Esophageal cancer scare…
So I went back under the knife a week ago for another major surgery. This surgery was not planned at all. I wasn’t going to say anything at all, but this is much bigger than me. I’ve discussed my issues before with severe acid reflux that I started suffering from after my Bariatric surgery almost 4 years ago. That acid reflux developed into something much more dangerous than I could have ever imagined. Over time, it was becoming almost unbearable to function. I was always nauseous, weak, and tired. I would throw up pretty much every day for numerous reasons. If I ate something my esophagus didn’t agree with, if I tried to work out, or just moved around a little too much for its liking then I would get sick. Sometimes it was multiple times a day. My voice was hoarse and would go in and out when I spoke. This is the real reason why I stopped doing the podcast because of my voice. It got to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore; oh yeah…and I started throwing up blood. TMI…but that’s what happened. At the end of February I went and had an EDG (Esophagogastroduodenoscopy)done and what they found was not good. For one, my stomach lining was destroyed, not beyond repair but destroyed. The scariest part was that I had tears all through my esophagus. I was diagnosed with Barrett’s disease which I have never heard of. Barrett’s disease or Barrett’s esophagus is a condition in which the cells that make up your esophagus begin to look like the cells that make up your intestines. This often happens when cells are damaged by exposure to acid from the stomach. This condition often develops after years of experiencing gastroesophageal reflux (GERD). Barrett’s esophagus can develop into esophageal cancer. (via healthline.com) Once I heard the “C” word, there was nothing else to say after that. What do I need to do? So if I would’ve waited a little longer or just decided not to immediately do anything about it, then the next diagnosis would be esophageal cancer. I already had another “C” word scare late last year which I won’t even get into right now, so I wasn’t about to go through that again. My only option was to undergo surgery to repair my esophagus and stomach lining. When you go through an unexpected health crisis, it’s so easy to get down on yourself, feel helpless, start blaming yourself; but at the end of the day what is that going to do? I immediately pulled myself together and found out what needed to be done and got it done as soon as I could. Oh yeah… and did I mention that I had to have a hiatal hernia removed as well. It developed due to my severe acid reflux.
As of today. I am one-week post-op. I still can’t eat any food, only full liquids for another week. My voice is still weak and I’m trying not to talk if I don’t need to. I’m extremely irritable; I guess that’s no different than a normal day in my life. But it’s okay, those are the least of my worries. It’s just a temporary setback. I am slowly gaining my strength back, but I still need to get my rest. I only wrote this post as a way to once again, let you all know that if something doesn’t feel right, get it checked out ASAP. What if I would’ve waited another month or 2? What if I would’ve just kept dealing with it and not took the EDG test? This could have been a totally different post. Hopefully, once I heal, I can get back to my nightly runs, going back to the gym, and not have a fear of eating anything without getting sick. Also, once I heal, the podcast, blog and everything else will be back and running.
