Flanagan Clan

Yesterday’s doctor appointment brought some disheartening news. The stent, which had been sewn into place using 6 week dissoluble sutures had traveled into my stomach after only two weeks of being in place. The good news was that since I have been having no pain, it appears that my esophagus has  healed to the point where it is alright that it is no longer in place. The downside is that there is a small risk that the stent might try to pass into my small intestines, which could be quite bad. They said it was unlikely, but with my luck I’m worried it will happen to me! So, I’m watching for signs of extreme nausea, in which case I’ll need to uncap my G tube to relieve pressure on my stomach and then I’d have to contact the doctor right away. We have scheduled yet another endoscopy to remove the stent and assess healing on the morning of December 12th. Until that time I still have two tubes in my abdomen, I’m still doing tube feedings and I’m still on purée diet. I will see the doctor on the 21st to hopefully have the tubes removed, and once I get the green light I’ll be placed on a soft foods diet, which allows for a greater variety of options, but still restricts items like bread, tough meats, etc. At this point I am fine with being on tube feeding (which I’m starting to tolerate a lot better), a purée or soft foods diet for as long as it takes if it means that I will continue to heal and will not be required to spend any more time in the hospital. After the first couple days in the hospital I grew to hate it with a passion and will do whatever it takes to avoid any further stays there! I am busy, active mom of 5 kids and the hospital made time go so slowly and had me so anxious to leave. I thought I was going to go crazy the last few days I was there because it was just so frustrating to be stuck there. I got to the point where I could not sleep at all and would beg the nurses to give me benedryl just to knock me out for a few hours. It was just really bad. The nurses were great and the doctors were very kind, but 30 year old moms should not be in hospitals, they should be with their family- I definitely felt quite trapped to be stuck there.

So, all that to say- I’m healing. Things aren’t going exactly as planned, but as the doctor said, I am definitely healthy. His goal is to get me back to a more normal-ish diet by Christmas, which I appreciate. Until then I am going to rely mainly on my tube feeding, supplement with some puréed food, and pray that my stent will remain in my stomach and my esophagus will continue to heal without the help of the stent. I would appreciate your prayers that everything will resolve quickly and that I’ll find myself soon back to a normal diet and a normal life with my family. Thank you so much!!!!