Nathanial is doing well
After a five and a half hour surgery Nathan is in the recovery ward.
A series of biopsies were performed along the length of his large intestine and the section of
diseased colon was mapped out and removed. He has had about two thirds of his large intestine
removed as well as his rectum. A pull through operation was performed connecting the remaining
healthy ascending colon and part of his transverse colon to his anal sphincter. (this past few
months have been a crash course in human anatomy for us)
The doctor was able to partially reconstruct a rectal 'pocket' that may help him develop some form
of normal continence. Although all this sounds very serious, what this ultimately means is that he
will have to be mindful of his diet and bowel movements for the rest of his life. He is to expect
loose stools and more frequent bowel movements, all in all – manageable lifelong considerations.
For the interim we need to be mindful of infection and constipation while he heals. There are other
possible problems we may face- but we will deal with what we have to as things may develop. There
is no word regarding when he may come home or when he may start eating normally or anything as yet.
Those questions can be answered as they come up. For now he is doing well and enjoying his well
deserved morphine high.
Rob.