Sugery - Day 2
May 6th, 2016
I got ZERO sleep last night, I dozed for no more than maybe 15 minutes at a time, was just constantly hurting from that chest tube. Nurse kept saying "well there's no drainage, so maybe you can get it out soon". At some point in the night, my surgeon stopped in to check on me and asked the nurse why I couldn't have OxyContin to help with the pain. After that I was able to manage a bit better. Thanks doc!
When one of the associate Doctors came to check on me in the morning, he said, "we'll probably take that tube out tomorrow", and I could have kicked him if I had the strength! Nurse seemed to think it would come out this afternoon, so I held onto that hope.
Feeling more alert today, they brought me a liquid breakfast, and it's so hard to eat soup when you can't quite sit up all the way straight. So I ate the jello, the apple juice and the italian ice they brought. it was good to have SOMETHING with calories in it, I think that helped me fell a bit better too. At this point, I was able to move my arms and legs, although I had not been out of bed yet.
Then they came with the wheelchair to take me to X-ray and I thought "you have got to be kidding me" I had not been out of the bed, hadn't really sat up straight yet. So that was an adventure. VERY dizzy, queasy, I just kept my head down and eyes closed on the ride because the movement was making me nauseated. when I got back, I had to lie back down and just rest, that trip downstairs in a wheelchair was exhausting.
Sometime after that the nurse took out the catheter and that afternoon, they came to take my chest tube out! What a relief! Unfortunately, the area around the chest tube site was still bothering me, it felt like it was still there, but I could breathe easier and move more without pain. YAY! The nurse said that if I wanted to go home they could probably get me released, but I really wasn't feeling good, had still not been walking or moving around and I think she agreed that another night would be a good idea.
I was finally able to get up and go to the restroom, only really needed help because I was still hooked up to IVs and monitoring stuff. After my first trip to the bathroom, I decided to take a walk around the floor. One time around wasn't much, but it was nice to start moving again. And after that I felt a lot stronger and more comfortable sitting up instead of laying down all the time.
My friend came back to visit me, and went downstairs to get me something decent to eat (cheese pizza and a ginger ale!). I ate it, it was good, and it felt like I was doing much better.
That night I slept MUCH better...not straight through, but in 2-3-hour increments, which was such a relief.
By Saturday morning (the 7th) they told me I could go home, and I finally felt ready. I was able to clean myself up, gather my stuff and just hang out and watch TV until my husband arrived to pick me up.
I didn't feel good on the ride home (the OcyContin kinda makes me feel nauseous in the car apparently), so I went straight to bed when I got there, but I was home, and ready to start really recovering.
I got ZERO sleep last night, I dozed for no more than maybe 15 minutes at a time, was just constantly hurting from that chest tube. Nurse kept saying "well there's no drainage, so maybe you can get it out soon". At some point in the night, my surgeon stopped in to check on me and asked the nurse why I couldn't have OxyContin to help with the pain. After that I was able to manage a bit better. Thanks doc!
When one of the associate Doctors came to check on me in the morning, he said, "we'll probably take that tube out tomorrow", and I could have kicked him if I had the strength! Nurse seemed to think it would come out this afternoon, so I held onto that hope.
Feeling more alert today, they brought me a liquid breakfast, and it's so hard to eat soup when you can't quite sit up all the way straight. So I ate the jello, the apple juice and the italian ice they brought. it was good to have SOMETHING with calories in it, I think that helped me fell a bit better too. At this point, I was able to move my arms and legs, although I had not been out of bed yet.
Then they came with the wheelchair to take me to X-ray and I thought "you have got to be kidding me" I had not been out of the bed, hadn't really sat up straight yet. So that was an adventure. VERY dizzy, queasy, I just kept my head down and eyes closed on the ride because the movement was making me nauseated. when I got back, I had to lie back down and just rest, that trip downstairs in a wheelchair was exhausting.
Sometime after that the nurse took out the catheter and that afternoon, they came to take my chest tube out! What a relief! Unfortunately, the area around the chest tube site was still bothering me, it felt like it was still there, but I could breathe easier and move more without pain. YAY! The nurse said that if I wanted to go home they could probably get me released, but I really wasn't feeling good, had still not been walking or moving around and I think she agreed that another night would be a good idea.
I was finally able to get up and go to the restroom, only really needed help because I was still hooked up to IVs and monitoring stuff. After my first trip to the bathroom, I decided to take a walk around the floor. One time around wasn't much, but it was nice to start moving again. And after that I felt a lot stronger and more comfortable sitting up instead of laying down all the time.
My friend came back to visit me, and went downstairs to get me something decent to eat (cheese pizza and a ginger ale!). I ate it, it was good, and it felt like I was doing much better.
That night I slept MUCH better...not straight through, but in 2-3-hour increments, which was such a relief.
By Saturday morning (the 7th) they told me I could go home, and I finally felt ready. I was able to clean myself up, gather my stuff and just hang out and watch TV until my husband arrived to pick me up.
I didn't feel good on the ride home (the OcyContin kinda makes me feel nauseous in the car apparently), so I went straight to bed when I got there, but I was home, and ready to start really recovering.
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