The Digestive Health Center: Susan's Story

by Pepper North

  Susan couldn’t believe how full her stomach was. It jutted out several inches from her body and she could feel the cold liquid sloshing inside of her as she hurried to the toilet. Collapsing on the seat, Susan felt the liquid gush from her rectum. Annie brought her warm blankets to wrap around her shoulders. Shivering still, Susan huddled in the warmth and waited for everything to escape from her body.

  Chapter Ten

  Annie gave Susan a little privacy to release all the testing fluid but came back to check on her often. After Annie’s third visit to check on her patient, Susan was able to tell Annie that she thought she would be able to walk back to her room without having an accident. Susan was absolutely exhausted. Annie had brought her fluffy warm robe and helped Susan put it on to wrap around her chilled body. The trip back through the hospital seemed very long but Annie was there to walk next to her and supported her with an arm around her shoulders. Finally, Annie turned into her hospital room. Susan started to climb into bed but Annie stopped her and instructed her to lie down on her tummy so that she could give her a little medicine to help her rectum recover from the testing.

  Susan dropped her torso down to the hospital bed mattress. Her bare bottom pointed to the open door and she could hear people walking past. She knew they could all look in and see her buttocks spread open wide. Somehow, it didn’t matter as much as it had on her first day at the hospital. All the patients were there trying to feel better. Many had the same problems as she did. Susan winced slightly as Annie pulled her cheeks further apart to completely reveal her anus.

  “A little sore, are you?” Annie questioned kindly. “I’ve got some medicine to make you feel better. First, here’s some salve to help the irritation.” Annie inserted two fingers as deep as possible into Susan’s rectum spreading a soothing mixture thoroughly her tissues. Laying a restraining hand on Susan’s back, she instructed. “Don’t stand up yet. I’m going to insert the chilling medication that we used earlier. It will be cold again but remember how much it helped you earlier.”

  Susan laid there patiently waiting. Already the salve made her sensitive anus feel better. “Yikes! That’s cold,” she gasped when the chilling medicine was inserted.

  “Cold is just what you need to make everything feel better. Let’s get you up in bed.” Annie held the covers back as Susan crawled slowly into bed. She encouraged her lay on her side. Susan was too tired to even think and obediently rolled over to put her back to the hallway. “Just close your eyes, Susan. Go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up. You’re going to feel so much better.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Several hours later, Susan woke up when she felt someone lift the covers to expose her bottom and torso. “Annie?” she asked sleepily.

  “Just me, Susan, Dr. Anderson. I’ve just looked at your results from the x-ray. I’m starting to sort out why you’re having difficulties going to the bathroom. I’m going to give you a shot that will make you very sleepy. Go ahead and go back to sleep if you can,” he suggested as he injected medicine into her hip. Soothing her bottom by rubbing the injection site at her yip of pain, Dr. Anderson waited until he saw her eyes begin to blink heavily. “That’s it, Susan. You just rest. I’m going to look in your bottom a little higher with my scope and I think we’ll find our answer. Close your eyes.”

  Dr. Anderson turned to Annie. “She’s deeply sedated now. Let’s begin the procedure.”

  Annie handed him the tip of the long colonoscope. “Do you want some lubrication, Doctor?”

  “I would rather try this without the lubricant. Her system should be totally cleaned out after the x-rays with contrast. I think it will just slide into place. Keep it handy. We can always inject it later if it is needed. All right. Let’s bend her top leg up a little more. Perfect.” Dr. Anderson pressed the scope into Susan’s body and gently advanced it past her inner sphincter. He watched the progress of the scope on the TV on the wall. Just inside her inner sphincter, Dr. Anderson saw the narrowing of her intestines that he’d detected earlier. He continued to advance the scope. He knew just what he was looking for and it would be deep in her intestinal tract. Further and further the scope penetrated through Susan’s system.

