Detour... Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200.00

When I look back I knew that this day was coming.  In fact I knew what was wrong two or three weeks ago, but pretended it would go away on it's own. Then this past week things became increasing worse. I had to face the facts.  I had a Stricture.

In my situation, a stricture is the narrowing of the esophagus where it connects to the small intestine. Due to this a large portion of the food I ate, no matter how small or how well I chewed it, got stuck and came back up. Edie and I had gone out to dinner one night and after two bites of food, I was a mess and dinner was done. Heck, by the end I was struggling with soft foods like yogurt. I could ignore the situation all I wanted to but the stricture was not going to get any better on it's own, in fact it would most likely only get worse.

So yesterday started out with the alarm clock going off at 4:00 am. Followed by the two plus hour drive down to the Mayo Clinic. I arrived for my first appointment at 7:00 am and didn't leave until close to 1:00 pm.  When all was said and done I had another endoscopy and a procedure called esophageal dilation. I was put under, and a scope was inserted down my throat for the endoscopy. Once the stricture was confirmed they basically insert a balloon into the area and inflate it to increase the size of the opening. I know that there is a lot more to the procedure, but they were explaining it to me as the cocktail of drugs were being administered and that's about all I can remember before heading off into la la land.  The procedure took close to three hours and as normal the Mayo staff was amazing. 

Now I was not all that worried about the procedure. The folks at the Mayo Clinic have always taken real good care of me so I knew I was safe. The issue is that strictures are like potato chips; you can't have just one. They seem to come in bunches. My sister Mel has had a number of them. The esophageal dilation helps for a while, but if the stricture returns you go back and do the procedure all over again. 

I am tired of hospitals. I am tired of needles and I.V.s. I am tired of not being able to eat what I want. I am tired of trying to find a place to puke after just a few bites of food. Yet, now I just have to wait and see if food starts getting stuck again. I really do not need strictures in my life.

So once again, more exciting time spent at St. Mary's hospital. The good news is that there was no overnight stay needed; I was able to return home the same day. The bad news is that I am back to having to check in with them every few weeks to see if and when the stricture returns.

It is my own, personal, Halloween horror story!

And it all comes down to you

Well, you know that it does

Well, lightning strikes, maybe once, maybe twice

Ah, and it lights up the night

And you see your Gyspsy

(Gypsy  Fleetwood Mac)