Hernia surgery and recovery

On May 4^th, I had a phone appointment with the surgeon.  After speaking with me and seeing how much pain I was in, he decided that I needed to go to the ER to get admitted.  Since we had Vincent at home and Pat was working, his grandparents came to pick him up for the week.  Within an hour from the phone call I arrived at Montfort ER.  I was then admitted.  Due to covid-19 they closed the day surgery area to the rest of hospital and admitted all the emergency surgery patients.  That is when the waiting game started. I was starving as I didn’t eat since the night before.  There were more urgent cases going in like appendicitis.  At 9:30pm they advised me that I would have to wait for the next day for surgery.  They provided me with an egg sandwich and jello.   I was so happy to be eating for the first time in 24 hours.  Tuesday was also a waiting game.  I wasn’t allowed to eat.  There were four appendicitis cases and two broken hips.  By 9pm I was advised that surgery will be Wednesday.  And Wednesday would definitely happen as when you get admitted for Emergency surgery they have 48 hours to do surgery. During the night I was woken up by the nurse and my oxygen levels were very low. I was put on oxygen for a few hours. I was able to get off the oxygen and sleep a few hours. Finally, at 7:30am on Wednesday I was advised that I would be having surgery.  The surgeon’s first case of the day didn’t show up so I was first.  By 7:45am I was in the operating room.  At 10:30am I was awake in recovery.

What I recently learned from the surgeon is that my hernia was really stuck. It was the size of a fist. My intestines were less than 2mm away from getting stuck.  It took so much time to fix that they didn’t have enough time to install a mesh to prevent it from happening again. I was told there is a good chance that I will need to same surgery in a few years.

Back to the surgery day, I was doing so well after surgery. I was able to get up and walk around. At 2pm, I was off oxygen.  I was then released. By 3:30pm I was home with some Subway to eat as I was really hungry.  I was given dilauded pain medication and told to take advill/Tylenol to help.  The pain didn’t really hit until Thursday.  The pain was unbearable. I had to take a dilaudid in the morning to help then stay on top of the Tylenol and advil. I couldn’t even get out of bed by myself. Pat had to help me. The recovery was honestly a lot harder than my c-section.  It took me a few days to get the pain under control.

For recovery I got a lot of help, my mom came down to take care of Vincent for a few days.  Vincent also got to stay with his grandparents at the cottage. He loves it there. I can’t lift for seven weeks after surgery.   This is very hard because I want to be able to help take care of Vincent.  I recently had an appointment with the surgeon. That is when I found out that they weren’t able to install the mesh.  He also was adamant for me to be careful for another four weeks bringing it to seven weeks of healing.  My incision is still very sensitive, but looks really good.

If there are any other news on this I will post another blog.

Beginning Journey with My Umbilical Hernia

My journey started months ago when I started working out. I would have to stop working out when I had a very sharp pain near my belly button.  I just pushed it off as I was out of shape. The gyms closed and I forgot about that pain.  Two weeks ago I had a bit of pain and just pressed and felt a lump in my belly button. I have a very deep button and the lump was in it.  It continued to grow. I started having sharp pain last week and it was now the size of a ping pong.   On Sunday I decided to go get checked out at the Montfort ER as the pain was so bad and was making me short of breath.  They provided me with a room right away and within 30 minutes I had seen doctors. They seemed a little worried of the size therefore I had to get testing done.  I was given morphine for the pain, they wanted me more relaxed for the CT scan and pain relief would help (I tried to refuse the pain medications).  I also got blood-work done and had an IV put in for the CT scan. The scan was good and short.  The Dr were relieved that it was not my intestines stuck in my hernia. I wouldn’t need emergency surgery and can hopefully hold off after this pandemic is over. I was given another dose of morphine and an IV saline to get me more hydrated.

After talking with the doctors, we decided to send my file to a general surgeon and will go on a waiting list to have surgery.  Today around lunchtime I got a call from my surgeon’s secretary. I will have a phone call appointment with the surgeon on Monday. I will then be put on a waiting list.  I was also advised if the pain gets worse to go back to Montfort.

I hope the wait won’t be too long. A good sign is that in stage one of reopening they will be starting surgeries again.  Until then I can’t workout. I have to be careful when bending down and no lifting. I can’t trigger the hernia to grow.

Florida January 2020

January 18^th 2020

Our flight was with Sunwing. We were flight WG 052. Travelling with a toddler is really great. They let us go in the priority line and bypass over 200 people at security. When we got to Miami, we also got to skip over 300 people at customs. Since we woke up at 2am for the day, Vincent slept through the takeoff. He spent the rest of the flight watching Blippi and colouring. The only bad part of the day of travel is Sunwing misplaced one of our suitcases. It took us over an hour to fill out forms. Vincent was very excited to see his grandparents.

