Time For A Celebration!

Time For A Celebration! We have celebrated my 1 Year anniversary after having had my 2 handed lap assisted Sigmoidectomy with full mobilization of the splenic flexure (AKA Sigmoid Colon removed). Which turned out not to laparoscopic...lol and then I had an Anastomotic leak and infection. Yes, I am pretty much the patient that gives a doctor nightmares...lol.

 

These are made with Better Batter's Yellow Cake mix and just some icing I made with corn free powdered sugar & soy milk. YUM!

For those that know my story you can stop here at the cupcakes, grab one and enjoy! They are gluten free, corn free and dairy free too!! (with the exception of the chocolate heart on top). If you don't know my story read on below to learn more.
Hugs,
Moe

For those that don't know me, Jan 23, 2014 was a year since I had my surgery, a foot of sigmoid colon removed, I had done well got out in 3 1/2 days, then spiked a fever on day number 6 and ended up back in the hospital for 9 days due to a leak at my anastimosis. My recovery lasted from January until about the end of March before I could do much of anything at all (surgeon told me first of summer I would be up and running). I think I did well and had a GREAT surgeon and infectious disease doctor so that helped a ton! Having the Lord on my side was a major factor too :) So things have been going well in the year since surgery, I will tell folks that I still have weird sensations down by my large incision, sometimes it feels hot, cold, wet etc (even though it is not), I figure it's nerves healing, I have been told it can take more than a year for that to straighten out. I still feel slightly bruised when leaning into things, such as being short and having to reach into the bottom of the washing machine to get clothes out, once in a while I have a sort of stitch pain (like when you run too fast for too long you get that stitch in your side) on the left side behind my ribs, I think that is from the splenic flexure that I had done. Surgeon told me that they really moved stuff around in there...lol...YEAH! I could sure tell that. I guess after they cut out your bad colon, they have to carefully move it down and re-route it sometimes so that there is enough length to reattach you. YES!! I would have the surgery done again EVEN with everything I went though!! I will say the surgery was almost more emotionally hard than physically hard (even with the leak and infection). After the years of suffering, life is good! I've not had any of those weirdo slight fever/chills illnesses I would get every 6 weeks or so, in a full year. I would pick the same doctors too! Search out a GREAT colorectal surgeon, not a general surgeon and not a gastric surgeon, but a colorectal one if you need this type of surgery. It is so key to have a surgeon that has done many of these and is competent. 
Hugs,
Moe

Surgery Anniversary Date! WOW!! And Some Updates

WOW!! Surgery Anniversary Date! It has been a year ago today that I had my surgery and I feel amazing! I still have some weirdo ache in my side, but I think I can live with that! Feeling totally blessed by all those that prayed for me and took care of me in my time of need. You are all so AWESOME! Keep praying 1 Corinthians 3:6  "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." Because I passed out a lot of Bible tracts and has some opportunities to share the love of Jesus Christ, those opportunities will need to be watered and God can give the increase through prayer! James 5:16b "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." What an awesome thing it would be to know one day that YOU were the prayer warrior that allowed Salvation to happen for one of these dear people!

My hubby asked me last month "Was your surgery last year or the year before?" LOL...I think that it really took it's tole on him emotionally and it's just now catching up to him. He is the kind of guy that just plows through everything when it is going on, acts like nothing is wrong and then later it hits him like a ton of bricks. I think God made men to be somewhat like that, so that they can carry on when times get tough. So prayers for him would be appreciated.

Bio-Chem lesson

Some updates for you, our school year is going amazing for the second semester, first semester always seems a bit off, but we go like crazy in the winter time! I must say that I am all for buying
pre-made science kits, save some $ for these at convention to save on shipping, so worth it in the end. We have done EVERY experiment so far and a few extras! YOWZA that is a real accomplishment for this homeschool science phobic Momma!

I learned to make a high school transcript this year, since I had to turn one into the college. I am so thankful for the records that I have kept.

The medical school program for the homeschooled young man is going very well, he is learning so much and having such fun! The program is really run well. He was so sweet at the last meeting, he had gotten ink pens that look like medical syringes and some intestinal shaped bubble gum in his Christmas stocking this year, he took some with him and shared with the other kids in the program. They loved it! He also went to the medical school library and bought some used textbooks. So he is stocked up on summer reading.

Still working on getting the house de-cluttered of papers and such that somehow accumulated over the past year. It's coming together, though slowly.

I've got 25# to lose by my doctors appointment in July...lol. And I've gained some during my laying around recovering for 3 months time period that I have yet to lose. So as you will see in another post I am working on that goal. My doctor says he will high-five me in the office if I lose 25#...LOL...if you only knew this doctor, he is so laid back, he ranks right up there with my husbands family, so it will be a real treat to witness this! Got to love a doctor who gives a challenge and a reward for completing the challenge  ;-)  The homeschooled young man has said he wants to come to the appointment just to witness such act!  LOL!!

Take care,

Top 5 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2013...Looking back

This really surprised me on a few of the choices. The most popular blog post was My Favorite Gluten Free Recipes from 2012. This was a listing of all my favorite recipes from 2012.

So here are the top 5 most popular blog posts from 2013.
#1 My Favorite Gluten Free Recipes from 2012.
#2 http://adoptivemomhomeschoolinganonlychild.blogspot.com/2013/02/we-had-seen-apologia-educational.html (link got weird on me, this was the Homeschool Science Book Review...still thinking that this science book is AWESOME in 2014!
#3 I Can __________ In 2013! I think I need to read this one again myself!
#4 TeenCoder C# Series Computer Programming This was a really cool blog post and we still love playing with this program.
#5 Are You Good Mom?

