July 24, 2024 update.

Originally posted to social media July 24, 2024.

"Sunday July 21st ride details. I left home with the dream of doing a long ride on some trails near home. Leaving the parking lot I felt like a million bucks, strong, confident, and full of energy. I felt unbelievable good, and decide I was going to see how far I could go on the ebike using the lowest power setting. I made it almost 12 k, with 450m of elevation of the 19 k ride, 678m total when I hit the wall. It was getting hot and I had 2 more climbs plan, Boundary and Snagmore. I realized I was running out of energy and just need to get back to the van. So I upped the power setting, blasted up Boundary and down the other side and bailed on Snagmore.

I got back home and realized I may have over done it lol. I did a small recovery ride on Monday morning, but had to pay for my Sunday effort. Felt run down, and an achy body for 2 days after. Valuable lessons learned from this ride. I am not back to my pre Whipple Surgery fitness, and not sure I will ever get there.

Talking with the new dietitian that will be working with me, I told her about my adventure and how I felt after. She is going to make suggestions to the Dr's for some blood work to check on minerals and nutrients, to see if my digestive system is able to absorb things properly. This will help educate me on what I need to eat, or supplements to take that will help me in the future.🙏

It was also pointed out to me that the ebike has a motor that is meant to assist me and help me get stronger. So use the assit now and stop thinking I am ready to resume riding like I use to. 😜

I guess my brain was trying to tell me it's time to get on with things, stop taking it easy, and sitting around, but my body is just not ready for the increased level of activity yet. Listening to my body, and being patient is what got me through the surgery and complications that followed. Listen to your body, and if you notice something doesn't feel right, act on it, make changes, do what it takes to fix any problems. Life is an amazing gift, live it like it's the only thing that really matters."

Comments

Vitamins, minerals and energy.

UPDATED Mar, 2026. Happy to say blood work looks great, Ferritin, Iron, Vit D and Vit A are all back up into the normal range. I had been living a very active life since I was in my late 30’s. I started road biking , and then mountain biking and loved it. Mountain biking became my to go to exercise, and I loved peddling up the longest hills I could find . I took part in many races, single and multi day events, never really too win but to see what I was capable of doing, to see new wilderness areas and meet good people. Living with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) gave me a reason to take care of myself and keep pushing myself, I figured if I was able to ride a bike as much as I did there wasn’t anything wrong with me. In July 2023 polyps in my duodenum started to show signs of change, and a large flat adenoma was un able to be removed, so I decided to have the Whipple Surgery in Nov 2023. The surgery went okay, biopsies of the large adenoma showed high gr...

The importance of advocating for your self.

I went into the Whipple Surgery , Nov 17, 2023, with the belief that I would be home in 7 days and recovered in 3 months. The surgery it’s self went okay they tell me, but 4 days later I developed a pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) leak , followed by hepaticojejunostomy (HJ) leak and there were delays in acting on these complications. It got so bad 2 of my close friends had to come in and talk to the medical team to find out why a CT scan ordered on Nov 24, 2023 still wasn’t done 2 days after it was ordered. By the time the CT scan was done things had gotten much worst and it was the start of a very long recovery . This when I started to notice it was very important for me to pay attention, advocate for my self and my health care. Nobody knows your body and how you feel better than you. Unfortunately I didn’t start making notes or taking pictures until I was discharged, Jan 5, 2024, after 50 days in the hospital. I was sent home with 2 drains and a very active leak that was com...

Dec 5, 2023 update.

Originally posted to social media on Dec 5, 2023. "Day 19th, post Whipple Surgery. Things are going along smoothly, no great ups and downs, just some what of a even ride. Last week I had my first CT scan , and it showed a few pockets of fluid. Drains and meds were engaged to help treat these. On this past weekend, bloating, and pain started to return, even with 3 drains still drawing off fluid, pressure was growing. The medical team decided to send me for another CT scan. It showed another big pocket of fluid. Monday a new drain was installed to help. It drew off 450ml of fluid before I left the procedure room. Today was more of a spa day. Thank you @maureentowns for the fancy nails" Spa day Dec 5, 2023. Dec 5, 2023.

The FAP - Whipple Report

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