# I survived a fatal accident, lost 73 inches of small intestine



## stanghater (Aug 9, 2012)

I posted this in the welcome section tooHello, I have been searching and came across this forum so I hope i can get some ideas and stuff from you guys to help me. My story is a long one, but ill make it as short as possible.July of 2009 I was 310 lbs and could eat anything (and would. Some even said I had a cast iron stomach. i miss those days.... Anyway, July 28th, 2009. I used to commute to work on a scooter (big fat guy on a scooter. I was coming back to work after lunch with my panda express strapped to the back when a woman pulled in front of me trying to turn into a parking lot. There was noting I could do, I went head on with her. I had a full face helmet, but the majority of the impact was on my belly. I hit the front of the car, then kinda face slammed onto the hood, then up into the windshield, then slide off and finally ended up on the ground on my back. I was awake for everything. After we got to the hospital they told me I was bleeding internally and needed to go in. I gave consent and I was soon out. I woke up about 4 days later in the ICU. The impact had blown my abdominal wall to bits, liquefied all the fat in my belly, and blown some of my intestines to pieces. All in all, I ended up losing 74 inches of small intestine, and my Sigmoid colon (the last part)among other injuries. I was in the ICU for 12 days, then I was in the hospital for 31 more days after that. Because of my bowel lose, I also have lost about 100lbs since the accident, most of them going about 3 months after. Its been a long road.So, I lost a LOT of small bowel, specifically the area which connects to the colon. So there's a valve there that controls the flow to the colon that I no longer have. The sigmoid absorbs moisture from the stool so im missing that too. What that translates to is I go frequently, like 5-8 times a day. It used to be about 12 times a day, but seems my body may have adapted slightly. Everytime I go its loose, and Im assuming thats because of the lose of the sigmoid region. Over these past 3 years, I have learned a couple do's and donts as far as diet is concerned. Things like spaghetti sauce, bbq sauce, pizza etc really mess me up. Also it seems that REALLY greasy food messes me up also. Usually ill eat oatmeal in the morning, a sandwich at lunch and then whatever dinner my wife cooks. That will get me by with 5-7 BM's a day.I think a lot of my symptoms are IBS like (i think) and I was wondering if any of you guys could share some of your wisdom and things youve learned. Thanks


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