Hi, I joined this group a short while ago, but guess I didn't introduce myself.
I'm Meghan, wife to a soon-to-be ostomate. My husband, Russ is 38 & has had a
j-pouch for 13 yrs now, had colon cancer shortly before he turned 25, when we
were young-marrieds. His j-pouch worked well enough for a while, but has given
him a LOT of grief the past 2 yrs & is now 'shot'; also pre-cancerous growths
are 'ringing' the bit of rectum they left in him. He's scheduled to go in for
his ileostomy in early October & he's looking forward to it as well as being
worried. He's tired of the pain & problems w/ his pouch & feels he will get
real relief w/ an ostomy instead. I am hoping & praying that he does. He is
expecting recovery to be pretty smooth & hopes to be off-work only 2 weeks (or
telecommute after 2 weeks). Is this reasonable? I worry that it isn't. His
surgeon hopes to do cut out his j-pouch & resect a new segment from the ileum
via laprascopy, but if she has to, she will cut the bottom portion of his
original incision open to do this. She told him he'll be inpatient 5-7 days
-the hospital is about 2 hrs from our home. Our son is having reconstructive
bone surgery on one foot & ankle 8&1/2 weeks after my husband's ileostomy
surgery & his hospital is also about 2 hrs from our home, but not the same
hospital (our son's is a children's hospital). I was worried about how well
recovered my husband would be by the time our son's surgery comes, but my
husband is confidant he will be 100% by then. I am not physically able to
manage our son's care on my own. I'd love to hear from others who have gone
through the ostomy surgery and can give advice on what to expect, how to plan,
and how I can best help. I plan to stay at the hospital w/ my husband as close
to 24/7 as I can. I did the same when he had his j-pouch surgery yrs ago (that
was a one-step.. he has never had an ostomy, not even temporarily). We both
plan to stay w/ our son when he is in the hospital after my husband. Sorry this
was so long.
-Meghan