1) it's three days later and she's still suffering from quite nasty nausea and vomiting
Rough night.
Lots of vomiting. When I was down last night they were adding more anti-emetic, but obviously without my benefit.
At some stage they stuck in a naso-gastric tube, which has helped. It means that there's not too many other places they could stick a tube into her. But still, she's not had much chance to rest so today will be quiet. As I left they were about to give her a bed bath (but not a beyond).
They came around to take her meal order for the next day. Frankly given her options I think I'd need an NG tube too.
I was going to go back to work today but frankly I'm not in the mood to listen to peoples' problems. Maybe tomorrow.
Daycare hand-off wasn't too bad.
#1 Husband
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
much like any professional cricket game in India....
1) I'm confident she can be fixed
Tough day.
They've managed to get her pain under control, but today she's been tired and nauseous. When we saw her in the afternoon (after the big one had finished school) she'd been up in the chair for a couple of hours but was really feeling it. The nurses wanted her to go for a quick walk before going back to bed but she barely managed three shuffling steps before she had to ease her back. Shame, as it took ages to untangle her tubes so that she was able to get going in the first place (three tubes going in and four going out, not including the stoma itself).
When I went back in after the girls went to sleep she had a troubled look on her face, and was trying to find a bed angle that helped with her nausea. She's needed three (?) changes today, as a result of leaks etc.
They were hoping that she'd only need 5-7 days in hospital, but at this rate of recovery I don't see how this will happen. Hopefully things start getting exponentially better soon.
The other woman in the room is an older woman who has old woman friends who, like teenagers, can spend hours nattering about nothing. Ear plugs were useful.
At the end of June is the Wellington marathon, which I will not be running (I was actually a little grateful for the excuse not to train). However there is the Magic Mile for kids, and big sister is quite intrigued by the thought of doing this. We live near a running track, so I got her to do four laps the other day, with plenty of breaks each lap. Today I was impressed when she managed to run one whole lap essentially non-stop (with minimal paternal encouragement). Mum would dearly love to watch her run this, but given the likely time lines I don't think she'll be able to spend that much time out and away from a toilet.
As I was dreading, little one started pining for mummy tonight. We managed to distract her in the end, but this can't last forever. On the plus side she's still sleeping ok and seemed happy enough at daycare today.
I think I know the style of tap I want for the bathroom.
#1 husband
Tough day.
They've managed to get her pain under control, but today she's been tired and nauseous. When we saw her in the afternoon (after the big one had finished school) she'd been up in the chair for a couple of hours but was really feeling it. The nurses wanted her to go for a quick walk before going back to bed but she barely managed three shuffling steps before she had to ease her back. Shame, as it took ages to untangle her tubes so that she was able to get going in the first place (three tubes going in and four going out, not including the stoma itself).
When I went back in after the girls went to sleep she had a troubled look on her face, and was trying to find a bed angle that helped with her nausea. She's needed three (?) changes today, as a result of leaks etc.
They were hoping that she'd only need 5-7 days in hospital, but at this rate of recovery I don't see how this will happen. Hopefully things start getting exponentially better soon.
The other woman in the room is an older woman who has old woman friends who, like teenagers, can spend hours nattering about nothing. Ear plugs were useful.
At the end of June is the Wellington marathon, which I will not be running (I was actually a little grateful for the excuse not to train). However there is the Magic Mile for kids, and big sister is quite intrigued by the thought of doing this. We live near a running track, so I got her to do four laps the other day, with plenty of breaks each lap. Today I was impressed when she managed to run one whole lap essentially non-stop (with minimal paternal encouragement). Mum would dearly love to watch her run this, but given the likely time lines I don't think she'll be able to spend that much time out and away from a toilet.
As I was dreading, little one started pining for mummy tonight. We managed to distract her in the end, but this can't last forever. On the plus side she's still sleeping ok and seemed happy enough at daycare today.
I think I know the style of tap I want for the bathroom.
