They giveth, they taketh away

Thursday AM – The catheter came out at 11:00AM yesterday. Renee was given eight hours to void her bladder, a strange way to say pee. Even the hospital staff has trouble dealing with the terminology of releasing bodily waste. Every 20 minutes they were coming in and asking, “Have you voided?”
“Huh? Oh, you mean pee. No not yet.” Geez, speak English.

At about 3:30PM, after a couple of false alarms, the time had come and Renee emerged from the bathroom saying, “Drinks are on me. I peed.” Um, don’t you mean voided?

Renee said that during the night she had to hit the nurse’s button. She got scared when she heard some loud rumblings from her innards and she called for help not knowing what was happening. She was thinking the movie Alien. Her organs have all awakened with a vengeance and are screaming out to let her know. It is a little disconcerting hearing these different noises. Yes, they are completely discernable to anyone in the room. Renee’s bowels have not been functioning properly for over a year and now they are set up a bit differently. She can’t even remember what they’re supposed to sound like. Then, you have the addition of a plastic collection bag glued to her side. As it fills you have various tunes being played out ranging from a soothing mountain stream trickle to a wet whoopee cushion. It’s going to take some getting used to.

This morning about 8:45AM they administered Percoset orally. Food Services showed up about the same time with, wonder of all wonders, food. Eggs and French Toast were on the plate and Renee was allowed to eat them, slowly, with a warning to take it easy. She managed a few bites and understandably felt a little queasy. It’s been a while since anything solid has hit her stomach.

Renee got cleaned up and we went for a walk. On our return, the nurse disconnected the IV pain pump. I don’t think I mentioned it but they reconnected the pump on Saturday during all the hoopla. They knew at that point it would be a while before we were leaving and Renee’s pain level had jumped back to 10. She’s at a 2-3 level now. Then they continued to disconnect the other IV lines. She’s still got two needles in, just in case a reconnect is needed, but she is currently unencumbered by hoses and wires - Freedom.

She has taken her first walk without her IV cart and managed pretty well holding on to the hallway railings. Renee is currently sitting up and eating lunch, mashed potatoes, green beans and turkey. They have given us word that discharge may be as early as tomorrow but more likely Saturday.

Progress, progress, progress.

With advancement toward release comes the realization that the stoma and bag are for real. Renee showed some reluctance and some raw emotion when the nurse told her that she had to empty her own bag from here on out. I was told, quietly on the side, that although they are teaching me how that Renee should be doing this on her own. It helps with the full acceptance. This is part of her life now and after the pain of surgery has subsided will help to improve her quality of health back to a level she has not enjoyed in years. Right now that does not make the reality any easier.