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In mid-April I was admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital for a major surgery which would prove to be a life-saving technique. My doctor placed a feeding tube into my intestines so that I could get nutrition without using my stomach. At the same time he placed temporary pacing wires on my stomach which was part of a research study. I was one of only nine people in the entire world to ever take part in this study. My doctor had concluded that the stomach is a muscle just like the heart, and if the heart can be paced, then the stomach can be too in order to help it digest food. As a result of this study at UVA, doctors all over the country are now implanting permanent stomach pacemakers. I have never experienced so much pain in my life as I
did after that surgery. They
actually had to move my intestines around, so a lot of my organs inside
got bumped and bruised. I
was on a lot of morphine for several days and slept throughout most of
my hospitalization. I don't remember much except being in so much pain
that when my nurse came around on the fifth day and made me get out of
bed and walk down the hall I got upset.
I knew it was the best thing for me to do, and actually helped me
heal quicker, but I did not feel like getting out of bed.
I also clearly remember going through morphine withdrawal the day
after I was taken off of it. The
nausea was terrible, and the nurse gave me a strong nausea medication
which knocked me out. When I woke up the next morning, I was through it.
Before I was discharged, we had to learn about how to use the
equipment. The night I went
home, a nurse came to my house and helped us get started.
After that she visited me a couple of times a week to make sure I
was doing ok. At age 18, I didn't like having nurses come visit me.
I felt like my privacy was being invaded and that I wasn't
capable of taking care of myself. I
had a hard time being willing to cooperate with them for that reason, so
I was glad when my doctor said that I did not need them, and they could
stop visiting me.
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