Surgery + 1

The patient is doing well. I arrived a little later than Renee expected. I slept in a little. Not having the dog to wake me is a nice little luxury. I then had a little more trouble finding parking than yesterday. The parking garage closest to the building Renee is in is under construction. They leave that part out on the maps. I then went to purchase parking coupons. It looks like we'll be here for five more days and coming back so I took advantage of the deep discount.

I arrived at just the right time to see my wife getting a sponge bath by another man.

Should I give you two a little time?

A male nurse was scrubbing her down due to some accident involving the connection to the colostomy bag. It was a bag-plosion by the looks of it. A female nurse was helping out on the other side of the bed. I really wanted to take pictures. What a Kodak moment! But I backed down knowing there would be further repercussions that I probably don't want to endure. Renee said, "I better not see this on the blog. TMI" I completely agreed with her, too much information. So I won't say a word about it.

Following this jostling around Renee was complaining of pain at a level 10. If you've been through this before you know that is how the nurses ask you to describe it. On a scale of 1 to 10 with ten being the highest what is your pain level. 10!, 10! 10! It subsided after she settled back down. But while she was dozing I caught her performing the motion of hitting the button for a morphine shot when it wasn't in her hand.

At 12:40PM, Renee's surgeon did his rounds and checked her out. The ileostomy looks good he said. He also told us something new about the surgery. A good portion of the rectum was left. To prevent internal infection related to this disconnected piece he attached the interior open end into Renee's skin under her belly. If infection occurs, it will appear as a skin rash at the site. Then they just cut a small opening in the skin and drain off the infection. Doesn't sound like a big deal, does it?

These are little things doctors tell you that probably don't mean a lot to us lay people - right over our heads. Small life saving details that we don't give much thought to. Geez! THANK YOU DOC probably is not enough. The description was so matter of fact I almost missed it. Was he bragging? No. He was just stating that with the knowledge at hand he was doing the best for his patient. Details - he was attending to details. Double Geez! you just don't know how good that made me feel.

He saw lot's of scarring from previous surgeries and especially from the 20 year old gall bladder removal. He confirmed the estimate for J-Pouch surgery at 6 months but also said it depends on Renee's recovery progress. He wants her in good health for that one. He used the butter analogy again, saying if he lightly rubbed his thumb and fore finger together - he was doing it as he was saying it - on the colon it would disintegrate. I think we're pretty lucky we got the surgery done when we did. If we waited too much longer the colon could have ruptured and Renee would be facing some much more serious problems.

He cleared her to drink some fluids. Ice chips is all she's been allowed so far. He ordered her to use the blow tube they give to all abdominal surgery patients. And he told her to take a walk. Then he disappeared.

I know I took a few shot at the staff yesterday due to lack of notifications about Renee's status. Today I'm telling you that they are very pleasant and helpful. They are doing their jobs and very well. She's in good hands.

Renee was complaining that she's not really sleeping. She forgets that the hospital seems to be the worst place to try and get some rest, especially after an operation. They need to take your vitals. They need to give you shots. They need to change your dressings. This goes on 24/7, there's no way around it.

A little after 2:00PM I helped Renee out of the bed and into a chair. She slept pretty soundly for almost and hour sitting up. At 3:00PM, she took her first walk. A short jaunt out of the room, fifteen feet down the hall and back. She was wiped afterward and I put her back in bed.

An hour and a half later Renee had me call her mother and she spoke directly to both her and Cassidy. She was in good spirits but tired. She sent me packing for some supper.