We arrived back in the UK - 1am on Sunday morning.
So relieved to be home and amazing to see Claudia and the boys after the week's separation. Max asked, somewhat bewildered "are you going to be my daddy again? - forever??"
Our wonderful family, friends and church have been taking care of our needs - childcare, food etc
My GP is happy with how the scar is healing, but I've got to take things at the right pace. The operation was 2 weeks ago tonight..
Tuesday 26 October 2010
Thursday 21 October 2010
Out of hospital - Convalescing in Palma
My staples are out (no more pictures..) and I'm hanging out by the pool at my relative Rosemary's apartment.
Mum is also here!! She flew out yesterday morning to nurse me back to health and accompany me home. What a total heroine.
She's great company.
The view from here is amazing. A panoramic sea view that changes throughout the day. A huge change from the 4 walls of the ward.
Just a bit paranoid about what I eat. What took me back to hospital was an Ileus Paralyticus.
My guts, already stunned by the operation, became inactive again because - I think - of what I was eating when i was first at Rosemary's. Apricots could have been the culprit. Time, painkillers and lots of fluids sorted me out in hospital so no new surgery will be necessary, which is good news.
Back to bread and water now
Mum is also here!! She flew out yesterday morning to nurse me back to health and accompany me home. What a total heroine.
She's great company.
The view from here is amazing. A panoramic sea view that changes throughout the day. A huge change from the 4 walls of the ward.
Just a bit paranoid about what I eat. What took me back to hospital was an Ileus Paralyticus.
My guts, already stunned by the operation, became inactive again because - I think - of what I was eating when i was first at Rosemary's. Apricots could have been the culprit. Time, painkillers and lots of fluids sorted me out in hospital so no new surgery will be necessary, which is good news.
Back to bread and water now
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Scars - oo-aaar!
My stomach has a new scar. The old one 5cm long was subtle enough to hide in the ample tufts of my belly hair un-noticed - mmm.
This new one may need a brass band or a troop of cheerleaders to provide distraction from it! Re-using the old cut, the surgeons ended up extending it to 12cm. This was necessary because 2 additional adhesions were found spaced out along the bowel that needed removing.
The incredi-wound is currently stapled together, resembling the rim of a cornish pasty (from a side view) or a worm that's not about to get very far...
The squeamish should look away
.jpg)
Don't say i didn't warn you :-)
This new one may need a brass band or a troop of cheerleaders to provide distraction from it! Re-using the old cut, the surgeons ended up extending it to 12cm. This was necessary because 2 additional adhesions were found spaced out along the bowel that needed removing.
The incredi-wound is currently stapled together, resembling the rim of a cornish pasty (from a side view) or a worm that's not about to get very far...
The squeamish should look away
.jpg)
Don't say i didn't warn you :-)
My Bowels...
Hardly a topic for polite company, i know, but a friend asked me what the new blog would be called. I think cyberspace will be spared this, but the last 10 days have been a masterclass in what my bowels will do, won't do, feel like when twisted, squeezed, bloated - you name it. Apparently they respond like earthworms when you touch them..
Its very strange being this far from family and friends, marking the time and hoping/praying that things improve from here. The disappointment of having our big family holiday nipped in the bud is enormous. Claudia was brilliant AGAIN (including our friends - the Lines - who were with us at the time) at looking after the boys and visiting me. But when you're not complete as a family, being on holiday becomes more like being at home - but somewhere where there aren't enough toys/familiar distractions and the frustration of what might have been.
As Claudia has written (thanks love) i am back in hospital for a couple of days for observation. No eating / no drinking. My bowels need to spring back into action, or else there may concerns of yet more adhesions and another operation might be necessary.
In the meantime, my relative Rosemary who lives in Mallorca's capital Palma, has supplied me with a laptop, so i can update the blog.
So you see, i'm not completely on my own, the quality of care here is excellent despite the language barrier and i feel yet again lifted up (its feels strange but tangible) on a wave of prayer, breaking in from all over the world.
Its very strange being this far from family and friends, marking the time and hoping/praying that things improve from here. The disappointment of having our big family holiday nipped in the bud is enormous. Claudia was brilliant AGAIN (including our friends - the Lines - who were with us at the time) at looking after the boys and visiting me. But when you're not complete as a family, being on holiday becomes more like being at home - but somewhere where there aren't enough toys/familiar distractions and the frustration of what might have been.
As Claudia has written (thanks love) i am back in hospital for a couple of days for observation. No eating / no drinking. My bowels need to spring back into action, or else there may concerns of yet more adhesions and another operation might be necessary.
In the meantime, my relative Rosemary who lives in Mallorca's capital Palma, has supplied me with a laptop, so i can update the blog.
So you see, i'm not completely on my own, the quality of care here is excellent despite the language barrier and i feel yet again lifted up (its feels strange but tangible) on a wave of prayer, breaking in from all over the world.
Monday 18 October 2010
Surgery on holiday
This is Claudia writing. Thought it might help to do blog entry to keep people informed about the latest events.
We have just been on holiday to Mallorca. The first week was really great.
Sadly though, Pete became ill in the second week with abdominal pain and vomiting. The long and short of it is, that he required emergency surgery on Tuesday evening in a mallorquine hospital for small bowel obstruction. The surgeon told us that they had found the bowel twisted but also strangulated by some tight scar tissue, which stems from the previous surgery he underwent last year. Thankfully the bowel hadn't suffered any lasting damage and with the scar tissue cut through, it seemed everything would heal well.
I returned to the UK with the boys 2 days ago, as planned, but since Pete was still quite weak, we decided he should convalesce on the island. Rosemary, a "step aunt" living in Palma had offered to look after him, which we were extremely grateful for, although, of course, so disappointed and unsure as to why all this had to happen.
Pete was discharged on Saturday, just as we were flying back out to Bath. He had a couple of days at Rosemarys house but started to feel unwell again last night with more pain and vomiting.
He was readmitted to Inca Hospital in the early hours this morning and is now under observation on iv fluids, being kept nil by mouth.
He has just texted me to say that the vomiting has stopped but that the pain is unchanged.
Would appreciate your prayers for him at this time! We would so love to have him back home. Also I am unsure as to whether I need to fly back out to him. Many "unknowns" at the moment... Thanks for your support !
We have just been on holiday to Mallorca. The first week was really great.
Sadly though, Pete became ill in the second week with abdominal pain and vomiting. The long and short of it is, that he required emergency surgery on Tuesday evening in a mallorquine hospital for small bowel obstruction. The surgeon told us that they had found the bowel twisted but also strangulated by some tight scar tissue, which stems from the previous surgery he underwent last year. Thankfully the bowel hadn't suffered any lasting damage and with the scar tissue cut through, it seemed everything would heal well.
I returned to the UK with the boys 2 days ago, as planned, but since Pete was still quite weak, we decided he should convalesce on the island. Rosemary, a "step aunt" living in Palma had offered to look after him, which we were extremely grateful for, although, of course, so disappointed and unsure as to why all this had to happen.
Pete was discharged on Saturday, just as we were flying back out to Bath. He had a couple of days at Rosemarys house but started to feel unwell again last night with more pain and vomiting.
He was readmitted to Inca Hospital in the early hours this morning and is now under observation on iv fluids, being kept nil by mouth.
He has just texted me to say that the vomiting has stopped but that the pain is unchanged.
Would appreciate your prayers for him at this time! We would so love to have him back home. Also I am unsure as to whether I need to fly back out to him. Many "unknowns" at the moment... Thanks for your support !
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