Almost 3 Weeks Post-Liver Resection Update

Hey guys!  I hope you're all doing well!  I just wanted to update you all quickly since I really haven't since my surgery.  It's a little graphic, just to warn you.  My surgery went well, they did remove 60% of my liver because the cancer spots were too close to major vessels for them to just cut them out.  They took my gallbladder too just because people sometimes have issues with them later in life and they're trying to save me from more surgery later on.

While I was in the hospital, 5 days after surgery, actually on the day they were intending for me to leave, I developed an ileus, which is when your intestines haven't woken up yet from the anesthesia so your food can't go through your system, so you throw up.  Throwing up hurts like crazy when your stomach has just been cut apart.  They said it was causing my small intestines to swell and that my liver stitches weren't meant to hold up to that.  So they said that they would put a tube up my nose and down into my stomach and suction out everything in there so I would stop throwing up.  They made it sound much easier than it was.  First off, the tube freakin hurts.  It's hard plastic and it scrapes your nose and the back of your throat.  They also expect you to drink water while they insert this tube to make sure it goes into your stomach and not into your windpipe.  However, the tube on the back of your throat makes you throw up.

This was the most awful thing I have ever been through and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.  They did that 3 times.  The first time the suction wasn't working so they took it back out.  The second time, they weren't confident that it was positioned correctly.  And the third time they took an x-ray to make sure that it was in the right position because it felt like it was in the back of my throat still, it was making me gag.  I cried like a big fat baby while this was happening.  It was just awful.  About 2 hours after they got the tube in the last time, I started throwing up around the tube so I begged them to take it out and they did.  They took me off of food and the problem resolved itself.  I feel lucky that it got better so fast because my mom, who's a nurse, said that she's seen ileus' last 5-7 days.  I told my husband if they were going to put another tube up my nose that I was going to check myself out.  I was not going to willingly let them do that to me again.

So altogether I was in the hospital for 8 days, which feels like forever when you're there.  I had a post-op visit yesterday with my surgeon and he said from a medical standpoint, I'm doing remarkably well.  He said also that people who respond as well to the chemo as I did often do much better long-term than someone who doesn't respond as well so that was encouraging.  I'm still super sore and can barely stand up straight.  My stomach looks like I got in a knife fight with someone in a parking lot haha.  I'm all cut and scarred up.

So technically, right now my body is cancer free.  I will be doing more chemo just to make sure that any remaining cells will be killed off.  I cannot wait for this to be over.  This surgery took so much out of me.  I was not expecting it to be as hard as it has been.

While I wish I had a look to post for you, I'm afraid I don't because I got home from the hospital to find that my camera is no longer working.  I honestly have only worn eye makeup 3 times since my surgery anyways (and it's all been neutral and very boring), so you're not really missing out on anything.  I'm in the process of researching and comparing different cameras so I make sure I get a good one.

That's my update!  Thank you all so much for your encouraging words!  They have meant a lot to me!  I thank you all so much for your support!