I'm home now (Wednesday night) and feeling ok which is good given all I had done to me over the past 36 hours. As Penny mentioned in her post below, the surgery was unsuccessful. The doctors couldn't find the connecting hole between the abscess and the rectum and came to the realization that even if they did, the rectum and abscess are too far apart to open up the connecting tract and make them one. If they did such a procedure, there would be a high likelihood of severely reduced colon function when they reverse my ileostomy. So the next best option (to keep me on track with my chemo) is to try the glue again. We tried 8 attempts at glue before last fall and they all failed. They tried a ninth one today which I hope will work but given a) the fact that the first 8 didn't work and b) I'm on bevicizumab - a type of chemotherapy notorious for making healing difficult, those hope aren't high.
We met with Dr. Buie this evening and he apologized profusely for forgetting to come and see us yesterday. We were so mad a him yesterday but he diffused us (even Penny!) right away with some kind and honest words. Given that surgery didn't work and glue likely won't work, the options for me are limited. Following chemo we will pull the drain (yes I'm stuck with it for another 2 months!) and see if I heal by myself. If that doesn't work then we may have to discuss removing the whole mess (abscess and rectum) and having a colostomy. Colostomies are generally easier to live with than ileostomies but obviously we would like to exhaust every possibility before it comes to that.
The next step for me is getting back in touch with my chemo doctor (Dr. Lupichuck) and seeing when I can get going with my remaining 4 rounds of chemo. It could be as early as next Tuesday if all goes well between now and then. I really just want to get this chemo done and move on with the rest of the plan.
To you Mr. Drain I say Bah Humbug!
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