Blood Clot Caused Her Stomach To ‘Explode’
After 14 operations and two years without food or drink, 20-year-old Amy Oestreicher came to Mt. Sinai with her parents Thursday with high hopes. Those high hopes include living a normal life so she can pursue her hobbies of singing and dancing, but more importantly — and at least for right now — she simply wants to eat and drink again.
“I’m really hungry. I’ve waited a long time,” Amy told CBS 2. “At least like a waffle or something.”
Her goal today is to get the ‘OK’ to start eating again from her throat doctor, Dr. Peak Woo.
Amy’s ordeal began two Passovers ago in her Westport, Conn. home. “It was the second night of our seder and my stomach started to hurt,” she said.
She was rushed to the emergency room with what turned out to be a blood clot that had been building pressure in her abdomen. Her father said if they hadn’t made it there she would have died.
“I hear when they opened her stomach it exploded onto the roof, there was so much pressure,” her father, Dr. Mark Oestreicher said.
“I remember intense pain that night. I didn’t wake up until months later,” Amy said.
After removal of her stomach and part of her intestines, she spent months in a coma. But through her grit and determination, along with the help of doctors at six hospitals, she’s come far enough to flash plenty of bright smiles to CBS 2. “Watching her has been difficult, at the same time inspiring,” her mother, Marilyn Oestreicher, said.
To stay nourished, Amy was fed intravenously for two years while she recovered.
Following a day of examination from Dr. Woo, Amy gets her verdict, though it feels bittersweet.
“I think I can let you drink, but you’re not ready to eat for a while,” he tells her.
It’s tough news for Amy, who shed a few more tears, but there is some consolation in that she’s finally allowed to drink fluids. “It’s better than nothing. This week has been really torture,” she admits.
But she’ll be back to see Dr. Woo again next week, and perhaps then the other half of her wish will come true. “I’ll just have to wait a little longer,” she said.
And after two years of pain, a few days for Amy, should hopefully be milk and cookies.
CBS 2 and WCBSTV.Com