A Note from Patti.

Hello there everyone. I know that most of you have heard from Aunt Sally as to what happened and how everything went, but I know that most of the time it's a relief to hear from me too. Just to fill you in on everything, I will start from the beginning. A little over a month ago I started to have some really bad pain and cramping all over my abdomen. About a week after the start of the pain, I went to my doctor in Whitesboro, who ordered a CT Scan and found that my colon was inflamed which indicates infection. All of my symptoms led to C-Diff which is caused by antibiotics killing too much bacteria in the intestines and the intestines becoming infected. I was treated with a med called Flagyl for 10 days and was feeling a little better but a few days after the end of the med, I landed in the hospital in Utica for extreme pain. They ran some more tests and found I still had C-Diff and began treatment for that again. We contacted Cleveland Clinic and they wanted me out there. I was discharged from there and Nate and I drove to Cleveland where I was admitted very early Tuesday morning (6/12). I continued treatment there under the care of Dr. Gildea who was ready to release me on Thursday, he just wanted the colon rectal team to look at my case and review my x-rays to see what they thought. That night they came into my room to talk about what they found and they said that it wasn't good. My colon was infalmed, had ulcers, and was badly infected. They said they had to do emergency surgery that night or I wasn't going to make it. This scared me so much more than going in for the transplants!! Nate and I made a few calls and it seems almost instantly I was taken into surgery. I don't remember much of Friday because I was really out of it but I know that Nate was of course there by my side and my absolute best friend, Beth Odell, was there at some point too just watching over me as I slept.

So here's what we found. Dr. Vogel is an excellent doctor. He's the one who gave us the news and did my surgery. He said that my colon was a lot sicker than it looked and I was probably within a few days/week of my life. He had to completely remove my colon (large intestine) and give me what's called a stoma. A stoma is a small part of my intestine that is pulled through my abdomen and is covered with a bag that the intestine passes gass and stools through. I will have this for three to four months and then the surgery will be reversed to where my small intestine is attached to my rectum and i will go to the bathroom "normally" again. I had to start feeling better, make sure the stoma was working, and start eating solid foods before I was released. The normal hospital stay for this is 1-2 weeks after surgery and I was released Wednesday (6/20). I am a little limited to what I can eat and drink but oh well....it could have been so much worse. I am feeling much better although I still have some pain from the incision and where the staples are.

Once again, I thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes on the road to recovery. And before I forget, because of this little setback, the summer party that we were talking about for July 21st is not going to happen. I hope to see you all soon and I absolutely love all of you!!!!!
Patti