  “Just what I expected. Look at that! Susan’s intestinal tract has a sharper than normal curve at the right colic flexure. Looks like we have solved the mystery. Now, I’ll have to design a treatment plan to assist Susan,” the doctor announced. He began to extract the colonoscope slowly from Susan’s intestinal system. He continued to look at the projected picture from the lighted scope as it withdrew. “I see a lot of irritation from years of laxatives on the intestinal walls. It’s going to be vital to avoid chemical laxatives in her treatment plan. Okay, Annie. That’s the last of the scope. He removed the end from Susan’s rectum.

  “Let’s begin an enema to soothe her passageway after the colonoscope, Annie. No, cleanser this time. Use a large bag with warm water, the softening agent on record in her chart, as well as the pain treatment medicine. Give her half of the bag slowly while she sleeps from the sedation medication. Wake her up around 6:00 pm with a light dinner of soup and a sandwich. Restart the enema after dinner. She’ll sleep well. Before you leave, make sure the enema has all entered her system and insert the retainment plug. Have the overnight nurse check on her frequently to make sure she’s not running a fever by checking her vaginal temperature. If she becomes restless, the nurse should administer the antianxiety medication immediately. We want Susan to rest comfortably. The longer she can retain the enema, the better it will be for her recovery. I’ll come in tomorrow early to talk to Susan and explain the treatment program that I am prescribing. She’ll need some home treatments during the week. Would you send a message to Mark in Home Health and see if he’s available? I’d like her to meet him tomorrow as well. Good job, Annie. Thanks for all your help in smoothing the way through all these tests for Susan. It really makes a difference,” Dr. Anderson praised. He made his last notes in the chart and said goodnight to Annie as he left the room.

  Chapter Twelve

  Dinner was a blur for Susan and several times during the night, Susan was aware that something was being pressed into her vagina. She’d ask sleepily what was going on and a calm female voice would tell her that she was just checking her temperature. Everything was fine and that she should close her eyes and go back to sleep. Susan knew it wasn’t Annie. When she’d ask for her, the kind voice would tell her to close her eyes and Annie would be there in the morning. Susan was aware that she felt increasingly full but everything felt fine and her eyes would close to let her sleep again.

  When she opened her eyes to find the room filled with light, Susan realized that her stomach was again filled with liquid. She tried to sit up to get out of bed and once again found herself restrained by her wrists. “Annie, Annie, are you here?” Susan shouted.

  The closed hospital room door opened to the hallway and Annie stepped through. She took a minute to attach the door to the latch so that the door would remain open. “How about a little fresh air, Susan? How are you feeling today? Would you like to go to the bathroom?”

  When Susan answered “yes” frantically, Annie slowly freed Susan’s wrists from the restraints and helped her to the toilet. Bending her over the bench, Annie rotated and then pulled out the anal plug. Susan collapsed to the toilet and the enema poured out of her. Susan tentatively flexed her anal sphincter expecting it to be very sore but she felt great. She wasn’t sore at all.

  Annie let her sit for fifteen minutes on the toilet until the bursts of liquid exiting had ended. She helped Susan off the toilet and again had her lean over the bench to clean her. “We’re going to walk around the hallway a little to help the last of the enema flow down.” She led a protesting nude Susan out in to the hallway and began walking a loop around the hallway at a brisk pace. She brushed off Susan’s requests to get her robe. “Oh, Susan. No one is watching. That robe is going to get in your way when you need to use the toilet again.” At the seco
nd loop passed her room, Susan tried to enter to use the toilet. “Oh, no, Susan. We need to continue for 3 more loops. You’re not ready to finish expelling that enema,” Annie tugged her arm to move her passed the doorway. Each time, they passed her room, Susan would ask urgently to use the restroom and Annie would insist that she continue through the hallway. Finally, when Susan felt that she would burst, Annie allowed her to race to the toilet. Again, for fifteen minutes, Susan expelled a large quantity of water until finally the fluid was finished.

  Annie cleaned her and helped her into her white robe. They both washed their hands and Annie escorted Susan down to the cafeteria for breakfast. Susan was ravenous. She ate more than she had for a very long time.

