“Getting there was horrible, but once I got there, the people were amazing.” This was, and continues to be, Richard Feigley’s experience with the Lane Surgery Group after driving himself to the ER with a tear in his colon. Richard is an amateur bodybuilder and adheres to a very strict diet. Occasionally, this diet can have adverse effects on his digestion. While constipation is not an uncommon reaction, at 2 am on April 21st, Richard woke up with terrible pain in his stomach. “I noticed blood when I went to the bathroom and knew I should keep an eye on it. The next day, the pain was still there but continued to get worse. By 9 pm that next evening, I felt like I was dying. I hopped in the truck and got to Lane in the most pain that I’ve ever been in,” remembers Richard.
Richard was seen in the emergency room, and after drifting in and out of consciousness from the pain he was given pain medicine and an IV. “They did a CAT scan, saw that I had problems, and got the surgeon and his team in at 2 am.” This is when Dr. Frank Sanfiel and the staff at Lane Surgery Group arrived to address the tear in Richard’s colon. “He was super nice, explained what was happening, and made sure I understood everything that was going on.” When asked if he had any questions, Richard’s response was, “I guess not; we need to do this, or I die.” Dr. Sanfiel replied, “Pretty much, but I need to make sure you understand and are okay with it.” Then they went into surgery.
Later that morning, Richard woke up from surgery in the ICU, where he met his nurse, Bianca. “She was like a big sister to me. She took time to explain everything and helped me with anything I needed. I felt the care that I received, from start to finish, was just amazing,” says Richard. This perception of remarkable care also went beyond the patient in this story. “I had family and friends that came to visit with me over that week, and all they could say was that the people at Lane were so nice. Every nurse I had and everyone I interacted with treated me like I was a part of their family.”
While emergency surgery was obviously the hardest part, for a guy like Richard, the recovery process was no picnic either. “For a week, I basically laid a bed. They drew blood, checked my vitals, and monitored my pain levels.” For an active, energetic person, taking this downtime to recover was less than ideal. However, during this time, another great example of the personalized care that Richard received was how his pain management was handled. “I have a pretty high pain tolerance. I didn’t feel like I was in that much pain and wanted to cut back my pain medicine. I didn’t want to leave there being dependent on pain medication, and they let me cut it back. After surgery on Sunday morning, they took me off of the pain medicine on Tuesday. I was able to go home the following Saturday.”
After returning home with his pain under control, he still had wounds from surgery that needed to be managed. Richard sees the expert staff at Lane Wound Care for these procedures. “Throughout my entire experience, I had a group of people who loved their jobs and wanted to do their best. Everyone I’ve come across as I go back for different treatments, everyone remembers me, and they care about how I’m doing. It’s a completely different level of care than I’ve ever experienced.”
Since his surgery in April, Richard’s recovery surgery has been treated similarly to recovery from a hernia. “For the first six weeks, I couldn’t pick up anything over eight pounds. That was difficult to adjust to; I’m used to picking up anything without even thinking twice about it.” After the initial six-week period, Richard was released to begin lifting weights again. “I told him, you need to put a limit on me. Otherwise, I’ll overdo it and hurt myself.” While he was limited to 20-pound dumbbells, with a strict restriction on legs and core, getting back in the gym and to more normal activity was a big step and relief for Richard. “Mentally, I just needed to be able to do something. I also train people, so getting back in that atmosphere and mindset was a big deal for me.”
Currently, Richard is about a month away from having his reversal surgery to remove his colostomy bag. “I’m ready to get back on track with my life. I still go to multiple doctor’s appointments, and everyone is great. The level of care that I’ve received since I walked in the door hasn’t changed since I walked out the last time.”
