Born in Missouri

I never had a problem with my weight until after I fell down some stairs over ten years ago. I had surgery on my ankle, but it wasn't successful. I was later told by two ankle reconstruction surgeons that there was nothing more that could be done for me. I have struggled with unrelenting pain for years.

I tried holistic approaches to pain management as well as various non-narcotic drugs to help with the pain. Nothing helped.  After suffering for years, my daughter finally convinced me that there is no shame in taking narcotic medication for chronic pain. My daughter is a PharmD and two of my three sons are medical doctors. I still don't like the idea that I need morphine daily, in addition to oxycodone for break-thru pain.

I often experience problems when I encounter health professionals who don't take the time to acquaint themselves with my history. This is the nightmare I encountered when I had my gastric bypass. Instead of being treated as a chronic pain patient having bariatric surgery, I was treated as a bariatric patient only.

The level of pain medication I require isn't comparable to someone who is not opioid-tolerant. I was given a ridiculously low dose of morphine following my surgery which, for me, had the strength equivalent of a Jell-O cup. Complaining only increased my dosage to two Jell-O cups.

I have since filed a grievance with my hospital and their staff hospitalist. I also filed a grievance because my belly was never examined prior to discharge. Imagine going from the recovery room to your inpatient room and never receiving another belly exam. Egregious!

A few days following my surgery, I showed up at the ER because of a large hematoma. My entire belly was black and blue. Perhaps if I had been examined, as is normal practice, I would have been prepared for this extent of bruising.

The day of my gastric bypass was a day that I had looked forward to. It was a day that I wanted to remember and to celebrate. Instead, my special day was ruined because I wasn't treated with the level of attention and care that I deserved.

My substandard hospital stay is all behind me now. Instead, I am concentrating on my journey going forward.