We took Tri-rail from Miami to Pompano beach. Vincent loved the train ride. Once in Pompano beach, we went shopping to buy myself a bathing suit as it was in the missing suitcase. We are keeping the receipts to get refunds on all the stuff we needed to buy. I got a really nice bathing suit for $25. It was over 85% off. We also went shopping at Target. I love the store. It's so much better then in Canada. I bought candies that is hard to find in Canada. The candies were Red Vines, Hi-Chew and Laffy Taffy. We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the very warm pool.

January 19^th 2020

We went shopping at Walmart to buy more supplies that were needed for the trip. We also bought pre-made wraps to have for our lunch before the boat tour. The activity for the day is the Jungle River Queen afternoon boat ride. We went down Millionaires row where we saw Mansions, Yatchs and a lot of Iguanas. The boat brought us to an isle where we saw all types of animals. There was also a show where a guy was fighting alligators. Vincent absolutely loved the boat ride. He napped in my arms the whole way back. We went swimming before our dinner. We relaxed in the evening.

January 20^th 2020 – Martin Luther King Day                 

There were a lot of streets closed for parades. We had forgotten about this holiday and it took us a long time to get to our activity. Once we got to the Gumbo Limbo Nature Centre, we noticed that there were too many people. We decided to push the activity to Wednesday. We had some Chipotle for lunch. I had a chicken burrito and it was really good. We went shopping at the store Jo Ann. Pat bought himself some fabric and I bought myself some Happy Planner Stickers for my planner. There were great prices. We then spend the afternoon at the pool. Vincent loved swimming and jumping in the pool. We relaxed in the evening, it was really chilly.

January 21^st 2020

I called Sunwing in the morning. It advised me they found my suitcase in Toronto. They advised it was on a flight to Miami. It should arrive at 1pm. We went to visit the Museum of Discovery and Science. The visit was started in the kid's section. Vincent loved playing with sand and bubbles. We then took Vincent on the Everglades simulator. He absolutely loved it. There were older kids that were crying to get off as they were terrified. Vincent loved it and asked to do it again. We had lunch at a pizza place down the street. After lunch we went to the science park, where you can test your strengths and other things. We also tried a 7D simulator, which was a Toy Ride. It was a car race in which made us feel like we were on a roller coaster. We went shopping at Jo Anns again for more supplies because there were great prices and we went to Walmart for more stuff.

January 22^nd 2020

It was really cold overnight. It went down to +5C. All day was really cold and windy. It only went up to +12C. We went to visit the Gumbo Limbo Nature Centre. We saw injured turtles, stingrays and fish. We wanted to visit Flamingo Gardens, but it was way too cold. Vincent got to play in a playground for the first time as a walker. He was so cute and happy. I also tried Dunkin' Donuts. I had the iced cappuccino with caramel. It was good, but not as good at Tim Hortons. The jelly donuts were really good. I spend the evening trying to get through to Sunwing as I still didn't have my suitcase. I asked to speak to a supervisor and there weren't any available.

January 23^rd 2020 – Pat and I’s 10 year dating anniversary

We had a relaxing morning at the campground. We had lunch at Subway then went to spend the afternoon at Flamingo Gardens. We started our visit with a train ride to see all different types of plants and trees native to Florida. During our visit we saw very big flamingos, huge alligators, turtles, tortoises, black bear, otters, boa constrictor called Rocky, bobcat, many different birds and flowers. The whole family got dolled up in the evening for a special dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was really good. I had a double bacon burger and for dessert a Godiva chocolate cheesecake. It's a flour-less chocolate cake, with chocolate mousse and chocolate cheesecake. It definitely didn't disappoint. As for the weather, it rained a lot most of the day. My suitcase finally arrived at 9:30pm.

January 24^th 2020

We didn't do a lot this day. We did our laundry in the morning then headed out shopping after lunch. We started by visiting the Festival Marketplace. It's an indoor flea market. Vincent had a lot of fun in the kids' area. We had a snack of frozen yogurt. We then went shopping at a Super Target where I bought candies to bring back with me. I really enjoyed Hi-Chews therefore bought two different type. This target was REALLY big. We then checked out Hobby Lobby where we picked up a few things for Vincent's new bedroom. Pat and I finished the evening packing our suitcase while Vincent went for a walk with his grandparents. We didn't do a lot this day. We did our laundry in the morning then headed out shopping after lunch. We started by visiting the Festival Marketplace. It's an indoor flea market. Vincent had a lot of fun in the kids' area. We had a snack of frozen yogurt. We then went shopping at a Super Target where I bought candies to bring back with me. I really enjoyed Hi-Chews therefore bought two different type. This target was REALLY big. We then checked out Hobby Lobby where we picked up a few things for Vincent's new bedroom. Pat and I finished the evening packing our suitcase while Vincent went for a walk with his grandparents.

