Surprise Surgery! Part 3

Recovery from my total colectomy and adjusting to using an ostomy has been a challenge both physically and mentally, but I think I've made tremendous progress in the past week.

Once you start to come out of the pain killer and anesthesia fog, they keep you on a diet of clear liquids for a bit, the length of which depends on how your stoma performs, ie, whether or not anything comes out.  I was allowed to try some cracker type foods on Thursday morning, after a Tuesday morning surgery.  I was terrified about how to start, especially after being sugar free, starch free, gluten free and egg free for so long!  So I started with rice cakes and a couple of salty potato chips, ha.  I felt extremely sore and bloated, but the doctors all seemed happy, and I wasn't using too much pain medication.  Later in the day I tried some mashed potatoes and turkey, and they were getting ready to send me home Friday! I was terrified!!  I didn't know how to take care of my ostomy yet, and I started to feel like they were pushing me out the door without adequate training!  Infortunately there are only 2 nurses at this hospital that specialize in training people to care for their new ostomies, but one was on vacation and the other was seriously overbooked.  I was also supposed to have help from a social worker setting up a visiting nurse service to continue my training at home, but everything seemed to be getting lost in the shuffle and I just kept hearing "discharge!" over and over!  I was still struggling with the abdominal soreness and bloating, but was also having regular difficulty with nausea, which I suspected was from the strong antibiotics they were still giving me for c.diff protection. the IV anti-nausea meds worked well, so I agreed to go home as long as they gave me a script for anti-nausea pills.

Surprise Surgery! Part 2

After an exciting day in the emergency room at Stamford Hospital, I arrived at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC at around 11 pm by ambulance transfer (fun! but no sirens), waving to my husband through the back window as he followed behind for much of the trip.  Up in my room, various resident doctors came by and everyone agreed that I wouldn't be having any emergency surgery that night, so we tried to get some rest.  The nurses managed to find a recliner for my husband... but he was unable to figure out how to recline it in our shared stupor, so he slept sitting up with his feet sticking out in front of him all night.  Poor guy!  (I figured out how to recline it via secret hidden lever the next day!)

In the morning I was visited by many doctors, and we discussed my options.  The fact that I had a c.diff infection had the potential to change things... it was possible that this latest downturn was all due to that.  AND, having a recurrent c.diff infection is the only thing that currently makes poop transplants (fecal microbiota transplant, or FMT) legal in this country, something I was very interested in trying if my colon could handle it.  It was arranged that the FMT specialist would come see me the next morning (Monday).  In the mean time I had some abdominal x-rays to make sure I hadn't ruptured, but things still looked pretty awful and the general consensus was that surgery was going to be necessary - the damage was too great to get under control with medicines that had failed me so far, and the risk of my colon literally breaking open was pretty high.  So, I spent a day very hungry, waiting for my chance to see a few more doctors on Monday, preparing myself mentally for what would very likely be surgery on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Surprise Surgery! Part 1

Well, what an adventure I am on!

I was feeling pretty great back in April, but throughout May and into early June things started going downhill again.  I continued with the latest infusion therapy medication (Entyvio) and reached almost 6 months on the SCD, but just wasn't seeing the hoped for results.  I emailed my doctor some creative and uber dorky graphs, saying "I think its time to talk".

I am such a dork.

The next day, I felt surprisingly well, and even took the kids to the beach!  Turns out that was a bit of a last hurrah, and boy am I thankful that I was given such a nice afternoon with my kids! (and one last chance to bear my nice flat scar free tummy in an itty bitty yellow polka dot bikini!)

Crafty Weekend!

We're finally starting to feel like we have our act together again!  Hooray!  Not only did we manage to have a successful family outing to the grocery store AND home depot with minimal crying, but we made headway on several projects and even some yard maintenance.  Who knew we had it in us? haha.

Our house is a constant organizational challenge - organization is not my strong suit.  I'm one of those people with piles of stuff everywhere.  I know where things are in the piles (as long as no one else moves them), but I just can't seem to get rid of them.  I keep trying though!  Add 2 kids, a husband, and a mother-in-law to the mix and we have stuff EVERYWHERE.

