10 years today!!!

I haven't posted here in a long while. But today I had to come back and post a RAVE!! 10 years ago, TODAY, I had my first stage surgery! Three months later I had my second stage take down. A month after that, my intestine where the temp. stoma had some scar tissue tear off and I perforated.

(It's kind of a funny/interesting story. I went home from grad school early that day because I wasn't feeling that great. Thought I was just having some slowness issues, so went home to drink some warm tea and relax. Did that, but it didn't help. I stood up, after the tea and relaxing and felt dizzy, along with the pain in my belly. I thought, I'm super tired. Maybe I just need a nap and this slowdown thing is just psychosomatic. Good thing I didn't. Instead I called my doctor and as soon as I said "I feel a bit dizzy" the nurse interrupted me and said "Go to the ER, right now!". My wife was still at school so I called her lab. Her boss/PI answered the phone and I asked for her. Her boss said "She's in a seminar" and I was trying to say "It's an emergency and I need her help immediately", but she hung up on me. So I thought about calling an ambulance, but decided against it. I hopped in the car and drove to school (only about two blocks away). I parked in the fire lane where I knew she was. Pulled her out of the seminar and caught her up to speed. She then drives me to the ER. They work me in quick because by that time, the sepsis was really taking over and I was in A LOT of pain. They x-rayed me and could see the shadow of the perforation. My surgeon is there. They take me to pre-op. He says what has happened and what he's going to do. As he's leaving I break through my pain and morphine and say "Save my pouch." He says "I'll do my best." I tell my wife to call our friend to come to the hospital to be with her and then call our mothers. I wake up, I see my wife's face, I see our friend's face, I reach for my stoma scar.... YES!!!! it is still a scar! I ask "Did they save my pouch?!?!?" Because I didn't trust myself. My wife says "Yes." I say "Let me see, let me see, let me see..." I rip the covers off (my friend and I are now much closer :>. Once I see that I still have my pouch and no stoma I nearly start bawling all over everything. The only reason I didn't was because I was hammered on drugs and I think I promptly passed out.)

Since that last surgery, life has improved tremendously. Slowly at first. Measure success in months not days. Then more rapidly. I had UC for 10 years. I was diagnosed at 19. That's too early, but it's my story. I have now been with my jpouch for longer than UC. With the exception of one small thing, I don't regret or grieve the loss of my colon one bit. I am as healthy as I have ever been. My life is mine. UC does not define who I am. I don't care where the bathrooms are. Doctors, scientists, nurses, friends, family, this forum... I am NOT being melodramatic to say you all saved my life.

For anyone reading this and wondering if you should have the surgery. Do it. Or if you're within the first year of your surgery. Hang in there. It gets better, usually. The road is long and difficult. But life is waiting for you on the other side. I haven't been here in a while because I forget that I have anything wrong with me. I'm 10 years post-op and things are great!