Dowbrigade Pukes Own Guts Out

Posted on January 11, 2006 by glasscastle

Contrary
to rumors swirling around the blogosphere, the Dowbrigade has not been
kidnapped (again) by Peruvian
terrorists, snatched by Colombian drug mafias or disappeared into the
secret CIA Black Gulag while investigating military recruiting of Latin
gunsels for Middle Eastern cannon fodder.

The truth, unfortunately, is both more mundane and nastier.
In the first major medical crisis of our long career, the Dowbrigade
has been laid low by a Paraesophageal hernia, and a particularly nasty
one according to doctors on two continents. In our case a particularly
large hole has appeared in our diaphragm, and almost the entirety of
our stomach has defied gravity and risen into our chest, migrating far
from
its customary home in our abdomen.

After
a week in bed in Ecuador, including the last three days in a hospital
on a saline drip, we were medically evacuated back
to Boston, where we are now resting relatively comfortably at home awaiting
major surgery to put everything back where it belongs and patch up the
hole. Unfortunately, because the hernia is so large, the operation probably
cannot be done
completely laparoscopicly, which means they will need to crack the
chest to patch up the hole.

There are some great stories involved in our overland
trek from the mountains of Peru to the coast of Ecuador, and our lets-not-try-that-again
20-hour evacuation back to the States, but they will have to wait until
we are feeling a bit better before they see the light of day. In the
meantime, we are glad to be back in the lap of medical science, and will
try to post regular updates as possible.

Stay tuned……..
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10 Responses to Dowbrigade Pukes Own Guts Out

  1. pete says:
    January 11, 2006 at 8:11 pm

    Ouch…so there you are. Wondered where the hell you had disappeared to on your journey home. Let me be the first of your loyal fans to wish you a speedy recovery. Keep your eyes open and your wits about you; the US medical system can be as difficult to navigate as any Third World country. And there are far more pickpockets.

  2. Jay McCarthy says:
    January 11, 2006 at 10:17 pm

    Best wishes. 🙂

  3. Jay McCarthy says:
    January 11, 2006 at 10:17 pm

    Best wishes. 🙂

  4. ford says:
    January 12, 2006 at 8:28 am

    Get healthy quickly- and keep us posted.

  5. Mom says:
    January 12, 2006 at 2:19 pm

    See, I told you chicken soup would help. Keep up the good work, Mom

    ,

  6. peggy & britt says:
    January 14, 2006 at 11:50 pm

    sorry to hear you’re so sick…get well soon!

  7. randy.f says:
    January 15, 2006 at 2:52 pm

    And through it all, your gift for accessorizing is as resplendent as ever.

    -e

  8. randy.f says:
    January 15, 2006 at 2:53 pm

    And through it all, your gift for accessorizing is as resplendent as ever.

    -r

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