DON'T EVER SAY YOU CAN'T GET PAST THIS!

My Friends, new and old.  Don't ever say you can't get past this....on August 20, 2007, I had surgery with with of the best doctors on the planet in Columbia, Missouri, but the 388 pound 48 year old body couldn't take the surgery and it went South for whatever reason.  My wife and mother in law convinced the icu nurses on the third day I was actually bleeding out and they went back in, opened me up and kept me open for 11 days giving me a saline solution bath several times a day for bacterial infection, my wife was told by the surgeon he wasn't going to be able to save me.  in this process my wife went after several doctors and nurses on the medicinal thang (she's a registered pharmacisit and a junk yard dog)  I can't imagine what my family went through, but I don't remember any of it.  I spent the next 6 weeks in ICU, my heart rate pumping 35-40 beats a minute and refusing to give up, blood pressure barely there, but there.  I only have to say I WAS IN THE ARMS OF JESUS, NO OTHER EXPLANATION!  After 9 weeks I was well enough to be shipped to a rehab hospital where pure adrenaline set me off and I lept and bound doctors' expectations.  After bouts of depression and a fistular that opened up when they closed the esphogus muscle, my foods started slipping out the fistular opening and I couldnt keep anything in.  They put in a feeding tube, plus several other tubes, the ticker still ticked, anxiety attacks and bouts of depression still occuring.  After 7 weeks in the rehab hospital, wife convinced my original surgeon to bring me back to columbia to rehab me since the rehab hospital never seen a bariatric operation/fistular gone south, and he did.  He announced thereafter he was leaving the practice and partnership (family problems).   A serious blow to my trust level.  My care was in limbo, I was visited in November by Dr. J. Kraatz, the Wound and Burn Specialist MU hospital, we talked and I decided to give him my care.  We had words several times, but we had them and went beyond, I trusted in his abilities after speaking to several chaplains and other doctors about him.  In December, he pulled me into surgery and fixed the fistular's several little leaks that were occuring as fast as they found a way through the weak skin, but making a major incision, pulling the esphogus/fistular up and surturing it into one hole, never again had the many leaks, only one.  Went on NPO, nothing by mouth and stayed that way until recently.  1 month in his BICU, with a wound vac that healed the holes exactly as he described to me a month before and I basically laughed in his face and said, yeah, this 4" x 4" hole is going to heal up like this, it did, trust thickened.  He had surgery of his own and was away for 6 weeks while I struggled on NPO and healing until he felt comfortable enough to take on the fistular.  By May 2nd, after a short illness for me, he felt I was ready.  I had lost 170 pounds, npo, (nothing by mouth). May 2nd, he took me in and reopened me 3 times to fix the leaks that kept popping up.  3 weeks in the Burn icu, now I'm home.  I'm on protein drinks (first week of bariatric diet) with lots of water sipping in between.  The fistular leaks are gone.  What remains is a ravine ripped from my belly button to my sterna (sic), 4" at its widest, 1.5 cm at its deepest, belly button can still be seen.  He sent me home with a portable KCI home vac and told me the most important thing for me is my skin at this point.  From this point on until he releases me, no lifting of anything 15 pounds or over, no bending from the waist, Home health will change the vac dressing 3 days a week (makes you scream when the take it off and makes you scream when they put the new on)  It's simply black foam rubber and new skin with two rubber vaccum discs and a super slim 3 pound portable hi power wound vac.  You learn fast to fill your self full of percoset when a change is going to happen....  And a girdle device (24/7).  Basically what the vac does is pull new tissue up through the wound and sucks the bad down the tubes, it hurts when the change it out because of all the new skin, lots of saline soaked pads along the foam rubber to bring it up.  I expect to be fully healed in a year.  A YEAR!!!!!  AFter what I've been through, what's a year.......so don't ever let me hear you say you can't get past something, because you are not gonna get sympathy from me!!!"

WOW My hat's off to you sir . Nick

I forgot to mention my lovely wife, Lori.  She is a Registered Pharmacist by trade, most people who go to doctors and hospitals to be worked on are not as medicinal researched or knowledgeable as she and she scared the crap out of nurses and doctors.   One particular young hot shot doctor gave me a medicinal formula that robbed me off of the drugs and flat lined me while she was at my bed side, of course she had no knowledge at the time until she later looked at my chart to see what he did.  Later on, while he 'lectured' a group of docotoral students, at my bedside, of why not to give this particular medincinal forumula, my wife quietly stood by in the corner and said to him, 'why did you do this?  This was something a 1st year pharmacueutical student should have known!?"  He turned shocked that anyone should speak to him in just manner and asked coldly, 'who in the hell are you?'  She answered, first I'm a retail Pharmacist whose been a manager of my own Pharmacy for 20 years!  She knows exactly what flatlined me.  Secondly, she was the patient's spouse and if he had not been able to bring me back it would have been very costly for him!  Red faced,   He turned abruptly walked out.  One of his students turned to lori and said quitely, touche'.  and Lori took a teaching moment by saying, these people you are working on are not machines, they are daddies, husbands, sons, brothers, mommies, she said if you ever have a medicinal forumula doubt, ask don't assume.  We could've been robbed of a beautiful life simply because of one's pride....What a freaking woman!

My Dear Brother... It is so nice to hear from you....Seems like that Wound Vac, is working overtime, pulling all that **** and Vinegar out of you.... It is really good to have you back.... I'm so glad that yo had your lovely...younger Misses there to help keep every one in order... Now brother....I apply that wound vac on people every week, and I tell you....it's a great machine....it's going to be really interesting to see how long it takes to heal you....they do work fast...(not to sound like a sales rep, but 67% faster than packing a wound ) I'm gonna ramble here...you and Dxe, and a gent named Tom Rust formt he Texas board, have all had miserable starts...( and I think we have another lady that this past Thursday just had your fistula problem surface) all of our thoughts are with you all... How are the kids...and how is the week one bariactric diet going....remember what Dxe said....when you get to purreed foods.... you never knew that you would love the thought of Purreed Tuna fish with Purreed Pickle.... Please stay in touch Russ

Man, that's a sobering story for sure, Bob.  Your experience, like Dx's, is the kind everyone fears when they start this journey.  It sure makes me all the more thankful that my surgery was so uneventful.     While WLS is a great tool to help  regain our health and our lives, it also carries the real potential for great risk, as your experience verifies.  Such risks are something that anyone considering WLS surgery must take into account. Your will and determination to overcome such a horrible experience is an inspiration to all.   Thanks for sharing your story and giving us a first hand account and example of what can happen. God bless, take care and best wishes on a speedy recovery from here on out!

All I can say is you have inspired me. My troubles were minimal. Keep going, you are an inspiration. 

Wow Bob, What a story of determination on both you and your family's part.  I have read other's struggles with insurance companies, family acceptance, and other medical issues, but your struggle is truly inspirational. I recall once you dreamed of riding your horses, and that is the long term vision I hold of you. Svelte and in the saddle. God's speed on your year. Herb 

Well...... I did overeat the other day and puked up some carrots  Just kidding Bob, you and your families toughness through trying times is inspirational.  We missed you and were sending our best thoughts your way.  It is sure good to have you back