“Bile Leak
After continuing abdominal pain I was diagnosed with gallstones and an operation was planned to remove my gallbladder. I was told following the procedure that my gallbladder was perforated and they’d placed a drain. The drain didn’t pick up much so was removed 2days later and I was sent home. I was happy as larry for one week until I developed a sudden onset of excruciating abdominal pain… I snapped at the doctor who suggested it was because I hadn’t been taking pain killers or because I was constipated… they did some tests and then further surgery to drain 1.5 litres of burning bile out of my pelvis and insert a second drain. Yes I’m still sore several years on and no I don’t blame the surgeon who removed my gallbladder. It was unfortunate that there was a complication (especially such a painful one) but these things just happen. When you start chopping at your body it won’t necessarily respond in the way that you think it should. I’m just grateful that we have enough medical knowledge and people who want to put themselves through an insane amount of training/financial costs/stress to provide a support system for when our bodies reach crisis mode. If we sue every single one for what we think (but can’t possibly know) was medical error, the world would be an awful lot worse off. We’ve all been dealt our hand and we should make the most of it instead of letting it consume our lives.”