Why Can't I Have a Vacation Like "Normal" People?
It was October of 1998, and my husband and I were taking a trip down to Disney World. He was giving a presentation at a conference, and I was coming along for the ride - and to see Mickey, of course.
We were seated at the back of the plane, which was fine with me because it was nearer to the restroom. As it turned out, however, we were last to get served dinner. By the time the stewardess reached us, they were completely out of the ham sandwiches and only had the vegetable sandwiches left. I should have made a fuss, and demanded they serve me something else, because a veggie sandwich was not going to go over well with my condition. I didn't - I just ate the veggie sandwich, and set off my ulcerative colitis (UC) in the flare to end all flares.
While we were at Disney I spent a lot of time running to the restrooms. Thankfully, I had a book that mapped out each park very nicely. On the buses to and from the hotel, I was often in a blind panic, hoping that I wouldn't need to "go" before we got to our destination. More than once my husband and I had to get off the bus at a different resort so I could use the facilities there. We had some fun, but it was difficult always wondering where the next restroom was. I worried that I was spoiling the trip for my husband.
Back to Reality...
When we returned home, I finally caved in and made an appointment with a new gastroenterologist. Since it had been at least 5 years since my last colonoscopy, he scheduled one right away.
I don't remember anything from the actual test (thank goodness). The first thing I remember is the look on my doctor's face when he came back to the recovery area to discuss my results. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, and he told me that my colon was riddled with polyps. It was so bad, he was worried that I already had colon cancer, and he was going to recommend surgery right away. I, in my drugged state, immediately began to weep and asked him if he meant the two step j-pouch surgery, and he confirmed that he did.
He rushed the lab reports, and before I left we discovered that the polyps were not cancerous. Not yet, anyway. They were showing signs of dysplasia, which can be a precursor to cancer. My colon might turn cancerous, and it might not.
Decisions, Decisions
I now had some tough choices to make. I didn't want surgery, but it seemed to be the best course of action, as my colon could turn cancerous in the next three months. I had to decide which kind of surgery, and where I was going to have it done.
I consulted with two different surgeons. They had privileges at different hospitals, and they had different opinions about my case. The first surgeon I saw said he could give me a j-pouch in one step because of my young age and my otherwise good health. This sounded very attractive to me, but I was skeptical, as I had read the one step procedure carries more risks of problems such as pouchitis.
The second surgeon recommended the two step procedure. At the age of 25, no one wants to have two surgeries in the space of three months, but I decided to do it. I wanted this thing done correctly, and if I had to endure more pain and discomfort in order to have a better life in the future, that was alright with me.
