My 3WPO nightmare

Hi lovely people, me again.

I’m 3WPO today from a lower body lift with lipo and MR, breast lift with implants and fat transfer to my buttocks. I have debated posting this but it might be helpful. I don’t want to scare anyone from doing this, I’m sure down the line I’ll be glad I did it.

Since week 1 I was “leaking” from my incision at the back, but it looked like clear liquid. At my 2WPO appointment I was told I needed daily wound care for my belly button and that oozing patch in the back. Now, apparently, it wasn’t just an oozing patch, it was a literal hole. The day after I developed a fever and the on call doctor prescribed oral antibiotics and did a swab. The antibiotics turned out to be resistant to the two bacteria I have in that wound and my GP wanted me to have a scan at the local hospital to see how deep it actually is- depending on the depth they’d decide if I needed IV or oral antibiotics. He arranged a referral and told the ER doctor I was coming.

Once there, there was a huge wait (not their fault of course) and I felt sicker and sicker. My temperature started running up, once I got triaged it was almost 40C (104F). And… they didn’t want to help me. I was operated on 1,5h away and the ER doctor said she “didn’t want to make her hands dirty with another’s mistake”. She was wildly unfriendly, and really judgemental about the procedure I had done. She said to leave and go to the hospital where I had surgery, this was all “my own doing” and “in our hospital we don’t do these risky procedures so that’s why you went so far away isn’t it?”. I started getting weepy, quietly as I had 0 energy and she said: “your fever is from you being hysterical”. My husband, who is British and doesn’t quite master Dutch perfectly asked later completely shocked if he misheard her telling me and my single tear running down my cheek were hysterical.

Anyway- I was clearly slipping into sepsis. I was soaking wet, as if I jumped in a pool with my clothes on, high fever, shivering, aching all over, my heart rate was through the roof and my BP low, high CRP with the worst headache I’ve ever had. LUCKILY, and I suspect this was when dr. Grumpy’s shift ended, they contacted my surgeon in the hospital 1,5h away and he advocated for me and suddenly, I was booked in for a scan. They found an abscess, and they gave me my first dose of antibiotics through the IV.

Hours later I felt a bit better and today I’m actually admitted in the hospital where my surgeon works and they’re keeping me here for an undetermined amount of time- until the wound is better and my infection is under control, I’m getting my IV here now and hopefully drain the abscess. They’re working on the infection so I can get a wound vac and hopefully things will all be better soon.

Tldr: almost got turned away by very unkind doctor at the ER, after being referred by my GP with all signs of sepsis, ended up getting help and am now staying at my surgeons hospital 1,5h from home to receive my further care.

Decided against posting the photos because 1) I’ll have to look at them lol and 2) don’t want to inflict them on anyone. But the nurse today said she thinks it got a bit “prettier” so I will take that as a win 😊