Hi,

My name is Rebecca and I have been suffering with health issues since I was injured in 2023.

It’s hard to believe that it has been 1,001 days since my surgical injury in 2023 and the lengthy recovery that went with the injury & sepsis.

I’ve been quiet the last year about my recovery, and some were hopeful that meant things were getting better.

Unfortunately my health has been really struggling to get back to baseline. The week at home in 2023 between the time of the original surgery and the time I was taken back for the emergent laparotomy caused significant damage. My abdomen went from flat to looking 10 months pregnant overnight. The prolonged swelling and pressure caused damage to the vagus nerve leading to some pretty significant gastroparesis and pyloric stenosis .

The week of waiting for repair also did significant damage to my esophagus causing a sliding paraesophageal hiatal hernia that usually prefers to hang out in my chest cavity. The week of projectile vomiting also tore an existing Fundoplication wrap at the top of my stomach. That area continues to have bleeding micro-tears. Due to the gastroparesis I have been dealing not only with significant pain and projectile vomiting, but also with malabsorption and malnutrition. My iron saturation dropped to 5%. I have been feeling significantly fatigued and zombie ‍♀️ like…even after iron infusions.

In a few hours I will be heading in for a MAJOR surgery (4-5 surgeries crammed into 1) to help correct the damage from ‘23 and hopefully help me start feeling a little better and more like myself. During surgery my esophagus and the hernias will be repaired. My Fundoplication wrap will be taken down and revised. Due to the gastroparesis and pyloric stenosis I’ll be losing the bottom 3/4 of my stomach since food is not able to pass through the stomach. A bypass will be created to help food reach my small intestines.

We don’t yet know how long I’ll be in the hospital. If the surgeon is able to complete everything laparoscopicly I’ll hopefully only be in the hospital for the weekend. If the adhesions are too bad (which the surgeon anticipates) he will need to open me with a longer incision. It that’s the case I’ll likely be in 5-7 days.

A few people have reached out and asked how they can help. Below are some ideas. You can DM me, Luke, or our parents for our address. On 10/3 please allow grace with delayed answering of messages. We all have a lot going on and a lot on our minds. I will try to post an update in a few days.

Surgery Wishlist: Items To Aide In Recovery

Gas Gift Card: Meijer, Marathon, or Costco.

Premiere Protein Shakes: Strawberry flavors are a favorite, but any flavor is appreciated.

*Meals: I will be on a low fiber/residue full liquid/soft food diet for many weeks as my stomach and bowels heal. It’s very important that I consume high protein foods. Foods that I can enjoy include; apple sauce, Greek yogurt, pudding. Eggs. Potatoes for mashed potatoes. Really any type of meal will be appreciated and I can guarantee that if I can’t eat it, it will be enjoyed by an adorable 5 year old with an insatiable appetite.

Toilet Paper: GI Surgery IYKYK ‍

Paper towel

I have created a small Amazon wishlist with a few items that would be helpful for healing.

A small Go Fund Me will be launched to help cover the cost of any of the unexpected costs as well as to help with transportation costs for going to and from multiple appointments.