"Ulcerative Colitis resulting in removal of the whole colon."

I had suffered with Colitis on and off for about 9 years, each flare up getting worse. It was in 2009 that i had my worst flare up, I had been on a cocktail of drugs from prednisolone, mezivant to azothiprine but nothing was working and I was going downhill fast. I was admitted into the Western General Edinburgh at 2am on a Saturday night where I was given x-rays and put on a steroid drip,

I was in Ward 53 for four nights until I was rushed into theatre for an emergency operation to remove my whole colon. I didn't have time to think about the Op or what i was going to expect after it but the nursing team in the ward were very helpful and understanding - although at that point I was in so much pain and lost so much blood I wasn't really focusing on anything.

I was in the high dependency ward for a few hours after the Op then taken to the surgical ward, I woke up feeling sore and uncomfortable but I didn't feel unwell like I did before my Op. I was in hospital for 7 days after my operation, I had a specialist stoma nurse who came to visit me while I was in hospital to help me to get to grips with my new situation and this was also followed through when I left hospital as a stoma nurse came to visit me at my house.

The care I received after my Op was excellent, they gave me all the do's and don'ts and what to expect in my new way of life.