Alice Hope's Recurring Chronic Abdominal Pain

For all those people who suffer from chronic abdominal pain, don't ever give up and get discouraged.  Here is my personal testimony.

For six years I have suffered and have been in and out of the hospital eight times.  I have had three surgeries.  Still there was no relief of my suffering from abdominal pain.  One month I was hospitalized three times.  I would be in the hospital any where from one to seven days with intravenous fluids and then sent home.

The doctors tried every possible test on me they could think of.  Finally in December of 2001, I was hospitalized again and here came a new team of doctors.  Dr. Gabriel, who lead this team, discovered that my appendix had been chronically inflamed intermittently for several years and no other doctor had been able to discover it. Dr. Gabriel was able to remove my appendix with the laparoscope. Afterwards, Dr. Gabriel informed me that he noticed that a segment of my small intestines was intimately adhered to my abdominal cavity as a result of adhesions from past surgeries.  He did not do anything with the adhesions at that time, because the appendix seemed to be the cause of my pain. I was sent home in seven days.

The day after I was released I was hospitalized again with severe abdominal pain.  Dr. Gabriel recommended another laparoscopic procedure. This time he released the portion of small intestine that was  adhered to the anterior abdominal cavity from past surgeries. Apparently, the small intestines would twist around this point causing it to become obstructed and be temporarily strangulated.  My pain was so bad at times I could not even dress myself.  I would have pain nonstop for five days without sleeping at night or during the day.  No pain medication would help.

It has now been approximately two months since Dr. Gabriel performed the laparoscopic procedures, both appendectomy and release of the small bowel, and I am happy to say that I have not had any recurrence of symptoms.  Had it not been for a caring, compassionate and determined doctor, like Dr. Gabriel, I would still be suffering today.  Again, thank you Dr. Gabriel.

Alice Hope

...surgery performed (date)