The devastating impact when surgery goes wrong
- Carmyn Barnes, NZ Team Leader and Exercise Physiologist
I have been an EP for 6 years, and in this time I have seen 100s of clients. There have been a few clients who made a big impression and will always stick with me. They inspire me to the point that it brings tears to my eyes when I reflect on how far they’ve come - and think that I got to be a part of that!
I had one such man recently. He has kept me up to date on his progress since the program finished, and a few weeks ago he let me interview him.
Darren was bedridden for 8 months after his weight loss surgery went unexpectedly wrong with infections and complications. He ended up going from 167 kg to a mere 48 kg, so much more than he bargained for!
He had lost so much muscle and function they did not know if he would pull through. Darren and his family had two meetings with his lawyers to organise his will and funeral.
He did pull through, and I met him 4 months after he had been discharged from the hospital. He was extremely fatigued, and he looked weak and gaunt. He had to pull himself out of bed with a lever and carried a pillow with him everywhere just to be able to sit comfortably because his sitting bones didn’t have their natural padding.
Despite everything he had been through he had started walking to the letterbox and back. At the time, that was his limit. Five minutes into anything, he needed a rest.
My program with him started off with simple exercises that would improve his everyday life. Basic exercises to develop the strength to get out of bed, to stand up from a chair independently, and support fitness to make trips outside of the home. We also included pool sessions that made him feel weightless, free, and more capable.
Understandably, with his life threatened and the trauma his body went through, he was also seeing a psychologist regularly. He was grieving for the “Old Darren” and learning how to welcome the “New Darren.” I had the privilege to support, welcome, and witness New Darren grow into himself.
As his function improved, so did his confidence and mood. And how could it not when we were working towards new and more meaningful goals?! – Driving, relying less on his wife, getting back on his motorbike and playing with his grandson.
Darren summed it up perfectly when we spoke. For me, I didn’t need it to be explained. To witness him go from knocking on death’s door to living and enjoying his life again has been the most rewarding experience for me.
Darren - “It’s very difficult to explain to someone what it feels like to have the ability and the appreciation to be able to go for a walk, to be able to play with my grandson and carry him around, simple things like driving a car - that’s something you take for granted every day, but every day I am so thankful.”
It has been a long journey, but after a lot of hard work over 2 years, he is now nearly back to living a normal life. He is even job seeking! – Not something we ever thought possible again.
Everyone has their own barriers to overcome, and I consider it a privilege to be able to guide and support the clients that I work with through such a meaningful journey.
Carmyn Barnes, NZ Team Leader and Exercise Physiologist