Long term effects of sepsis after having colon and rectum removed

I am new to this, but I just wondered if anyone else had faced what has happened to us...My brother is now 54, but has had Crohn's disease since he was 17 years old.  He has had surgeries too numerous to mention, lives on Ensure, and cannot leave his house unless he has had his daily dose of xanax.  However, things have only been severe for the past 6 years.  He had his colon and rectum removed in Atlanta, GA.  During his stay, the pump that was suppose to remove drainage backed up after a power surge.  He got sepsis and literally died of a heart attack.  He was revived, and placed in ICU for nearly 3 weeks on a ventilater.  We did not believe that he would make it.  He did come around; hospital said it was common for patients to get sepsis according to the type of surgery he had.  He has never been the same.  He is severely malnurished, and has terrible pain (other doctors have suggested that he has a damaged nerve from the surgery)  It took his rectum months to heal, and he is not able to sit; he leans on his hip as he is unable to put direct pressure on his tail. He currently has a spur in his vein of his left leg, and his leg is swelling and there is intense pain. He has been severely depressed as he believed that the surgery would help eliminate the pain he had beforehand; instead he is in much worse condition than he was before the surgery.  He trust no physican; there are a host of other problems that I am not able to go into, but he feels as though his life is over; it is impossible to keep living in pain all the time.  He also relieves his month in the hospital over and over, but none of his current doctors have even suggested seeing someone to help him get over that period of time.  I am his sister, but his wife and son live with him, and they are all too tired of it all.  Can anyone tell me if they have had a similiar problem after having their colon and rectum removed, or has anyone been diagnosed with long term effects of sepsis? Things are getting really bad...

 

I had surgery that removed part of my colon and half the rectum and can relate to the tail pain. I still cannot sit on my tail for long even after 6 years. I have quite a bit of nerve damage from my surgery and must take Neurontin to ease it, plus a small amount of narcotic pain medication.

If he's not already on it, he should be taking something like Neurontin or Lyrica for the nerve pain. My best help in this area has come from my family physician since he cares about my total well-being instead of just my gut problem. He's been a life-saver for me.

Having gotten over a bad flare with a life-threatening infection, I can tell you that it takes a long time to heal from that.

I agree with the Mayo/Cleveland Clinic recommendation, if that's possible for him to do. I hope he gets the help he needs. I understand where he's coming from.

hey little sister, i can relate. i was dead from sepsis. they had a heck of a time to get me back. that was in dec of 99. i have never felt the same. i bet im not 50% of the body and mind i was before. as with your brother, all my systems shut down and finally the heart quit during surgery. i was not expected to make it through the night. slowly things came back on board , but at less than normal capacities.

if he is still malnourished, may i suggest he ask about going on TPN. i have been on TPN since that time and it has been good for me. at least until he can regain some nutritional level that can be maintained. anti depressants were my best friend during this time.

please see my website below for a more thourough explanation of my story. if he wants to talk, shoot me an email...cordialy, randynoguts