2015...A better year, right??

January 8th. I see Dr. Rasmussen for my follow up since my office visit with Dr. Smith. We are going to make a decision on what will need to be done. I am so not happy about how things have progressed and that it seems like 2015 will be another year filled with medical bills and no sign of a vacation. I would love to just sit on a beach and not in the ER or the surgery waiting area or on the 6th floor of the hospital!!

Dr. Rasmussen catches up to speed with everything that has happened in the last 3 weeks. He goes over what was done in the ER as well as the Ultrasound results to follow up with the liver pain. He says that all the ducts look normal and there are no obstructions or blood clots. He thinks it could have just been a fluke thing that happened. All the lab results are normal too. One good piece of news!

We decide to proceed with the plan that we have put off for so long. Surgery. Blah. Whether that will be open or laparoscopic will be decided on the day of surgery. He really doesn't want to do an open surgery because that will only cause more scar tissue to form. He will attempt to do it laparoscopically and if he finds a reason to do it open, then he will switch to this. The plan for now is basically to do an exploratory surgery to clean up scar tissue/adhesions and to release the small intestine that is attached to the abdominal wall. There is a high probability that this piece of intestine will still have a hole in it from the feeding tube so he may have to patch that to prevent any leakage. He also agrees that he won't do any form of surgery until I gain at least 15 pounds. I try to keep a sense of humor about this part. I tell everyone that asks why I have a feeding tube in that I am just being fattened up to prepare for slaughter day. Basically how I feel. Can you tell I am not very happy about being forced to gain weight?

Dr. Rasmussen says to call him as soon as I gain the 15 pounds and we will schedule the surgery. I am hoping for February sometime. The weight is climbing but not as fast as I would like. I make a valiant effort everyday to eat something every single hour. I have avoided water the last 2 weeks because I feel like I cant tolerate liquid and food together. And food at this point will give me the calories needed for weight gain so water goes out the window. I just add extra water to my nightly tube feeds so I am still getting it, just in different form.

So now the plan is waiting. Again. I am just focusing on putting on the weight and then we will schedule surgery. I pray with every fiber of my being that this will be the end!