Well, I'm alive. . .

[squirelawrence]

Which is a good thing.  I suffered a massive GI bleed on Tuesday evening due to (they think) diverticulitis.  I lost, as one ICU nurse put it, "about a half a person's worth of blood."  Then spent the next 48 hours getting that blood put back in.  For a while it was a race between pumping blood in faster than it leaked out.  Then they were able to find the source of the leak and fuse the blood vessels.  Fun.  

Home now.  Have to go back on Tuesday for investigative colonoscopy to make sure I'm not still leaking somewhere.  Feel like an overfilled balloon - they pumped me so full of fluids that even though I was on no food, no liquids prep for colonoscopy, I gained 12 lbs overnight.  Now I'm just supposed to wait while the fluid and pressure levels equalize naturally.  Whee fun. 

Send happy thoughts!

Comments

[synecdochic]

Oh, goodness, honey!

I'm glad that you're all right (ish). Do you need someone to come down and fuss over you a bit take care of practicalities and such? I can fly down on Monday and stay until Wednesday for certain or Sunday if I shuffle some things. Don't hesitate to say 'yes', I'm in pretty good shape with physical stuff myself right now (*knock wood*) and can work from anywhere, yadda.

If it is diverticulitis, Sarah's mom has it too and could answer any questions you have/give you suggestions for living with, yadda.

Take care of yourself and keep us posted. And I do mean it on the coming down to take care of you!

[squirelawrence]

Thank you, dear! I'm good(ish) - mostly my problems right now are related to the fact that I've got about 150% of the fluid my body is supposed to contain, with all the fun that entails for things like joint mobility (I can't close either hand or bend either elbow, for example) and vision (you know that sort of star sparkles your vision gets when you have a sinus headache, or get up too fast? Mine is like that, only it takes about an hour to clear). Nothing major, just lots and lots of minor.

But I'm good for fussing - my office just sent over food, and my little sister is coming over to run me to the pharmacy. My older sister insisted on flying in from Amsterdam, so I'm liable to be fussed to my very limits soon! But I wanted you guys to know why I wasn't coming up to DC, about which I am quite bummed. Next time!

Kiss your silly kitten on the head for me!

[synecdochic]

The silly kitten would also be willing to make a visit. For morale purposes, of course.

And I'm glad you're going to be taken care of. Offer to come visit, for assitance or even just for moral support, is totally open -- if you hit a point in your recovery once your sister's gone back home where you're just like "fuck it i'm just so done", let me know. You are on the list of "people I will fly to fuss over". :)

I hope the recovery is very swift!

[beatrice_otter]

Thank God you are still here! That must have been horribly scary!

[squirelawrence]

Thank God indeed! Perhaps fortunately, I didn't really know how much blood I had lost until I lost it. Now, apparently everything is ok - just have to wait for my body to adjust back to normal operating specs.

[siegeofangels]

Oh my God I'm glad you're okay! I will keep you in my thoughts.

[squirelawrence]

Thanks! I'm much better now - just in the recovery period, which is going to be tedious, but beats the alternative!

[reginagiraffe]

Holy crap! I'm so glad you're okay!

As Miles says, it doesn't matter whether it's on the inside or outside, bleeding is bleeding.

Hope you recover quickly!

[squirelawrence]

Yup, blood loss is blood loss! Unfortunately, in replacing all the fluid they did a little bit too good a job, so now I feel like an overfilled balloon. It's kind of amazing how the human body is supposed to work in such a relatively narrow range of operating specs! But on the recovery phase now.

[cinco]

That sounds really scary! I glad you're okay--here's hoping for a speedy recovery!