| Author | Message | ||
     Corporatemonkey |
I have been hesitant to mention anything until now, but maybe by sharing I might alleviate some of my fears. Tomorrow morning (Friday), I have to go in the hospital and put under for a risky procedure. History: Back in 2003-2004 I suffered from a condition called Achalasia. Info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achalasia Basically the short explanation is my esophagus stopped working, and I was not able to eat/drink. It is a rare condition, and my case was unique because of my young age, and the severity. I suffered for nearly a year with this as the doctors attempted to find a solution that fit my age, and minimal insurance coverage. By the end I had lost over 30 lbs. (I didn't have to lose), and what little nutrition I got came via an IV. Finally the doctors decided to perform surgery to cut at the damaged area. Info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heller_myotomy Because of my young age, and severity I had medical departments from all over beg to allow medical students to observe the surgery. During the surgery I had over 25 people in the operating room. I won't go into the details of recovery but it wasn't pretty. After the procedure I had gained about 80% of my eating ability back. I still have issues, and occasionally embarrass myself in public when I get "sick" for no reason. Since the surgery damaged my esophageal sphincter, I have difficulty preventing food, or acid from traveling back up my esophagus. This causes acid reflux problems, and risk of pneumonia (food travels into my lungs) I knew I would never be 100% but after spending $40k+ on surgery, this was supposed to be a one shot deal. Over the last 9 months ago my problem started to rear its ugly head again. This is not supposed to happen. After a business trip 2 weeks ago it had gotten so bad I had not choice but to visit the doctors. They were not thrilled to see me. They have put me in ASAP for a endoscopic procedure with dilatation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumatic_dilatation Because I have had this performed before, and because of the surgery I have had a minor rupture. I am at a high risk for complications. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boerhaave_syndrome The doctor and his staff sat me down and we had a nice chat about my risks. If they find my sphincter is closing up again, I will have to have more surgery. Because of the previous surgery the risks are through the roof. If it comes to that I don't know if I can bring myself to go through it again. My quality of life is heading down hill, but I hate to let this be my downfall. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Good luck man! Prayers are on their way! | ||
| Gjwinaus |
I was waiting for the punch line, we see cut and paste jokes on here and all the time I'm reading this, I'm thinking, I hope this is only a joke, But no. So I hope that what ever it is you have done goes well and you put this behind you quickly. My best wishes are with you. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
dude! Sumnabiatch. Gotta get better soon and out of the hospital, theres more Mexican places in seattle that you have to show me. Thoughts and prayers with ya man. Whatever good kharma I have stored up, I am sending your way. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Thank you for the kind words. I won't be communicating much tomorrow, but I will attempt to have a staff member post on my behalf. | ||
| Rotzaruck |
That's some scary sounding stuff. Hopefully what they find won't be as bad as I'm sure you are imagining. The BadWeB will be pulling for you. I've got you on the list tonight. Rotzaruck! | ||
| Danger_dave |
Spank that monkey dude! | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Good luck and prayers are with you. Keep on bein' strong Jamie. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Prayers sent. Hang in there Jamie. | ||
| Greenlantern |
With all of us pulling for you (and you can be sure we are), You will do fine. I will throw some prayers in there for insurance and brownie points with God. Be strong and keep the faith brother! | ||
| Court |
I'm glad I got to read this before I left today, I'll be out of touch for a couple days. Please know that your friends and the Buell community make a powerful force of folks to have on your side. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers and wishing you a speedy recovery. Court | ||
| Boney95 |
From a Karate Kid theme song, "You're the Best around, Nothing Can Ever Keep You Down". Hang in there man, Best Wishes. | ||
| Brumbear |
Prayers dude | ||
| Ulywife |
Jamie - best of luck and lots of good karma and prayers coming your way. Let's hope that your quality of life is better after the surgery and that you don't experience any of the possible complications they've told you about. We know the complications of Achalasia. My sister was born with it. It took the docs at UNC 18 months to figure out what she had and then they had to fabricate the equipment to perform the surgery since this is something they usually only see in older adults. | ||
| Svh |
Best of luck to you. You are in our thoughts and prayers. | ||
| Drummer |
I have had some similar problems and have had my esophagus dilated twice...but doing OK today. My prayers are with you Bro, keep us posted. | ||
| Zane |
Jamie, I'll put in a good word for you with the Man upstairs. Hang in there and hold onto hope. | ||
| Etennuly |
Wishing the best for ya. Crossin' up for a good result. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Hang in there and best wishes..For years I fought diet induced reflux...luckily, major lifestyle changes took care of my problem with only minor epiglottal erosion... | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Well I am off to see the wizard  See you on the other side. Seriously, thanks for the thoughts, it really does mean a lot. | ||
| Acav80 |
Come on, Jamie! We're pulling for you, man! I sure hope it's going well this morning.      | ||
| Aeholton |
Praying for you. | ||
| Dwardo |
Me too. | ||
| Oldog |
Prayers and best wishes for a speedy recovery! | ||
| Hexangler |
Good luck man. | ||
| Elf |
Damn, Jamie! Good karma & wishes coming atcha from Colorado! Keep in touch and let us know! | ||
| Bcordb3 |
Bona Fortuna Monkey | ||
| Reindog |
Aye, caramba! Good luck from San Diego. | ||
| Boltrider |
The Monkey will pull through! | ||
| Rainman |
Mycka lycka. Sending out some good vibes your way, man. A family member has some similar issues, so we'll all get behind you. |
