Update to family
This is news to some of you but others have been updated. Our computer has been working so slowly so I haven't had a chance to do this til now. People who say I have taken the "easy way out" have no clue what this surgery and recovery is like and what my life will be like from here on out. I am just now starting to feeling like a human being again.
On Monday at 0730 I had my guts rearranged, and Monday is really a blur for me. I was very pleased with my anesthesiologist who listened to my concerns about nausea after surgery and thew everything at me including a scopalamine patch and it worked. My pain was managed with a continuous drip morphine and a PCA (pt controlled anesthesia) pump, so I could push for an extra dose if needed. I did this for the first few hours after surgery and then didn't need it. I was up and walking that afternoon and got pretty dizzy so back to bed. I also had a Foley catheter for 2 days ( a urinary catheter).
Day 2 I had a nurse with a student. You are asked if it's ok and I'm all about teaching so the student did a lot with me. She went to my gastrograffin study that morning (barium swallow under flouroscopy which checks for leaks in any of the suture sites) and my IV had infiltrated. I asked her to call Lynn (my nurse) to stop the fluids and before we could do that they were wheeling me back to my room. Lynn stopped the fluids on my hand that was now 3x it's normal size, and asked if Megan (student) could start my IV. I said one poke. I'm a team player but I wasn't gonna be a pin cushion and this was her very first start. Of course, she had not much of a clue and missed. Lynn tried and missed and so the lead came in and started it in my wrist OUCH!, but I was happy fluids were going again. I was then started on 15cc water to sip over an hour. This may sound easy but I was so nauseated and even with round the clock Zofran (anti-nausea med) I was so sick. Later, that afternoon my IV alarmed that there was air in the line. I called my nurse, Megan came in with a new bag of fluids, and declared she didn't know what to do. I told her she had to take apart the IV and flush the line through. She was unsure so she left to get Lynn. 15 minutes later, no nurse. I called again, was assured they would be right in they were finishing up with another pt. Another 15 mintues later, no nurse, another call that went unanswered and I told Chris he was going to help me get out of bed and change the bag. I was not going to let this IV clot off. He was so tentative because he thought he was going to pull out the IV, which frustrated me even more since to me this was so simple but I only had one fat (IV infiltrated) hand to use since I couldn't disconnect the luer lock from my t-port myself. After a lot of prodding him he finally got it and flushed the line, re-entered 150cc/hr, reconnected with Chris' complaining help again and started the pump. Ten minutes later, my nurse shows up and looks at the perfectly running IV pump and said, "You did this didn't you, Kim?" She apologized and I just told her I wasn't gonna wait around for this to clot, sorry if she got in trouble and I also knew I was gonna have the reputation now of the meddling nurse/pt who is doing her own cares.
Day 3, I had a male nurse, Kurt. He was awesome. He came in to do my vitals and assessment and got called to another room. When he came back he said, "What? You didn't finish your vitals for me?" I said, "I guess I have a reputation, huh?" He laughed and and said, "yeah, you kind of do. We are keeping an eye on you." I was up to 30 cc water or clear liquids per hour now, by sips again. I begged to go home that day, although they try to keep you another day. My surgeon said he would check in the afternoon and if I was continuing to walk, drink etc they would dc me that evening and they did.
The first 2 days at home were rough I didn't want to take any pain meds I was still so nauseous. Why he didn't send me home on Zofran I don't know. I finally called yesterday and got some and it has helped tremendously. I am to try to get in 4 oz liquid/hour, by sips. This is no easy task. I failed miserably the first 2 days and even yesterday was tough. I don't want to be back in the hospital with dehydration so I am pushing it more today.
The scale finally budged 2 days ago. And the grand total so far is 10# lost since surgery and 11# lost on my 10 day liquid diet, so 21# so far.
On Monday at 0730 I had my guts rearranged, and Monday is really a blur for me. I was very pleased with my anesthesiologist who listened to my concerns about nausea after surgery and thew everything at me including a scopalamine patch and it worked. My pain was managed with a continuous drip morphine and a PCA (pt controlled anesthesia) pump, so I could push for an extra dose if needed. I did this for the first few hours after surgery and then didn't need it. I was up and walking that afternoon and got pretty dizzy so back to bed. I also had a Foley catheter for 2 days ( a urinary catheter).
Day 2 I had a nurse with a student. You are asked if it's ok and I'm all about teaching so the student did a lot with me. She went to my gastrograffin study that morning (barium swallow under flouroscopy which checks for leaks in any of the suture sites) and my IV had infiltrated. I asked her to call Lynn (my nurse) to stop the fluids and before we could do that they were wheeling me back to my room. Lynn stopped the fluids on my hand that was now 3x it's normal size, and asked if Megan (student) could start my IV. I said one poke. I'm a team player but I wasn't gonna be a pin cushion and this was her very first start. Of course, she had not much of a clue and missed. Lynn tried and missed and so the lead came in and started it in my wrist OUCH!, but I was happy fluids were going again. I was then started on 15cc water to sip over an hour. This may sound easy but I was so nauseated and even with round the clock Zofran (anti-nausea med) I was so sick. Later, that afternoon my IV alarmed that there was air in the line. I called my nurse, Megan came in with a new bag of fluids, and declared she didn't know what to do. I told her she had to take apart the IV and flush the line through. She was unsure so she left to get Lynn. 15 minutes later, no nurse. I called again, was assured they would be right in they were finishing up with another pt. Another 15 mintues later, no nurse, another call that went unanswered and I told Chris he was going to help me get out of bed and change the bag. I was not going to let this IV clot off. He was so tentative because he thought he was going to pull out the IV, which frustrated me even more since to me this was so simple but I only had one fat (IV infiltrated) hand to use since I couldn't disconnect the luer lock from my t-port myself. After a lot of prodding him he finally got it and flushed the line, re-entered 150cc/hr, reconnected with Chris' complaining help again and started the pump. Ten minutes later, my nurse shows up and looks at the perfectly running IV pump and said, "You did this didn't you, Kim?" She apologized and I just told her I wasn't gonna wait around for this to clot, sorry if she got in trouble and I also knew I was gonna have the reputation now of the meddling nurse/pt who is doing her own cares.
Day 3, I had a male nurse, Kurt. He was awesome. He came in to do my vitals and assessment and got called to another room. When he came back he said, "What? You didn't finish your vitals for me?" I said, "I guess I have a reputation, huh?" He laughed and and said, "yeah, you kind of do. We are keeping an eye on you." I was up to 30 cc water or clear liquids per hour now, by sips again. I begged to go home that day, although they try to keep you another day. My surgeon said he would check in the afternoon and if I was continuing to walk, drink etc they would dc me that evening and they did.
The first 2 days at home were rough I didn't want to take any pain meds I was still so nauseous. Why he didn't send me home on Zofran I don't know. I finally called yesterday and got some and it has helped tremendously. I am to try to get in 4 oz liquid/hour, by sips. This is no easy task. I failed miserably the first 2 days and even yesterday was tough. I don't want to be back in the hospital with dehydration so I am pushing it more today.
The scale finally budged 2 days ago. And the grand total so far is 10# lost since surgery and 11# lost on my 10 day liquid diet, so 21# so far.
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