| 1 February |
As Seen On Facebook |
If you’re friended with me on Facebook then you can ignore this posting. It’s just a copy/paste of what I wrote there. Or you can ignore the Facebook posting if you’re reading it here for the first time.
The Grand Saga of the Hernia: The Beginning of the End
I saw the surgeon today (so wanted to type sturgeon). I extolled him with the hernia saga. He made all the appropriate noises of appalled surprise, sympathy and such. He’s an older man, though that shouldn’t make any difference. But right now older means more experienced instead of stodgy and not up to date.
The hernia is between 3 and 4 inches wide with a large “bag” of bowl protruding through. He pushed the gut back in so that he could get a feel of the orifice itself. My body reacted negatively to that influx of material back inside the abdominal cavity. It took both his hands to hold the bowel back. Yeah, that’s how large the hernia is. Anyway, the result was that my back was in pain from the renewed pressure of the gut being back inside. That’s going to be one of the issues I’ll have to deal with after surgery. My body is used to the way things are and will take time to adjust. Considering my psyche, that doesn’t surprise me a whole lot.
The surgery won’t involve any mesh to hold things together. If the mesh were to cause in infection it would have to be removed and there would be less muscle (or weakened muscle) to tie together. So it will be me stitched together that will hold things in. This will create a lot of pressure in the abdominal wall pressing against everything, including the new repair. So, it’s a minimum of 4 weeks off work with 2 or more weeks of amended work (if I were doing any heavy lifting). So for that time I couldn’t pack up rooms, lift boxes about or help the cook when groceries are delivered.
I made sure task who would be doing the surgery. I know that RUH is a teaching hospital and that surgeons get their experience from somewhere. I also wanted to know what portions of an operation are meted out to residents and student physicians to give them that experience. He said that he does the surgery himself and is assisted by a resident. So, I know to to directly blame if things go wrong. And yes, I said it that way to him. He appeared neither offended nor surprised at my statement.
If I chose to not have the repair done it would continue to widen and more bowel would protrude. That would be undesirable. Exercise makes the hernia widen, so that’s not in the books for now either. I said that surgery time of October would work for me. I should ave at least 3 weeks of holiday time accrued. The director should be back from Disney World by then. Any move we’ll be making to a new residence will be complete and the yard will be readied for winter. I could have it done much sooner, but that doesn’t work for me, the family or for work.
This will be the 6th abdominal surgery in my lifetime, a full half for repairing hernias.
So there you have it. The surgeon *appears* to know what he’s doing. Then again, so did the last one. Though a hernia belt would do me no good, The Arrogant Worms address the situation appropriately:
Hernia Belt
Recorded by: Arrogant Worms
Written by: Arrogant Worms
Source: http://www.arrogantworms.com/music/hernia-belt/ (you can also hear the song there)
One day I sang an aria
That caused a hernia
it was a massive bulge
to the doctor I divulged
that I still had to play
though it caused me massive pain
I wont throw in the towel
just please hold in my bowels
I love my hernia belt
I love my hernia belt
it’ll keep my guts inside me
til the end of the show
I’ve got a little friend down there (not that one)
a different little friend down there
a better one you can’t find
to hold in your intestines
a high fashion wrap
that hits beneath the belt
I don’t cause a fuss
in velcro I do trust
I love my hernia belt
I love my hernia belt
it’ll keep my guts inside me until
I have my surgery
what are they gonna shave
what are they gonna save
when they fix my hernia
hope the doctor doesn’t slip
when he cuts into my skin
I just want to piss in one direction!
now I love my hernia repair
I love my hernia repair
it’ll keep my guts inside me for the rest of my life