#1 husband
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
much like any NZ innings....
1) the whole thing yesterday took about 5 hours
2) today she could be out in the blink of an eye
3) her middle can't cope with any sort of pressure
We've worked out why this still feels quite surreal. For most people, an operation of this magnitude comes after much suffering or with immediate fear. So someone with ulcerative colitis who has the same operation will get relief after years of pain. Someone who has a hemicolectomy for a big tumour is grateful that the damn thing is out of them. A hip replacement ends years of pain and can return mobility and freedom.
But here, all was pretty ok. Oh, sure, there was a small tumour, but that was taken care of during the colonoscopy. No-one would chop off an arm if the mole I excised from the back of the hand turned out to be a melanoma with clear margins*.
This then was a prophylactic procedure, to try to eliminate the risk of turning up one day with liver metastases from that one polyp that got missed that one time. Like the double mastectomy for someone with the BRCA gene (a la Angelina Jolie). The key difference here though is the loss of function, not just form (although I'm not trying to downplay the effect that can have).
The brutish ward staff were true to their word, and forced her out of bed this morning - barely 18 hours after the final stitch! By the time Nana went to see her she was exhausted after her 45 mins hard sitting in the chair. Presumeably they'll have her doing sit-ups by Thursday. She been very good with her DVT exercises, though.
I took the older one in to see her after school - we figured it would be too hard for the wee one, as she'd want to cuddle and crawl all over mum. And we worried she'd be too distressed when we left. Elder was quite taken by all the pumps and tubes. I pointed out mum's central line (in the neck).
The stoma has turned out to be a touch fiddly. They seem to have it working ok for now, but the word is that they may need to do the reversal procedure in a couple of weeks, not eight as originally planned. Now, that eight weeks is important to let the join at the end to heal enough to cope with its new job, so reducing the healing time will put her at risk of leakage. However there was the chance that they wouldn't be able to form the stoma in the first place, so I guess two weeks of healing is better than none.
I can't decide on the style of tap I want for the new bathroom vanity.
#1 Husband
* if any mole that I excised turned out to be a melanoma, that person would need to go to Plastics for a much wider excision margin, even if my sample looked clear.
2) today she could be out in the blink of an eye
3) her middle can't cope with any sort of pressure
We've worked out why this still feels quite surreal. For most people, an operation of this magnitude comes after much suffering or with immediate fear. So someone with ulcerative colitis who has the same operation will get relief after years of pain. Someone who has a hemicolectomy for a big tumour is grateful that the damn thing is out of them. A hip replacement ends years of pain and can return mobility and freedom.
But here, all was pretty ok. Oh, sure, there was a small tumour, but that was taken care of during the colonoscopy. No-one would chop off an arm if the mole I excised from the back of the hand turned out to be a melanoma with clear margins*.
This then was a prophylactic procedure, to try to eliminate the risk of turning up one day with liver metastases from that one polyp that got missed that one time. Like the double mastectomy for someone with the BRCA gene (a la Angelina Jolie). The key difference here though is the loss of function, not just form (although I'm not trying to downplay the effect that can have).
The brutish ward staff were true to their word, and forced her out of bed this morning - barely 18 hours after the final stitch! By the time Nana went to see her she was exhausted after her 45 mins hard sitting in the chair. Presumeably they'll have her doing sit-ups by Thursday. She been very good with her DVT exercises, though.
I took the older one in to see her after school - we figured it would be too hard for the wee one, as she'd want to cuddle and crawl all over mum. And we worried she'd be too distressed when we left. Elder was quite taken by all the pumps and tubes. I pointed out mum's central line (in the neck).
The stoma has turned out to be a touch fiddly. They seem to have it working ok for now, but the word is that they may need to do the reversal procedure in a couple of weeks, not eight as originally planned. Now, that eight weeks is important to let the join at the end to heal enough to cope with its new job, so reducing the healing time will put her at risk of leakage. However there was the chance that they wouldn't be able to form the stoma in the first place, so I guess two weeks of healing is better than none.