  “I’m glad to see that your appetite has returned, Susan. That’s a very good sign that Dr. Anderson’s treatment plan is working. How do you feel?” Annie asked with a smile.

  “I really feel awesome,” Susan replied honestly. “I feel like I have lots of energy. I must have really slept well last night. I don’t ever feel this good when I wake up.”

  “If you are finished, let’s go back to your room. Dr. Anderson has the results of your tests to share with you and he’s created a plan that will help keep you feeling this good every day,” Annie said helping Susan up and walking with her down the hall.

  “Do you think he can really help?” Susan asked skeptically. She had struggled with her stomach problems for so long, she couldn’t imagine that there would be a cure.

  “Oh, yes! If anyone can help, it’s Dr. Anderson. He’s very thorough and brilliant at his work. You are lucky that your primary care doctor referred you to him. He’ll have the answer,” Annie shared confidently.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When they returned to Susan’s room, Annie helped Susan take off her robe and Susan started to get into her bed when Dr. Anderson arrived.

  “Good Morning! Annie, it looks like you are taking good care of Susan. Susan, you look like you slept well last night,” Dr. Anderson observed smiling at the two ladies. He watched Susan scramble into bed naked. “I’ve got very good news for you, Susan. I’ve discovered the reason that you’ve been having problems with your bowels. There are two sections of your intestinal tract that are very narrow. Waste material gets jammed up behind these sections.” He looked very seriously at Susan. “A regular exam or general practice physician would not have found this problem. You were very wise to come see me.”

  “So, how can those narrow sections be fixed? Do you take them out?” Susan wondered swallowing deeply.

  “Oh, no. Surgery is not the answer. The answer is going to be different for the two different narrowed sections. Here, lay back in your bed, Susan. And I’ll show you,” Dr. Anderson replied pressing her shoulder to urge her to lay down. He swept the covers off Susan’s body exposing her fully. “Annie, help me get Susan’s legs into the exam position,” he requested. He swung a metal stirrup from the right side of the bed and bent Susan’s leg to fit her right heel into it. Annie took care of the left side repeating his actions. Both, then, secured her leg into the stirrup with a series of bands.

  Susan’s privates were spread wide across the hospital bed. She automatically tried to cover her nudity. Both Dr. Anderson and Annie took a hand and attached them to the side of the bed as well.

  “Now, none of that, Susan. You need to relax and let us treat you so you can get better. There are no secrets between a patient and their doctor and nurse. You don’t need to hide your body,” Dr. Anderson chided Susan lightly as he pulled on a pair of gloves and looked her over carefully. He held two fingers out for lubricant and Annie squeezed a large dollop onto his extended digits. “Take a deep breath, Susan. I’m going to show you where the trouble areas are.” Dr. Anderson pressed his fingers into her rectum. He took time to spread the lubricant around all the side of her rectum moving his fingers in and out of her bottom until she relaxed. “That’s a good girl. Just relax,” he instructed. When Susan had stopped clenching her rectum around his fingers, Dr. Anderson pressed his two fingers as deeply as they could reach. He held his fingers still. “Susan, here is the first section of your narrowed tract. It’s just at the edges of my fingers.”

  Susan nodded. It was very hard to have a conversation when the doctor’s fingers were in your bottom. She felt him begin to scissor his fingers inside her stretching her narrow channel. She gasped at the sensation. It was part pain and part arousal.

  Dr. Anderson stilled his fingers again to talk to her. “So, what do we do to address this? We are in luck because this section is close enough to the anus to allow for digital and prosthetic treatment. I am going to have you measured and fit with a prosthesis. It will be close to the anal plug that has been used when you are retaining an enema. You can feel that my fingers are deeper into your system than the plug so the prosthesis will also need to enter deeper as well. We will start smaller and gradually increase the size so that this narrowed section will be stretched.”

  “And then it will be fixed?” Susan asked hopefully.

