Gratefulness Beyond Measure

Today has been such a positive day for me, everything is really coming back together. This morning I got an email saying that my support belt should be with me tomorrow, so I can finally start running. I’ve had my heart set on doing ‘Couch to 5k’ for a good few weeks now, but have been waiting patiently until I had the support belt. Just to be safe and try and reduce that hernia risk. The wait is finally over, tomorrow should be the day (keep your fingers and toes that it doesn’t get delayed)!

This afternoon was my follow up appointment with the surgeon, Mr Ball, a very personable and attractive man, incredibly good at his job, who again put me and my quality of life at the centre of my care. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this appointment as the nurses have been checking my stoma, and my bottom doesn’t seem to have caused me any problems. So I went in thinking it might be a bit more like a Q&A about how I was doing, and then summarised with a discharge. I decided that I would do a special bag for the occasion, just in case he did want to see, and I’m so glad that I did.

The Q&A’s came first, and he seemed pleased with my progress. We discussed the running, he was happy for me to go ahead once the belt arrived. His advise was to run flat to begin with (all well and good but we live on top of a hill 😉 ) and to listen to my body, any pain during then stop, any pain afterwards then give myself a few days rest before going again.

He was happy with my plans to return to work at the end of the month, and thought the plan that OH (Occupational Health) my Team Leader and I had come up with was great.

Then came the words ‘let’s have a look then’! Part of me was pleased as he was going to see the bag I’d made for him, the other part was mortified as I was pretty sure I was going to have to get my bum out again! With hindsight though I’m pleased he looked, for two reasons; 1) He seemed thrilled with the bag, and even took a photo of it. 2) I had three stitches that had been missed, so he removed them for me too.

All was well and indeed I have been discharged from the surgical team. The IBD team will follow up with me and see where we go from there, but the likelihood is that I will be discharged from them too. So really the best possible outcome that I could have hoped for.

I have come away feeling on top of the world, but also feeling very reflective. The outcome of my histology showed absolutely no signs of cancer which is the best possible news. I can now rest easy with the fact that I will never find myself facing a bowel cancer diagnosis. However, my conclusive diagnosis was ‘Fulminant Colitis’. Now I hadn’t heard this term before, not surprising as it turns out it’s pretty rare, it’s considered the most severe form of Ulcerative Colitis. Although I always knew I was seriously ill, until I read up on it this evening, I had no idea just how desperate it really was. Fulminant Colitis is a form of Colitis that has taken over the full colon and as Mr Ball said is extremely unlikely to respond to any treatment. Chrons and Colitis UK describes it as “a potentially life-threatening form of Colitis. Symptoms include all those for ‘severe’ Colitis, as well as signs of infection, such as a fever or increased heart rate”. You can read more about my symptoms and those of severe Ulcerative Colitis here.

This evening I feel more grateful than ever just to be here, let alone the fact that I have been given the opportunity to live my life to the absolute fullest again, and it’s all down to the amazing work of the teams that looked after me.

I am forever grateful ❤