On this date and at this very hour last year, I was being gutted at Huntsman Cancer Institute. (You can see in the photo that Bow Tie o’ the Day jumped on my neck right after I got into my regular hospital room.) After nearly 20 years of chronic idiopathic pancreatitis, I’d had enough. Most of my dastardly pancreas (my Hanky Panky) had to go. With it, went my gall bladder, duodenum, and a bit of my small intestine. And finally, my surgeon had to replumb my innards. Whenever I tell the story of my surgery, I am most excited to tell this detail: While hacking out 2/3 of my pancreas, my surgeon, Dr. Sean Mulvehill, found and removed a bunch of pancreatic stones the size of olives! That’ll clog your pancreatic duct! Olive-sized stones! That’s my fave part of my whole surgery tale to tell.
In today’s later post, I’ll write a very tiny update about my recovery, and I’ll show y’all a Scar Update, so be warned.
I think he also took your appendix, but I may not be remembering right. 😏