Intestinal Failure

---

In 1987 I went into hospital as I had been experiencing severe stomach pains (I’d never been in hospital before this admission). They initially thought it was appendicitis so they removed my appendix, however, there was nothing wrong with it. I still kept experiencing the pains and thereafter a laparoscopy was undertaken which is an exploratory examination where a camera is inserted through a small incision. This is an operation performed hundreds of times a day and a very straightforward procedure. However, this is how my story began….

During this procedure a major blood vessel was punctured and I suffered massive internal bleeding from which I nearly died. A laparotomy was performed (i.e. opened me up to stem and fix the bleed), however, after this was done it was 8 hours later and they realised I was still bleeding internally so they had to perform a second laparotomy. I received a blood transfusion to replace all the blood I’d lost, spent a long time in Intensive Care and was in hospital for a very long time. I tried for 3 years to sue the health service for this error but to no avail! (I was advised that there are risks with any surgery and that they made the best decisions at the time!! (Hmm, I beg to differ with that one)!!

After every procedure your body produces adhesions (which is scarring from the wound) and this, for me, has led to major obstructions within my small bowel all of which has then led to further laparotomies being performed so obviously leading to yet further adhesions each time, a vicious circle you might say! Now, 30 years on, I have undergone a total of 15 operations at various points, have suffered many complications as a result and been in an out of hospital many, many times – far too many for which I have lost count! I have nearly died 3 times during some of these surgeries, but for some reason I'm still here fighting!

I am now at a point where I am permanently living with intestinal failure and am dependant on TPN IV Feeding for all my nutritional needs and with a permanent ostomy. Life has not and is not easy but I am slowly getting there and have gathered a wealth of knowledge about my condition over the years.