faith-hope-love

I just posted my story under the Revisions forum. It is not the happy, hopeful story I know you would like to hear. Please read it so that can understand that there can be serious complications. Best wishes to you!

I don't want to scare anyone but I want people to know that the risks of this surgery are very, very serious. It will be one year from my surgery on Mar. 23. It has been quite an experience. I had the surgery on Mar. 23, 2011, went home, wasn't feeling very good and ended up back in the hospital a few days later. After some tests I found out that I had a leak on the staple line where the Lap Band had been. I spent the next few weeks in the ICU. I had 5-6 more surgeries trying to reduce the infection that had spread. My kidneys failed and I ended up on dialysis. My life expectancy at this point was at less than 20%. I finally started to gain a little strength and I was moved to the hospital floor where I spent the next 8 weeks. There was absolutely nothing they could do to repair the leak. We could only hope and pray that I would eventually heal. I was still on dialysis, had a chest tube, 2 drains in my abdomen, a 6 inch long and 3 inch deep incision that had to heal from the inside and I was in need of a Wound Vac (didn't even know what that was before) and constant bandage changes. I had a NG tube in my nose and I could not eat or drink by mouth. Of course IV's and oxygen. Even when I was strong enough to go home, I needed to take all these things with me. I was still on dialysis for a few weeks until my kidneys decided to work correctly. I had a picc line and needed to get IV antibiotics daily for several months. It wasn't until late Aug. 2011 that I was finally strong and well enough to have the picc line removed and the NG tube removed. I spent over 5 months not being able to eat or drink anything by mouth. The doctors had no idea if I would heal or if I may have these problems for the rest of my life (and I had great doctors). There was just no way of knowing. I was very, very lucky. I am alive and doing well. I have healed, even though I may have a few lingering issues to deal with. I did lose weight...the hard way. Was it worth it? No. What I went through and what my family went through was just too difficult. I can't even put into words the difficulty of this experience. Not to mention the debt we are now in because this was not covered by my insurance. To the tune of over $200,000. I know how you feel as you consider this surgery. You are hopeful for a new lease on life as was I. Please consider the risks for this surgery. A 1% chance of a serious complication doesn't seem like much...unless you are that 1!! It's hard for me to even talk about this, but I hope to make others aware of how serious this can be. As hard as this has been...physically and emotionally...I am the lucky one. Many people have died from this same complication. I will never again take my life for granted. I pray that all of you are healthy and strong no matter what your decision. Be happy with who you are...you are a wonderful person just the way you are...your family loves you...your children love you...if you make the decision to have any surgery PLEASE consider the risks and the options. I wish all of you the very best!