January 25^th 2020 – Going Home

We left around 8am to head to Miami. There was a huge lineup when we got there, but since we have a toddler in a stroller they let us go in the Elite line. Going through security was so much easier then when in Ottawa. We boarded our flight at noon when it was supposed to leave at that time. The flight was late because the crew got help up at customs and security between both flights. Vincent slept through takeoff then watched Blippi and had snacks the rest of the flight. We landed in Ottawa around 3:45pm. It took us under a minute at customers. Pat's brother Eric picked us up at the airport. Vincent was happy to see his uncle. There was a snowstorm in Ottawa when we got here.

Pediatrician Appointment January 10th 2020

Last month, I received a call from Vincent’s pediatrician office. They had receive a report of Vincent’s ENT appointment and want to see him as soon as they can.  Since the holidays where the week after, they scheduled the appointment for last Friday (January 10^th 2020). I didn’t know what to expect. I was a little worried.  Vincent’s appointment was full of information and some I wasn’t ready to get. Since I stay home with him I feel it’s partly my fault if something is wrong. 

Let’s start by the basic information, Vincent weighs 32 lbs and 10 oz. He is 87.8 cm tall. He is almost at 3 feet. He is sticking to the same percentile as he has been since he was 6 months old. Vincent is in the 95^th.  The nurse started playing with him while she took his blood pressure. She was afraid he would be scared, but I knew different. When she was done he asked if she could do it again.

As for the pediatrician, she advised me that Vincent still has a lot of fluids in his ears. It’s starting to affect other parts of his life. As for walking, the ears are preventing him from being solid on his feet. They make him walk like a drunk person at times. The thing I wasn’t ready to hear is that Vincent is behind in his speech. The pediatrician advised me that she truly believes that it’s because he can’t hear clearly.  Vincent does talk a lot, but he repeats everything.  Since the appointment, Pat and I have noticed it. If you want to experience what Vincent hears, stick you head under water or block your ears with your hands.  He can hear some sounds perfectly when others he has a hard time.  The pediatrician is contacting his ENT to see if we can get in to an appointment sooner. She wants him to get tubes and his adenoids checked out as soon as possible. We want to get this resolved in the next year before it’s too late.  On Friday of this week (in 3 days), I will be filing out an intake form for first words. We will be put on a waiting list for them to get Vincent evaluated. I was advised that the waiting list for this program fluctuates a lot. Due to us going to Florida next week, we will fill out the intake form the day before we leave. His pediatrician is pretty sure that they will call us after our trip.

As for Vincent’s constipation issue, I advised the pediatrician that he is still taking restorolax every 2 days. If I try to push it every 3 days he becomes clogged again. She told me to give it to him every day or every 2 days and not to push it. It will not affect his body if we keep giving it to him every day. It helps him more than hurt his body.

Holidays 2019

Since having Vincent, the holidays are very chaotic, but fun.  Here is a blog about what we did in the holidays.

Christmas Eve Pat worked until 11:30am. We then headed out to buy the food we need for Vincent’s birthday party on the 26^th. After running all our errands, we headed to my dad’s for supper. It was a fun afternoon and evening. I played card games with my grandma, Vincent played with Chika and his cousin Alycia. He got an ice cream cart as a gift from them.  After dinner around 6:30pm, Vincent was really tired. He requested to go home to bed. We decided to bring him home and go to bed as he asked.

On Christmas Day morning, Vincent was awake and ready to open gifts at 5:30am. It took him approximately 1.5 hours to open all of them as he wanted to play with them. He did really good when it came to unwrapping. He didn’t need much help.  After all the opening of the gifts, we all took a nap as we had a dinner in Kanata at my aunts and uncles. Vincent loved playing with his older cousins Jeremy and Rose Anne. He got a lot of their one and one attention in which made him feel special. Around 7pm that evening is when he requested to go to bed. Therefore, we left and came back home.

Boxing Day morning was fun. We went to eat breakfast as a family at Perkins. We chose Perkins because all other restaurants were still closed.  In the afternoon, there was a dozen people that came for his birthday party. Vincent was very well loved and spoiled.

The day after his birthday, the stomach bug hit our house. We all got it. Vincent felt better by evening ,but had a hard time getting over the virus which caused up to spend New Years Eve in the hospital ER. They provided him with IV fluids and made sure his blood-work was normal. We were released around 1am and then came home to bed. On New Years Day we just relaxed and watched TV.

Here are some pictures of the holidays. There are more on my facebook page.