{"id":39555,"date":"2026-06-24T07:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T07:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stg-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=39555"},"modified":"2026-06-22T20:35:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:35:40","slug":"diverticulitis-surgery-improves-quality-of-life-for-yakima-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stg-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/diverticulitis-surgery-improves-quality-of-life-for-yakima-woman\/","title":{"rendered":"Yakima woman finds relief after diverticulitis surgery","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Yakima resident Paula Andrew, 70, leads an active life and stays involved in her community. She swims five days a week, teaches MultiCare\u2019s diabetes prevention program<\/a> and volunteers as a chef at Yakima Woman\u2019s Century Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very active person \u2014 not a lot slows me down,\u201d Andrew says.<\/p>\n

Despite her active lifestyle, Andrew suffered intermittent bouts of severe abdominal pain for several years. She had diverticulosis \u2014 a condition where small pouches develop in the lining of the colon. When the pouches become inflamed or infected, it\u2019s called diverticulitis, which is what caused her pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have episodes that were really painful. They\u2019d last anywhere from 12 to 48 hours, and I would just power through them,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut then I\u2019d go months with no pain at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Considering surgery for diverticulitis<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Andrew\u2019s gastroenterologist suggested meeting with a surgeon to discuss treatment options.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that was really drastic, but he said I didn’t have to schedule surgery \u2014 he just wanted me to get the surgeon\u2019s perspective about my condition,\u201d she says. \u201cI reluctantly agreed, and the appointment was scheduled.\u201d<\/p>\n

But to her surprise, her appointment with Jessica Blumhagen, MD<\/a>, of MultiCare General Surgery \u2013 Cascade<\/a>, went better than expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt totally comfortable with Dr. Blumhagen after the first five minutes of chatting with her; we developed a rapport right away,\u201d Andrew recalls. \u201cShe was really easy to talk to, and she listened to me well.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of the conversation, she asked for Dr. Blumhagen\u2019s recommendation.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said, \u2018I can\u2019t tell you whether or not you should have surgery \u2014 that\u2019s totally your decision \u2014 but I can tell you your quality of life will improve if you do,\u2019\u201d Andrew says.<\/p>\n

How robotic surgery helps with recovery<\/h2>\n

Andrew decided to have surgery, which removed the part of her colon damaged by diverticulitis.<\/p>\n

She underwent a robotic-assisted surgery called a sigmoidectomy to remove the damaged part of the colon through the anus rather than a large abdominal incision.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt my two-week follow-up appointment, Dr. Blumhagen said I was cleared to go back to swimming \u2014 I wasn\u2019t expecting that!\u201d she says. \u201cBut because of the equipment they used, my healing time was cut way, way down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Blumhagen had told her the surgery would be done with robotic assistance, but Andrew didn\u2019t know how big of a role that would play in her recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hear the word \u2018robotic\u2019 and you think, \u2018OK, cool,\u2019 but I was amazed how well I felt two weeks after having undergone what I did. I had five small incisions, but I couldn\u2019t even tell where they were. I had no pain.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dr. Blumhagen confirms Andrew benefitted from minimally invasive robotic surgery versus an open surgery that requires a large incision. She says open surgeries require about a six-week recovery and have a higher risk of hernia.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaula is a rock-star patient; she was ready to go get stuff done,\u201d Dr. Blumhagen adds. \u201cShe’s a mover and shaker at baseline \u2014 those who move more will recover faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew is relieved she no longer has to endure the painful diverticulitis episodes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Blumhagen reassured me after surgery that I didn\u2019t have to worry about that anymore. That was very comforting,\u201d she says. \u201cShe and her staff and everyone at the hospital were just so wonderful. It was a great experience \u2014 as great as a surgery can be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yakima resident Paula Andrew, 70, leads an active life and stays involved in her community. She swims five days a week, teaches MultiCare\u2019s diabetes prevention program and volunteers as a chef at Yakima Woman\u2019s Century Club. \u201cI\u2019m very active person \u2014 not a lot slows me down,\u201d Andrew says. Despite her active lifestyle, Andrew suffered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":451,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[169],"class_list":["post-39555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-profiles-stories","tag-robotic-surgery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDiverticulitis surgery improves quality of life for Yakima woman - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After years of painful diverticulitis, Paula Andrew quickly returned to her daily swims and volunteering following robotic-assisted surgery at MultiCare.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stg-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/diverticulitis-surgery-improves-quality-of-life-for-yakima-woman\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yakima woman finds relief after diverticulitis surgery - 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