Last night I re-read all my previous blog posts prior to surgery. I re-read how scared I was of not bouncing back. How worried I was that it was cancer. How necessary the surgery was if I were to ever have a transplant. I re-lived all those emotions last night. It was quite the roller coaster even on this side of the ending.
Not much has changed in a year, besides my weight and the long scar I now have on my torso. I am at my ideal weight (Mine not anyone else's) at 116 lbs. But I had put on quite a few pounds before surgery to be sure I wouldn't fall too low. I was 132 lbs going into the operating room. Way more than I ever wanted to be or want to be again.
My health is doing great. I still do not require insulin although my OGTT I had done recently still put me in the abnormal range. So I am monitoring sugars for my appointment in October. But I am not diabetic like we thought might happen.
I did not have any serious complications after surgery which to me is a miracle in itself! The stats for complications were ridiculous! Besides some lingering nausea into the new year, I was complication and side effect free. I have my appetite back and I can eat large meals again, which only took about 9 months to sort out. My bowels have returned to normal too.
It is almost like surgery didn't happen.
Here are some photos to prove that it in fact did happen:
Getting changed into my gowns.
Putting the IV in. I can't look when it is inserted or I pass out!
after the epidural. Those things are awful but man do they take the pain away after!
post surgery when I was still out cold. You can see my collection tubes on the left with liquid in them. They were more annoying than anything. I had to carry them every time I got up after I was mobile. And they were sore. And pulling them so I could go home was HORRIBLE. I almost broke my mom's hand when they pulled them. Fuckers were like 4 feet long (I have no idea how long they actually were but let me tell you they felt like they were a mile long)!
1 week after surgery. Scar looks pretty good here! I was still bloated from everything. You can see the vampire bite on the side of my abdomen. That is where the two tubes were.
You can really see the difference in my face with the weight I lost. This was 11 days post surgery. I had a really good day and felt great this day! I remember it well. It was a rare feeling those first few weeks.
This is my 6 weeks comparison photo I posted on Facebook.
And this is me today. My scar looks awesome. I am not embarrassed by it at all. In fact I love showing it off. Its something to be proud of. I can say I survived the whipple. Not that I wear skimpy clothes but I have a bikini I bought that I love to wear!!!
Some previous Whipple posts:
Thank you for your post and incredible message. I am 10 weeks post Whipple and am down about 18 lbs from my pre-surgery weight. I too have had no complications and my appetite is back. However, I have struggled to put weight back on. This gives me hope!!!! John
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