Sorry I haven't posted in SEVERAL months! I had a very busy summer consisting of working and doctor visits. My husband had been having "throat issues" for the past year or so, and to make a long story short, we have been going in circles.... until this summer and then we hit the ground running. Our primary care physician treated him with anti- acid medications, which didn't work, so he sent him to an ENT who had no idea what in the heck she was doing. Then he started having a hard time breathing and there was an extremely loud stridor sound(WHEEZING) whenever he would inhale. We were then sent to a respiratory specialists who performed a bronchoscopy and found out that he had tracheal stenosis. We were then sent to a thoracic surgeon, who actually ended up being a friends dad of mine, Dr. Hazelrigg. He then performed a tracheal dilatation on Ryan, which was an outpatient surgery and went just fine. He said Ryan's trachea was the size of a pencil head where it should be the size of a quarter or so. During the dilatation, Ryan's throat started bleeding a little, so he stopped in hopes of not creating a bronchospasm (which would cut off his breathing supply). We then scheduled his second dilatation a month later, and it worked out great, creating an airway the size of a quarter again! The dilatation's were both outpatient surgeries, so he was able to come home and recover. Dr. Hazelrigg's first goal was to solve the problem at hand (Ryan's breathing issue). His next goal was to find out what was causing the stenosis of his trachea. After several tests, another bronchoscopy and a 24 hour PH study, the conclusion was severe GERD (acid reflux). It was a very scary time for us, there was a possible complication of a tracheostomy if surgery didn't go as planned and also the scare of a possible tumor causing the stenosis. THANKFULLY the stenosis was just caused from inherited congenital GERD. Usually people can control the symptoms of GERD by diet and medications, but Dr. Hazelrigg was concerned because it had caused so much issues with his throat. Considering Ryan is only 25 years old, it is obvious that it is genetic, and it is serious. Dr Hazelrigg then discussed the surgery that he suggested for Ryan, a Nissen Fundoplication. The nissen fundoplication is performed laparoscopically with five small incision sites. Essentially, he wraps the upper portion of the stomach (the fundus) around the esophagus and sewn into place. The goal of this surgery is to strengthen the valve between the stomach and the esophagus to prevent acid from regurgitating back into the throat which causes breakdown of his throat tissue/ stenosis of his trachea. To make another story short, Ryan had the nissen fundoplication surgery done FRIDAY and is recovering so well! As far as post op goes, he can't lift weights and has to have a soft diet for 3-4 weeks until the post op appointment. The reason for the soft diet is to prevent any foods to get stuck in the wrap that he created (you can get a full of partial wrap and he created a full wrap for Ryan to prevent further complications down the road since he's so young). So I went out shopping for groceries for Ryan and I have also been researching ( thank you pinterest ) and cooking homemade "meals" for him. He is recovering so well! He is in minimal pain (thank you to high pain tolerance as well as pain medication) and he is in great spirits. My husband is such a great man and he is SO STRONG! He had an overnight stay for the nissen fundoplication surgery and he made sure to ensure that I had a pull out bed and that he thanked me 100000 times. I definitely am lucky and married the right guy! Not that he isn't SUPER lucky to have me ;) Ryan also got a new pair of Ariat cowboy boots. He's super pumped!
Thanks for listening to the long post- that is my "excuse" as to why I have not posted in several months. I know, it's horrible! I am still living a healthy lifestyle. I am cooking healthy and running daily. LOVE IT!!!
Cheers to happiness :)
Here's some pictures of our months (& months) journey to answers & health!
#1: Before Ryan's second bronchoscopy
#2: Before Ryan's first tracheal dilatation. "Keep calm and chive on!"
#3: On the way into the hospital-- Ryan's second tracheal dilatation. He's wearing his DAR tee shirt "Daily afternoon randomness." How handsome is he?! #lucky :)
#4: Before his BIG surgery-- the nissen fundoplication
#5: Same day--- he's a "chiver" :)
#6: first day post op---- & he gets a surprise present from me!
#7: 5 small incision sites. He's in minimal pain, but it's easily controlled with PO Norco... He's such a trooper!
#8: His new Ariat cowboy boots. Happy hubby!
#9: Soft food diet for a month = THIS
#10: Thank goodness for my parents taking Bella boo for the night while we were in the hospital. This is a pic of her when we came home and gave her a new bone to chew. She thinks she's the queen of the house- she brings such happiness to us!
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers! Ryan totally kicked this surgery's butt and I am so happy and proud for him! God bless and thank you to all of our friends & family for everything :)
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