.

I’m not out of the woods yet but am recovering above expectation. Was able to walk unaided from hospital after 5 days, and all normal bodily functions were in play by day 9.

The main reason for posting the thread is to give recognition for the exceptional quality of surgeons but I also have to mention the Steve Biko Hospital. It is a very large hospital with many procedures and “red tape” that can be very frustrating, time consuming and a bad apple or two. However, even with these frustrations they deserve credit because not many people will be as fortunate as I am. Show me the private hospital or Doctor where you will get this total package in South Africa.

Thanx

Lastly: To the members that do not appreciate my type of threads – Sorry, but I’m still around – ha ha

I'm so glad you're on the mend! I'll have to read your past threads to familiarize myself with what you've been dealing with, but it sounds major.

I can attest to the importance of really vetting your surgeons! My brother-in-law had a grapefruit sized brain tumor last year. It was an emergency situation when we found out about it, so we didn't have time to do anything but trust the local surgeons on hand. They barely removed any of the tumor; the opened up his head, took a look and said, "Nah. No hope here." After that we did some research and found a neurosurgeon who operates on "inoperable" brain tumors. His statistics were ridiculously good- he was even featured on some national news broadcasts and print media. Anyway, he operated and got the ENTIRE damn tumor out. When we saw my brother-in-law right after that badass craniotomy, his eyes looked normal again and he was closer to his old self.

He didn't end up making it, but it wasn't because of the surgeon who removed the entire tumor. It was due to the FIRST surgeons who didn't act quickly enough.

I'm so glad you found a great team of doctors and medical professionals. I now know it's SO incredibly important to get to know your surgeon's history/statistics, their approach, and their thoughts on after-care. And we noticed that you could even tell a lot about the surgeon before you even met him, by observing the quality of his staff and team.

Keep that faith in healing, and keep taking good care of yourself!!

a reply to: KansasGirl

Thanx

a reply to: ICycle2

Glad to hear that you are recovering above expectations!

What great positive news! So happy for you!

a reply to: ICycle2

So cool.

And it's pretty kind of you to include their name and publicly thank them.

Pretty awesome.

I so hope things will continue to go well for you! I'm proud of your success.

a update to: ICycle2

I’m writing this up-date as it hopefully could help other members or people doing research. I’m however not making a new thread as I feel members heard enough of my situation by now and know others without medical problems are irritated by it.

So I am 4 weeks down the road and things are looking good. I’m now only monitoring my lower abdominal section, as this was a new concerned area caused by my first operation in February 2017, which was quite a mess when they opened up. It still has it’s up and down days but hopefully will be something of the past soon – the signs are there.

Things I did to help my recovery was based on the Rush University Medical Center’s “Instructions After Abdominal Surgery pdf” document found on the net.

The following things what I did are not necessary correct and more a learning curve to adapt starting with my main concern around the piece of stomach that also had to be removed.

Day 7-8 – stayed on a smooth to semi smooth diet but did introduce a low volume (teaspoon) of “Normacol” a mild anti-constipation agent.

Day 8 – unfortunately I had to drive myself. The drive with pillows was uncomfortable and shaky but had to be done as my arranged transport had a problem. I did however make a pit-stop at a friend to cut the stress/pain of the trip.

Day 9 – my stomach worked (Normacol and/or shaking).

Day 11 – open the wound dressing to clean and dressed with Vaseline to help with dryness and sensitivity.

Day12 – stitches were removed. I was able to drive myself and walk upright by now and started too scaled down my pain medication. (be careful as pain can have a very negative effect mentally that could affect healing)

Day 21 – abandoned pain medication. It was not always easy but showed me the true state of my condition without being subdued. I was able to work out a beneficial diet as my body quickly told me how and what not to eat. I feel this was an important move because with my 3 in 1 Op I did need to determine the conditions of the different areas. Struggle to walk upright again but accepted it for what I was trying to achieve.

Day 26 – temporary waking up without feeling discomfort or pain for the first time in many years. I stayed with the Vaseline for sensitivity of the wound when needed (this is not a replacement for vitamin E).

Day 27 – My stomach begins to tolerate coffee

Things I find that works for me:

Honey and Cinnamon mix – 2x/day
Lots of cold water (small amounts at a time)
Toasted cheese (mild) and tomato sandwiches (this really worked well for me)
Mash potatoes with fish or chicken (small pieces in a mild matching gravy)
Plain brown bread toast with Sardines (I like the smoked ones)
Plain brown bread toast with scrabbled eggs
Plain brown bread toast with peanut butter
Plain brown bread toast with liver spread
Pro-Nutro (Fortified cereal) with milk or cold water without sugar
Bananas
Pure fruit juices (I did not try pineapple or any strong juice that could possibly irritate my stomach)
Yogurt (small amounts at a time only)
Eating 5-6 times a day but small portions

Things that did not work for me up to now:

My beloved strong coffee and/or tea for that matter
Spices
Onions
Condiments (most of them)
Red meat
To big pieces of anything
Staying on my own (making mashed potatoes took a lot out of me). The main thing is that I cannot stand or sit upright for long periods at a time yet.
Acrobatic sex (not on – rather be spoiled) – sorry but my humour is coming back
Idleness as my red ant genes want to get busy

Hopefully my stomach will stabilize as I want to have a braai (BBQ) at the end of week 6 and have a beer. Will however listen to the body

Footnote:

And I thought I was not overweight. My skin started making, these funny wrinkles as I started loosing weight/fat but I actually like this slimmed down body. My blood pressure problems also seem to be something of the past