  “No, Susan. I’m sorry to say that this will be an ongoing problem that will have to be managed from now on. The final prosthesis that stretches your narrowed intestinal channel will have to be inserted and worn on a regular basis,” Dr. Anderson shared honestly. “It sounds like this will be a burden, but it will actually feel better to have the section expanded. You will eventually enjoy wearing the prosthetic.

  “What about the other section? How is that treated?” Susan asked cautiously.

  Dr. Anderson pressed his left fingers into her stomach on her right side. The other narrowed section is here, at the right colic flexure.” As he talked he drew a line on her abdomen to illustrate the anatomy of her intestinal tract. “Susan, your intestines stop here at your anus.” The inserted fingers on his right hand again pressed in and out of her rectum. He pressed them in deeply and continued, “They extend up toward your left side and then they make a turn and extend across your abdomen to the right. Again, at this side, the colon turns ninety degrees and slants down. The other narrow section is at this tricky turn. It also need to be stretched so that waste doesn’t get blocked or slowed down as it passes this area. Obviously, we can’t reach this section with a prosthesis. It is too deep in your system. So, how can we stretch something here?” Dr. Anderson pressed again on her stomach in the problem area. “There are two ways. We could perform surgery but the resulting scar tissue would cause additional problems. So, we stretch this deep area with another tool. Liquid.”

  Susan looked confused. “I should drink more? I’ve tried drinking lots of water. It helps but it doesn’t solve the problem.”

  “Drinking lots of water is very good for you. You should work at drinking sixty-four ounces of water each day,” Dr. Anderson paused looking very serious. “That’s not how we stretch this narrowed section. The only way to stretch this is to insert liquids under pressure to reach this section of intestine and press it open at the narrowed section. That means you will need regular enemas from this day forward. The enemas will need to follow an exact regimen to achieve our goal.”

  “So, I need to come back a few times a year to get an enema?” Susan asked. “That’s okay. I can come in a couple of times a year,” she thought to herself.

  “I am definitely going to see you on a regular basis. I will want to see you every month for the next six months. We’ll adjust the frequency of your weekend visits when we see how well you respond to both treatments. However, monthly visits will not be enough. You’ll need enemas more frequently than that, Susan. I have arranged for home health services to have a specialist work with you at your home to administer the needed enemas. You’ll stay here in the treatment facility until 5:00 tonight. At that time, you will be released to go home. There will be no further treatments tonight because we will give you the enema therapy while you are here today. Then starting Monday, you will be met at home after your work each day by a home health specialist until you return in one month for anoth
er treatment weekend. You’re very lucky. The best home treatment specialist just happens to be available and I have arranged for Mark to begin your treatment on Monday. He will come visit you today to meet you and set up your treatments,” Dr. Anderson said triumphantly.

  Susan was overwhelmed. She struggled to process all the information. She was going to have an anal prosthesis made that she’d need to wear and on top of that some stranger was going to come to her home every evening to give her an enema. What? “I don’t think I can get an enema every day. That won’t work with my schedule,” Susan said balking at the treatment plan. “We’ll have to come up with another solution.”

  “I’m sorry, Susan. That’s the only treatment plan. Remember you’ll only need daily enemas for the first month if your system responds normally. If you want to get better, you’ll have to make some sacrifices,” Dr. Anderson looked seriously at Susan.

  “I don’t think I can afford to have someone treatment at home every day,” Susan tried a different route to get the doctor to change his treatment plan.

  “Luckily, the grant that runs this treatment facility also covers the cost of the home health care. You do have to consent to continue to be treated and everything is covered. As your doctor, I strongly urge you to consent to the continued treatment plan. If left untreated, you will have increasingly serious problems as you age. Your intestines also begin to lose their elasticity as you get older. You must receive treatment now or the opportunity will pass and you won’t be able to get help with this. Annie has the form for you to sign for treatment. Are you ready to sign this now or do you have any additional questions?” Dr. Anderson asked as Annie approached with a clipboard and pen.