Update on My Cousin

The last time I posted, I think my cousin was getting ready to be discharged from the hospital soon.  Unfortunately the day before he was discharged, his doctors decided that outpatient therapy for his pelvic drain might not be sufficient for his specific condition.  They contemplated over surgery and felt like the benefits of removing a part of his large intestine and colon outweighed the complications associated with surgery.

It was heartbreaking to see my cousin that morning when he received the news that he would not be leaving the hospital.  He had obvious signs of anxiety over everything and it was definitely morale crushing for him and all of us.  After the general surgeon explained the surgery and what we could expect, my cousin agreed to surgery.  It was a difficult decision for him, in many ways.  In the culture and environment we were brought up in, surgery is always a bad thing.  Surgery pretty much has the connotation of death.  But my cousin eventually decided to have the surgery because many of his doctors had the sentiment that if he didn't have the surgery now, he would need it in the end at some point in his life.  He just wanted to get all of this over with.

I was happy with his decision because I felt like the (many) pros outweighed the cons.  The surgeon would be able to remove the "bad" piece of his intestines and colon and examine the rest of his intestines, in-person.  Also, the infected and inflamed area is going to be sent to pathology for a full work up.  This way we can determine if my cousin really has Crohn's, TB, or anything else.  It will put all of us at ease and help us to better understand his condition and how we can prevent something similar in the future.

Anyways, my cousin had the surgery yesterday morning and although the general surgeon expected many complications with his surgery, she finished the surgery pretty quickly.  In about an hour and a half, she removed a few inches from my cousin's large intestines and colon, and re-sectioned everything together!  He recovered well post-surgery yesterday and today he began to fart!  Farting is a great sign because it shows that his bowels are working and that everything was connected well.  Apparently everything so far is working together in his belly.

Even though he's progressing as expected, his fever returned tonight and I'm worried what that could mean.  I've been reading up on post-operative fevers and I really hope he doesn't have another infection brewing in a different system of his body.

I'm going back early tomorrow morning to observe him and to see if I can talk to his doctors.  I've been spending a lot of time at his hospital, everyday...and it kind of blows because when I'm not at the hospital I'm at the emergency room, working.  I feel bad for complaining, but I'm really worn down right now.  I just want him to get better and be happy, so we can all be happy.

S

"Give Your Heart a Break" -- Demi Lovato