Lately I've been trying to tackle the toys.  They're all over the place!  I tried getting rid of a few... but I barely made a dent.  I've tried rearranging to see if they take up less usable space if I put this giant thing over there and this pile here... but it hasn't helped much.  One of the biggest obsticles is a giant cardboard box that has been one of my little girls favorite toys for over a year now.  When I saw this idea for a collapsible cardboard playhouse on Pinterest, I had to try it!  My triceps are a little sore from pulling and ripping off all that duct tape, but success!  I made a few alterations since my box was bigger than the one in the tutorial, and our playhouse has front doors :)

I also managed to make serious headway on this clever idea for making a bean bag type chair stuffed with stuffed animals, and was able to finish it up during naptime yesterday.  There is a detailed tutorial by GoogieMomma for the S.A.C. (Stuffed Animal Chair), and Sherri at Little Thread Riding Hood made up some printable patterns and added some extra tips.  I made the larger size from the printable pattern, though I didn't use batting so I made the lining a little shorter and added some stuffing like GoogieMomma had recommended.   I think it turned out pretty well, but when my mother-in-law saw it she laughed and said (in Spanish), "It looks like a giant pumpkin!"  Little girl liked it though, and a serious jumping/play session took place on it yesterday evening.

Here it is - the giant pumpkin

Ignore the disaster that is our playroom

My first semi-applique!

Surprise!  A zipper in the bottom lets you add or remove stuffed toys, as demonstrated by Peppa Pig. 

I was very proud of myself for completing this project for several reasons:

1. I finished!
2. I found a mistake in the instructions BEFORE I did it, so no mistake for me ☺ (when sewing on the inner lining shell, both the outer and inner shells should be inside out, so that when you turn it all right-side-out the wrong sides touch - the diagram shows the outer-shell-right side out but the inner shell in-side-out)
3. I figured out how to finish it with NO HAND SEWING, HOORAY!
4. I learned a few things, like an easier way to do a zipper than I'd been doing.
5. I did my first (sort of) applique (a little pentagon on top to make it look nicer).
6. I only jammed my machine once.
7. I used up a whole bunch of fabric that I'd bought for curtains but the husband didn't like.  Waste not!
8. I finally sewed in my new crafting space in the back entry foyer - which means I cleaned off enough of the random clutter we accumulate to actually use the table! 

Now the stuffed animals are corralled and there's a new place to lounge on the floor for my/with my children :)  Now if only I could get rid of some of the other clutter... Which is why I made my very first Craigslist posting yesterday!  Another reason I feel accomplished!

Up next: open shelves in the mudroom/craft room/entry way, and possibly a new bench?

peanut butter treats

One of the weirdest things about becoming accidentally skinny is that I have to add fat to my diet.  As in, I have to try hard to make sure I eat enough fat.  As in, a LOT of fat.

There are a lot of differing opinions out there about which fats are healthy.  We all do what works for us, and I currently use a lot of coconut oil, olive oil, ghee (basically clarified butter), and bacon fat (for flavor!).  I also try not to skim fat out of meat dishes... but sometimes I'm still to grossed out after being raised in 90's America, during the height of the fat-free fad.

But there are some things that everyone appreciates some delicious fats in - even fat-free dieters.
 
DESSERTS!

Things like chocolates... and peanut butter cups...

I may not be allowed to eat chocolate, but I've (carefully) hopped back on the peanut butter train!

I've adapted the coconut oil "frosting" idea into bite size frozen treats, yum!  Great as a high fat snack, or as a satisfying dessert - just a tiny taste can be quite satisfying!

Frozen bite-sized peanut butter treats
quantities are estimates...

• 1/2 cup room temperature coconut oil (not liquid!)
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1. mix all ingredients well
2. place in silicone molds or place blobs on a small plate or tray lined with foil or parchment
3. put in freezer for 30 minutes
4. pop out of molds or off of tray and put in a ziploc or tupperware.  Store in freezer.

I like to chew them one at a time - they remind me of the insides of a peanut butter cup.  But sometimes I let them melt in my mouth instead :)