Cliff's procedure went just as it was supposed to today: The doctor went down through his throat, found the stent, and removed it. Dye was injected to see that no ducts were clogged. Everything was working just fine. Cliff has a little sore throat, but otherwise feels dandy. He ate when he got home, ate some more, and then I said, "Cliff, you can't just eat for the rest of the day."
"I can't?"
"No."
Right before surgery, he said to the doctor, "I feel fine right now. Why can't you just leave the stent in place?"
"Because," the doctor answered, "a stent would eventually clog and you would end up as sick as you were before. It would be life-threatening."
It has been exactly three months since the surgery. Recovery was a long haul. I am so thankful for the doctors and nurses that were involved in getting him through this mess. And of course I am thankful to God, who guided everyone through the process of getting Cliff well.
I've had people tell me that after having the gall bladder removed, they can't eat certain foods any more. They are plagued with frequent diarrhea. While Cliff was warned by the doctors about eating fatty foods, he hasn't been in any way bothered by indigestion or diarrhea. We had fried green tomatoes yesterday and he did justice to his share. It took about six weeks after his operation for him to get his old appetite back, but now he is as good as new. I am adding this paragraph so that if any of you, my readers, need gall bladder surgery and some doomsayer tells you that you will never be normal again, don't accept that and don't let it keep you from doing what needs to be done. I'm sure some people have problems, but I'll bet it's a minority. Besides, if you ignore a gall bladder problem, you could end up with a seven-hour surgery followed by an eight-day hospital stay. And you could even die.
And now, back to normal life.
I had my gall bladder removed at 24, and Jessica had hers removed at 19. Gall stones and gall bladder disease gallops in our family. I won't even name all the sisters, aunts, cousins, etc. that have had gall bladder surgery, most at a fairly young age. Neither Jessica nor I have had any issues with any foods causing heartburn, diarrhea or any other problems post-gall bladder surgery, thank goodness. I know some do, but we've been blessed. Best wishes to your hubby in his continuing recovery, and I pray he has no more problems from his gall bladder surgery and no lingering symptoms.
ReplyDeleteSo glad it all went well!
ReplyDeleteSo glad that this is behind both of you and life can go forward without the worry of problems with the gall bladder or stent. :)
ReplyDeleteMy mother had a triple bypass when she was 73, and someone who had had the surgery told her that she'd never be the same, too. She's now 80 and of course, she's aging, but the prediction of no more energy was totally wrong. She was active then and still is now.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Cliff is back to normal and I hope he stays positive and continues to be blessed.
And don't forget Mrs. Mosie helped him along the way too I' sure. So glad things are going well for you two.
ReplyDeleteGlad everything is back to normal, finally.
ReplyDeleteI'm very thankful all is back to normal there!
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear that all went well with Cliff's stent removal, and that he is back to normal. Wendy
ReplyDelete