I can't decide on the style of tap I want for the new bathroom vanity.
#1 Husband
* if any mole that I excised turned out to be a melanoma, that person would need to go to Plastics for a much wider excision margin, even if my sample looked clear.
Monday, 27 May 2013
she's a bit like the NZ bowling attack because...
1) she looks knackered
2) she was leaking runs overnight
still tired this am, but looking much more alert. Ward round came and went with minimal fuss. It looks like they'll need to re-fit the stoma bag, but she has yet to see the stoma nurses who will no doubt sort things out.
They say that the histology will take 5-7 days so we'll just need to be patient. They've suggested that she start drinking sports drinks for their potassium (no doubt from the fine potassium mines of Khazakhstan), but I think I'll just buy her a banana
In local news the wee one slept poorly, both in her cot and also with me. I know it's just viral, but she's been complaining about her ears enough that I decided to take her to the After Hour's. Naturally the sore ear was full of wax (which could be the cause of her pain I guess). Now that we're back home she's perked up a little and is reading books with the nanny.
Right - off to the physio for my back of mystery
#1 husband
2) she was leaking runs overnight
still tired this am, but looking much more alert. Ward round came and went with minimal fuss. It looks like they'll need to re-fit the stoma bag, but she has yet to see the stoma nurses who will no doubt sort things out.
They say that the histology will take 5-7 days so we'll just need to be patient. They've suggested that she start drinking sports drinks for their potassium (no doubt from the fine potassium mines of Khazakhstan), but I think I'll just buy her a banana
In local news the wee one slept poorly, both in her cot and also with me. I know it's just viral, but she's been complaining about her ears enough that I decided to take her to the After Hour's. Naturally the sore ear was full of wax (which could be the cause of her pain I guess). Now that we're back home she's perked up a little and is reading books with the nanny.
Right - off to the physio for my back of mystery
#1 husband
She's NOT like the NZ cricket team because...
1) she's not choking
2) she's trying to move her feet
3) she'll soon have lots of runs
Ok - we can all breathe again. As you can imagine she's tired and a bit sore, but she's on the ward and almost 100% whole. She wasn't up for much conversation, but that's fine for now.
I'll try to be there at tomorrow's ward round, but I was never very good at turning up for 7:30 ward rounds, even when I was working there.
Tonight I get to sleep in the middle of the bed. Hooray!
#1 husband
2) she's trying to move her feet
3) she'll soon have lots of runs
Ok - we can all breathe again. As you can imagine she's tired and a bit sore, but she's on the ward and almost 100% whole. She wasn't up for much conversation, but that's fine for now.
I'll try to be there at tomorrow's ward round, but I was never very good at turning up for 7:30 ward rounds, even when I was working there.
Tonight I get to sleep in the middle of the bed. Hooray!
#1 husband
She's a bit like the NZ cricket team because...
1) she's out
2) she's a bit gutless
3) she's not very good at cricket
Her surgeon gave me a call when they were done - that was very nice of him. From about the third hour on I was pacing a little bit.
I went down to the ward soon afterwards, but this was a bit optimistic. She's now been in recovery for close to four hours but I just got a call from the ward informing me that's she on her way up (unlike the NZ cricket team).
The kids went to bed with minimal fuss - we'll see how we do once they figure out that mummy's away for a while (especially the wee one).
Right - I'm off to see if she remembers me.
#1 husband
2) she's a bit gutless
3) she's not very good at cricket
Her surgeon gave me a call when they were done - that was very nice of him. From about the third hour on I was pacing a little bit.
I went down to the ward soon afterwards, but this was a bit optimistic. She's now been in recovery for close to four hours but I just got a call from the ward informing me that's she on her way up (unlike the NZ cricket team).
The kids went to bed with minimal fuss - we'll see how we do once they figure out that mummy's away for a while (especially the wee one).
Right - I'm off to see if she remembers me.
#1 husband
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