Happy 33rd Birthday Miranda...It's The Best One You've Had In Years!

Tuesday May 27, 2014 the day before my birthday, I went to my follow up with the Rectal/Colon Surgeon.  

The surgeon walks in, asks me how I am doing and I tell him that I'm doing so much better, that I've been more active in the past 4 days than I have in nearly 3 years!!! He actually got a little emotional because he told me, "I struggled a lot with myself on whether I should do the surgery because with your disease, there was no guarantee that the surgery would even help. I'm glad I did it now seeing how much better you are." He then examined me and said everything looks great, and told me that I didn't need to come back and see him unless I started having problems again.

I then asked my surgeon if I could give him a hug, he said yes. I hugged this little man who is the same height as me and cried tears of joy and thanked him and said, "thank you, you gave me part of my life back after 3 years of suffering. This is the best birthday present ever." The surgeon and his nurse got a little teary eyed.

Nearly 7 yrs. of suffering and now half of my problems have been fixed, now to get my stomach/intestines under control.

But I know for a fact My God is more powerful and able, even when the doctor doubts and says there is no guarantee that I will get better, I say there is a guarantee, because with Christ all things are possible, and my recovery is proof of that.

And today May 28, 2014 already is the best birthday I've had since I got sick back in 2007. I got to enjoy the day and actually enjoy the food, had energy and just got to enjoy living instead of just surviving! Oh and my voice is finally coming back after 5 weeks of fighting laryngitis!!!

This past week/weekend this is what I got to do because I felt so good.... Friday, I went out to eat at a restaurant with my grandparents and even went and got an ice cream cone after and walked to the ice cream shop!! Saturday, I help my hubby clean up the patio, go grocery shopping and helped him grill out.  Sunday, I got to go to church for the first time in over 6 months and my hubby got to sing and play his guitar for the church.  Monday, Memorial day my hubby and I slept in and then we relaxed on the patio and grilled out again.  That may not be a lot for an average person, but for me I hadn't been able to do this much in one weekend, in nearly 3 years!

This coming weekend will also be great, my husband is taking a 4 day weekend and we are (fingers crossed this good health keeps up) heading to one of the many lakes in our area to fish and maybe even swim and lay out on the beach and get some sun.  Haven't ever gone fishing since we have been married and have only been to a lake 2 times in our 7 years together. 

My Birthday Gifts from friends and Family for my 3rd B-Day

My Awesome Cake Jeremy Got Me For My Birthday

Jeremy got me The 6th Oz book That Marvel has made into Comic book form

My Friend Dawn Made this Wizard Of Oz Blanket For me

My Mom Got me this Twilight Series Collectables

 2 baskets of petunias, and 2 baskets of Geraniums/Ivy from my Grandma 

JMC VLOG Episode 39: An Update After a Long Hiatus

Topics discussed:

Return, Jeremy graduating college 2013 , Jeremy starting new contract job after college 2013 , Jeremy starts permanent job in March 2014, caregiver roles with Miranda's ailing health with Crohn's disease, Miranda's recent colon-rectal surgery.

Recovering From Colon/Rectal Surgery Due To Crohn's Disease

I'm writing this lying in my bed resting as I continue to recover from the rectal/colon surgery I had 2 weeks ago yesterday, on April 25 2014 at OSU East hospital in Columbus Ohio.

This surgery was my first official major surgery needed due to the crohn's disease. After 7 years of daily diahrea up to 10 times a day, the surgeon discovered I had 2 internal hemroids as well as fissure (tears in my colon/rectum) as well as a large skin tag (similar to a mole) on the inside of my colon/rectum. These things were causing me so much pain, to the point I literally could not sit down on my bottom and was in constant agonizing pain. So the hemroids n the skin tag were removed. And hopefully the fissures can heal on their own by getting the diarrhea/too many bowel movements, under control and brought down to a minimum.

Since the surgery however, I've had 2 slight set backs. After my surgery I stopped having bowel movements and became impacted in my bowels. On the 3rd day after the surgery and pushing an extreme amount of laxatives, my bowels finally moved, and it was the worst pain I've ever felt in my life to the point my grandma thought I was going to collapse on the floor when everything did break lose. She literally had to help hold me up on the toilet while my bowels moved. And I have gotten laryngitis again due to the anesthesia and my allergies and the fact my throat is so sensitive. I will more than likely be without a voice for 4 to 6 weeks again.

However, This week Wednesday night into Thursday, I became impacted again even though I was continuing to push the extreme amount of laxatives. After 12 hours of administering 3 enemas over that amount of time, Jeremy my husband finally got my bowels to move. Jeremy had to take an emergency day off work because I was so bad. We were very afraid we might have had to take me to the E.R if he hadn't gotten my bowels to move. What we have realized is that I'm not constipated, but that due to my colon/rectum being so inflamed from the surgery no solid stool even soft can get through so it starts piling up on top of the other until it's this mass. So I have to have complete lose stool until I fully recover. Meaning I'm on only soft foods and high fiber foods along with taking up to 12 tbsp.'s a day of laxatives and a dose of metamucil in a glass of water. That seems to work so far.

Then yesterday the scariest thing happened to me, something crohn's patients can have happen but I had never experienced before. Jeremy got up at 5 a.m. to get ready for work and was in the bathroom getting ready. I was in bed and felt I needed to have a b.m. so I went in sat down on the toilet, I pushed just a little to get the little bit of solid poo to come out. It did, and I stood up to wipe and when I did n looked in the toilet there was lots of red blood and some was on the toilet seat and I began to feel something running down the back of my leg...it was blood and quite a bit coming from my rectum. Jeremy nearly starts yelling and we both are scared to death. I sit back down on the toilet as jeremy calls my grandma, she answers the phone and if the bleeding doesn't stop in the next few minutes we've got to get me to the E.R. Luckily the bleeding only lasted 5 minutes. 

After consulting with my surgeons nurse they believe I tore my rectum/colon causing a new fissure when I did that little push to get the poo out. And that i've got to make sure I don't have any solid b.m.'s for at least another 4 weeks.

Thankfully I've had no more bleeding like that today. And I pray I never do again, my poor jeremy was so terrified, I'll never forget the look on his face when he saw the blood coming out of me. I'm crying right now just thinking about it.

Jeremy told me that this surgery n recovery along with fighting the disease at the same time, has been the hardest thing we have faced so far in our life together. For him, it has nearly broke him emotionally and mentally watching me go through all this, taking care of me and going to work 5 days a week all at the same time. But we just keep fighting because to us giving up is not an option. We just take everything one day at a time, and let God lead us.

I'm going to end here for now and will make another update in a day or 2.