Numbers 4 and 5 tied with the exact same number of readers.

I really want to take time now to thank each and every one of you that takes time out of your busy life to check out my blog. Thank you for all your prayers and for hanging with me when I was having my 2 hand assisted Sigmoidectomy (Sigmoid Colon removed) and then when I had my Anastomotic Leak and infection. I know it was the Lord and you all got me through that time in my life. James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Praise the Lord!

You then all stuck with me through my Mayo Clinic visits and you all saw how the Lord worked through all that. You also were with me when I passed out goodie bags to my doctors, nurses & CNA/Techs that took care of me. That was such a blessing for me to be able to do and I pray that it blessed all those that received the treats.

The Lord used this entire ordeal for His glory and honor. And I am so thankful that I was able to share my testimony with my surgeon and had opportunities to share the love of Jesus Christ with others in the medical field. 1 Corinthians 3:6 "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase."

What a year and what a blessed time came of it!

REST, REST & MORE REST

I've been gone for a bit, resting. It's amazing just how tired you can be after having a colon resection or the medical term Hand-assisted laparoscopic sigmoidectomy. Only mine was not exactly laparoscopic, I've got a nice sized scar that is healing well and 2 scope holes.

My son now wants to be a Colorectal Surgeon. LOL...had we known that sooner, we might have saved more for college...LOL. He has learned so much through this and taught himself a lot. He has been looking stuff up on the Internet, in books and reading through my medical records. He found that our health care provider has a way to read records online, so he even looked up the summary of my surgery. He was going crazy looking up the different medical terms, then telling me what they did to me in surgery. Thank the Lord that this all went on AFTER surgery, cuz I would have freaked if it had been told me to BEFORE surgery. There are just some things left better unsaid ya know?

March is  National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, So Get Your Butt In Here!

In honor of this being National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, I have put a really cool video on my blog  Tim Hawkins-Colonoscopy song it's very entertaining! lol.

I shall be going back to resting, as the doctor told me I would be like a newborn baby, I would come home from the surgery and eat, sleep and poop......lol. That is pretty much what I have been doing. If I try to do too much I end up feeling like I'm going to pass out, I nap for awhile and end up feeling better. Saturday was 2 months since my surgery and it is still hard to think about how tired I am. I feel really well, but the fatigue is no fun at all.

If all had gone fine, I would be up and running this past Saturday: two months post op. I was suppose to be in the hospital 4-6 days and my wonderful surgeon was pretty sure that I would come home with a temporary colostomy or appliance, not a 'bag' that is not politically correct, it's called an appliance. But praise the Lord he was able to put me back together. I did so well after the surgery that I got to go home in 4 days.

So with my Anastomotic Leak, I shall spare you the details as to what that is, you can Google that if you would like  :O)  I ended up spending an additional 9 days in the hospital on IV antibiotics and then came home on the IV antibiotics.  

I've finally gotten rid of the guilty feeling I had from just laying around, puttering around the house and needing to nap on and off throughout the day..."Yes, I know exactly what you told me doctor, but I did not want to believe you!! It's those other people that you operate on that need all that extra rest, not me!" Boy was I wrong! And my family can see if I rest I feel better.

Saturday I took my last pain pill (I hope!), long car rides seem to really make it all flare up again and I still feel like someone has kicked me on my left side by my ribs. I have no idea what they did in there but it kills me sometimes if I bend, stretch, breathe too deeply etc. I should be up and going by the start of summer. I am hoping to soon be able to stop rotating between the 3 pairs of sweatpants that I own, nothing else fits. Well I have squeezed myself into a skirt for church, but thankfully I only have to stuff myself in to that for a short time each week. I've never been thin, but I must laugh at myself when I close the refrigerator door on my stomach or smack my stomach on a kitchen chair, as an adoptive mom I can only guess this is what it's like to have a preggo belly? I can finally reach the kitchen sink faucet handles, had to press my stomach into the kitchen sink to reach them and that really hurt, so I did not do dishes for a time.

 I've had some wonderful opportunities to share the love of Christ with many in the medical community. I was able to give out 2 Gospels of John books and several Bible tracts in different languages to the doctors that took AWESOME care of me! I have to giggle about the infectious disease control doctor (he brightened my days with his sense of humor, he is a very charming older gentlemen), he commented in his notes that we homeschool and that my son is up to date on his vaccines...LOL. That was funny to read, I wonder, if we utilized the public school system if that would be documented? LOL.

Would I have the surgery all over again, even with the complications? YES!  I am totally serious in saying this. Everyone I talked to that has had the surgery, had some sort of a complication, so I am not alone. Intestines DO NOT LIKE TO BE MESSED WITH! And I feel better, well I am sore and post-surgical stuff like that, but I don't feel that draggy sickness that I had before. Which the surgeon described perfectly in saying that I felt like I was run down from the flu all the time. A chronic smoldering infection will do that to you.

Thanks for hanging with me through the bumps in life.
Hugs,
Moe
Click here to learn more What you should know about diverticulitis.

I'd like to welcome Heather to my blog.

Nice to see you on here Heather!!
I'm working on getting better   :O)     
Doctors say they want to keep me comfortable for about 6-8 weeks and get me healed up so that they can run some tests on me. They say it's far too dangerous to do any scopes on me right now. So all they can go by are CT Scans and MRI. So I am trusting my Lord, holding my dh and ds tightly and enjoying the ride!
Take care,
Moe