I’m taking a stroll down a dark memory lane today. Back to the time right after my first surgery, which was utter hell.
Going into my first surgery I wasn’t prepared at all, it was a total emergency and complete shit show. The doctors told me that typically a patient is in the hospital for about 5-7 days after a bowel resection. However, that was not the case for me.
I was barely able to get up and move, I had constant fevers and was pretty lethargic. I just wanted to go home, but I couldn’t be discharged until I was fever free for at least 24 hours. Since I had an abscess that burst and tore open my intestines, I had a massive infection that was just making my recovery impossible.
About a week after my surgery I was still bed bound and in pretty bad shape. I just slept all day and I remember watching TV and I couldn’t focus on anything so I decided to just try and go to bed. I told my mom (who was laying in a cot next to my bed, never wanting to leave my side) that she could watch whatever she wanted. I then grabbed my phone (old school flip phone) to try and text a friend. I still remember what the message was, “I don’t think I’ll be out before . . . ” I never finished the message. And that was on the old cell phones and texting was more of a hassle. I remember my vision going blurry and I thought to myself, “this must be from all the medications and maybe I should try and sleep,” then the next thing I knew I was in a different room and the lights were off.
It was hours later and there was a nurse behind me cleaning me up and changing my hospital gown. I was on my side and I noticed my arm was tied down. The nurse calmly explained to me that I was in ICU and that I had had a seizure. Never having had a seizure I thought she must be mistaken so I immediately asked for my mom. The nurse undid my restraints and let my mom see me as they were taking me down to have an MRI.
I had so many questions and if I had the energy I would have been full-blown panicking.
My mother tried to tell me what happened as best she could. Here is her story as told to me. Right as I put my phone down (which is the last thing I remember) I turned to her and said I think I’m going to throw up. She went to reach for the basin and by the time (mere seconds) it took her to turn back my eyes had rolled back and I started having convulsions.
My mom ran into the hallway and screamed for help. The nurse called a Code Blue (which is really for cardiac arrest but she later told me she did it because she needed immediate help).
There were at least 6 nurses and doctors in the room while my mom was freaking out. In between the seizures I was awake but have no memory of this time and I was confused so I was fighting everyone off, hence why I woke up in restraints. I’m oddly proud of the fact that it took 6 people to restrain me.
After one of the seizures, someone said I was turning blue and had stopped breathing and that’s when my mom walked out of the room. At some point, a security guard told her to calm down and she started hitting him on his chest. Dude, don’t tell a freaked out mom to calm down. They moved me to the ICU right away and that’s where I woke up hours later.
My mom could hear me yelling “Get off of me!!!” and she tried to tell them if she could see me I might calm down, but I think they opted to just sedate me instead.
For me, it was like a big nap and when I woke up I was just extremely confused. They couldn’t figure out exactly why I had the seizures, but all signs pointed to the massive infection I was fighting.
I was in the hospital for 8 weeks total fighting off that infection. That recovery was hell and the neurologist said that the seizure event was most likely a one-time thing since adults in their twenties don’t develop seizure disorders.
Well, spoiler alert, doctors can be wrong. That last week in the hospital I was having excruciating migraines and I had never had migraines before. Not one doctor or nurse thought anything of it and in fact, they discharged me during one of those awful migraines.
I made it home with my mom, I’m so relieved to be in my own bed and not be in the hospital for the first time in two months. The following day I didn’t do too much, I was still pretty weak.
That evening I was laying on the couch and my brother had just started a movie for me, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. Oh yeah, I remember that. During the opening credits, I noticed the screen seemed dark and I couldn’t make out the picture. I didn’t think anything of it . . . and then I opened my eyes and I was in the ER staring at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. Oh, I was also restrained again.
My mom was right there and I remember hearing her voice. It’s weird to explain, but everything was fuzzy and I was confused but at the same time I knew exactly what was going on. My mom started asking me questions, like what’s your name and do you know who I am? I was able to answer them, but each answer took me a minute or two. My mom grabbed the doctor and the doctor explained that it’s normal, I’m basically rebooting.
I later found out that my brother called 911 and I was rushed to the hospital. They had lights and sirens going too, such drama. I had to be restrained again because I was fighting off the fireman. Weeks later I would get a chance to meet them and thank them for everything they did.
This time we were in a different hospital and for a minute they thought about discharging me and sending me back to the hospital where I had just been treated, but everyone decided to just keep me where I was. I stayed for another week and saw a new neurologist who put me on an anti-seizure medication, which I hadn’t been on thanks to the bad hospital. That’s another long story for another day.
My migraines went away and once I was discharged things were better. I was still weak, but not as bad as my previous discharge. It was like walking on eggshells being home, I know my mom was watching me like a hawk and was terrified that I would have another seizure.
It’s been over 10 years and I haven’t had a seizure since. It’s crazy to look back on everything that happened. This was a curveball that Crohn’s threw my way that I never saw coming. Glad it’s all in the past now.