So they set me up in a little room on a hospital bed, put nice warm blankets on me, and started an IV to pump fluids through me. When the nurse found out how dehydrated I was, she said she'd just let it flow freely and we'd hopefully get 2 liters in me. I was so grateful, since I couldn't drink hardly anything but was trying to nurse and knew that anything would help. So I was seriously relaxed and comfortable and sleepy...just like during labor after getting the epidural...I love that feeling. :) Finally they took me into the procedure room where the doctor was waiting, got me nice and comfy on my left side with a wedge pillow and more warm blankets, and then put the little tube thing in my nose to start the Propofol. Lemme tell ya- I love being put out for some reason. It's just such a weird feeling when they say "Ok, we're starting the medicine", and one second you're looking at the clock and 2 seconds later things get foggy and you're out. Then you're waking up in a different room in a lovely oblivious state. It's great. (But poor Michael Jackson...he took it way too far.)
Anyways, I woke up to a voice saying "...was full of food". To which a woman's voice exclaimed "full of food?! Wow." And then I opened my eyes and saw the doctor and nurse and Jake gathered round, and the doc told me that the endoscopy was "aborted" because he couldn't get the scope past the first third of my esophagus. The rest was full of food that had probably been sitting there for weeks or who knows how long. I was shocked.....it was like, "What?? That's disgusting. And crazy. But good to know." So he sent me home on a clear liquid diet and an appointment for another endoscopy on Monday, hoping that the liquids would flush the food down over the weekend.
I guess I should explain what Achalasia IS. It's basically a rare disease of the esophagus, where the lower sphincter, or opening into the stomach, is so tight that it's a tiny hole that stops allowing food and liquid to go through. And there's a lack of peristalsis, or the ability of the esophagus to push food down with contractions like normal. Symptoms include heartburn, coughing and choking at night with food coming back up, unintentional weight loss, difficulty swallowing even liquids, and the feeling of food being stuck. It's not cureable- it's a lifelong thing, but there are 3 main ways to treat it.
The short term way is to inject the sphincter with Botox to allow it to relax and open wide to allow food to pass into the stomach. The next way is balloon dilation, where they put a balloon at the end of the scope and blow it up so fast that it basically breaks all the muscles in the esophagus, thus relaxing the sphincter. And another long term treatment is to get surgery to cut the sphincter to loosen it, and then they can wrap the top of the stomach around it to connect the 2 and provide an easy passageway for food. Interesting, huh? The things you learn on the internet right after you hear the name of a disease you most likely have.
So I went home that day and started my 4 day clear liquid diet consisting of chicken and beef broth, juice, herbal tea, jello, and popsicles. (Up until then, people had brought over some super yummy meals and soups, and I had at least gotten to try to eat little bit, but now I couldn't even taste the food and leftovers that filled our fridge). The great thing was that my mom had bought a plane ticket a month or so before and decided to come visit from PA for the weekend. She wouldn't have met Lexi until Christmas otherwise, so it was an exciting visit. The circumstances weren't the greatest, but her help was definitely welcome. So she came on Friday, and I pressed on with the liquids and actually felt "cleansed" and pretty good. I still had numb tingly hands and feet and was achey and weak, but it felt like the liquids were all going down, and I enjoyed it for the first few days. On Saturday, my feet and ankles began to swell though, either because of all the fluids, sodium, or malnutrition- not sure.
By 6:30 am Monday morning, I was ready to be done with the liquids and get my next endoscopy. Again, it was a pleasant experience, getting "pampered" and knocked out. But this time when I woke up, I was devastated to hear that once again the endoscopy was aborted because it was still full of food. I laid there and sobbed. The doctor came and told me that he was admitting me to the hospital, because I needed to be hooked to an IV to get fluids in me and I needed tests done and help that he couldn't give. I was crushed by the news, nervous for what would happen, sad to leave my new baby at home, and scared of the whole situation. I cried to Jake some more, went home and told my mom the news, and she promptly got on the phone to tell her school supervisor that she needed to stay longer, and rescheduled her flight. What a blessing that she was here when this happened, and could stay home with the girls for as long as needed.
Meanwhile, I packed some things and then Jake and I headed to Intermountain Medical Center for my first hospital stay for anything other than childbirth. Dr. Schmidt had said that he was turning me over to a good gastroenterologist at the hospital who could do the tests I needed, and that I'd be in good hands. I wanted to meet with him as soon as we got there and get things going, but first there was a lot of business to take care of. They took my blood for lab tests, hooked me up to my IV with saline and then vitamin fluid, and then one by one, people started coming in and asking the same dang questions. First was a med student who thoroughly annoyed me with his arrogance and excessive questions that pretty much covered my whole life and medical history. Then an intern resident doctor came in with a goofy smile and cavalier attitude and asked all the same questions, and then later the admitting hospital doctor came in to meet me. All the while, I'm thinking "Ok enough, I just want the gastroenterologist who can actually help me!".
Finally, Dr. Moore, the gastro doc finally came in, sat down, and asked me to lay it out for him. By this time I was pretty good at rattling off my situation and symptoms. He said, "Ok, this is what we're gonna do..." and listed the tests/procedures that I was going to get, starting with an endoscopy first thing the next morning. Sounded good to me- I was ready to get some answers. The sucky thing was that there was an NPO sign on my door, meaning that I couldn't have anything to eat or drink the whole time I was there. I hadn't drunk water since Sunday night, and my mouth and throat were soooo dry. I couldn't even have ice chips. I probably cheated by chewing gum, but I had to have something.
That night was uneventful...basically just hanging out and waiting for Tuesday and all the tests to come. A welcome surprise was when an old friend popped his head in the room to visit after he'd heard I was there. I didn't know he worked down in the ER, and it was nice to see a familiar face. My mom came to see me while Bree watched the girls at home, and Jake's dad also came to visit that night. Jake and his dad gave me a Priesthood blessing. It was so comforting and made me feel more at peace- I was very grateful for that blessing. Jake stayed with me until late and then went home, and we both tried to get some sleep. I got maybe a few hours all together...I'd had trouble sleeping for months, so didn't expect much. I just wanted the sun to come up so that Tuesday could start. (And the story will conclude in Part 3...this is longer than I thought it would be- sorry! Just gotta get all the details down.) I'll leave this post with a lovely picture of me in my hospital room.
3 comments:
Awwww, that last picture is sooo precious. That was the saddest thing to me-- you couldn't be with little Lexi-lou, and yet had so many other things to worry about. I am loving these posts. I've forwarded them to a few people who were my support team while I was worried about you. :) Hope that's okay! Keep up the writing. Love you.
:/ That was a mini rollercoaster of a post:
Funny about what you do when you find out the name of a disease you likely have. And I also kind of like being put under - one minute your awake and counting backwards from 10 and the next minute you're awake again feeling groggy, and hours have passed in between.
Crazy about your esophagus being full of food! Can't they just suck it up and out? I'm sure you'll answer this in an upcoming post, but which form of treatment are you thinking of? I'm so glad it's at least treatable, even if not curable.
As for the interns and med students - that's how it goes when you have a rare disease, it seems. Lucky you.
So glad your mom is here. And so sorry that you can't be with your baby! She looks so sweet. Like a sleepy little baby angel :).
You're in my prayers!
Heather,
Just seeing your skinny little arms makes me cry! And then seeing Lexi makes me cry some more! Miss her- and all of you! 10 days was not enough to be there- sure wish I was still there!!
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