Hi Meghan,

my name is Tim, and I am an Ostomate with no regrets. I had lapro. surgery in
1/2008, my hospital stay was 10 days. They sent me home and for one month I had
an in home nurse. My surgery lasted for 10 hours they accidentally lacerated my
bladder. Recovery for me was quite lengthily. Nuff said about me.

I live in southern California, If you live locally I would be glade to assist
you in any way please don't hesitate to ask.

Good Luck! 




________________________________
From: Meghan <wymom94@...>
To: peopleswithostomy2@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 7:29:00 PM
Subject: [peoples with ostomy2] upcoming surgery -advice for spouse

 
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







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