Surgery, and After

I returned from work due to severe abdominal pain,

and was admitted to the hospital for an emergency that night.

I was diagnosed with an intestinal obstruction,

and subsequently, I had to endure the terrifying experience of having an ileus tube inserted through my nose,

to drain bile and other bodily fluids from my small intestine,

and although I was treated to reduce the swelling and gas,

it did not improve,

so on the 10th day, it was decided that I would undergo surgery. 😭

Looking back, ever since I suffered from a serious illness about 8 years ago,

I have been under the care of this hospital.

This is my 4th surgery...

Since my first surgery,

I have been accompanied by a nurse from my hospital room,

and walked to the operating room.

The scenes you see in medical TV dramas,

where patients are transported to the operating room on beds or stretchers,

are only for those who are extremely critically ill.

If my consciousness and footing are steady,

I head there on my own.

They say people forget unpleasant things,

so the fear of that first heart-pounding experience

quickly vanished from my mind.

The second time was almost the same.

The third time, a friend told me,

"Make sure you take a good look inside the operating room."

So I was able to get on the operating table calmly.

I remembered the anesthesia injected into my spine being terrifyingly painful.

And then the fourth time,

I was told to get on the operating table and lie down,

and it suddenly occurred to me.

This isn't my fourth surgery!

I've had five at that hospital,

and two others, that's seven times in total...!

No, wait,

if I include minor things like cutting my finger with a kitchen knife and getting stitches,

is it eleven? No, I can't even count...

I wrote that I would quickly forget unpleasant things, but

I've forgotten too much~

(I've been cut in too many places...)

While they were administering the epidural anesthesia in my back,

that is what I was thinking.

This time, the procedure until the anesthesia took effect

felt longer than usual,

and I was thinking,

please, just put me to sleep quickly...

Also, the anesthesia wore off quickly,

and I regained consciousness right after the surgery,

spending that day dozing in a private room.

The next day, my doctor explained,

that the scar tissue formed during my abdominal surgery three years ago

had formed a loop,

and my intestine had slipped right into it and was being constricted,

so they just cut that part away.

That was the explanation I received.

Scar tissue?

What kind of tissue is that?

I thought, and decided to Google it later.

I feel like I sort of understand it??

Or maybe I don't...?

That's what the AI told me.

I also try messaging my husband, who should have received an explanation from the doctor.

As expected,

it's all gibberish to him?

Something about adhesions?

Something about inserting an anti-adhesion sheet?

(I didn't know such a thing existed)

Well, I suppose the tissue that formed where I had surgery for my serious illness three years ago

must have formed a loop and constricted my small intestine.

If the internal organs that were supposed to be there are gone,

the intestines are going to go wild~

I guess that's how it is.

Please,

dear small intestine,

Please try to take it easy from now on.

I will take better care of this body, too...

And the results? They'll have to wait until the X-ray the day after tomorrow.

I was finally able to start taking in fluids yesterday 😭

Day 13 of fasting,

watching the cake challenges on "The Great British Bake Off" on my iPad is a bit of a guilty pleasure... 😂

I've decided that once my stomach heals, I am definitely going to eat a birthday cake.

When my roommate is eating their meal,

I have to reach a state of zen to get through it... lol