No Drama

We had a lot of activity around the patient today. Most all of it was on the removal side. They should have called for a dumpster with all the garbage that was being pulled off of Renee. Wires and hose and bandages and dressings and bags and pumps and drains all came off or down or out.

At one point everyone showed up at once. The stoma nurse came in to remove a rod that was put in place so the body did not reclaim the piece of small intestine that is the temporary loop ileostomy. The doctor purposefully pulled and stitched it to the surface, any unsupervised pull back could be a major catastrophe. We were told the body adjusts to this quickly, so the rod is removed before it fully heals into the skin and becomes an unwanted foreign object. The stoma (the exposed portion of the ileostomy) itself is also a little different since it was fashioned from higher up on the intestine rather than the end. It looks more like a large distended belly button than its peeled penis predecessor.

While that was going on - along with the changing of the colostomy bag, which should not be confused with the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, only because it doesn’t smell as bad as the guys in the heavy coats and big hats - a doctor showed up to remove the drain that was placed to draw off excess fluid and gunk from around the J-pouch build area. Now that stuff smells even worse than the palace guards, eewhew!

I’m amazed the human body will tolerate some of the devices that we insert. When I saw the lengths of the stents that were removed the previous days it was surprising to see that they were 18-24 inches long, not insignificant, although they were extremely thin, thinner than a straw coffee stirrer. But the hose on the drain was huge. It was a flexible pipe with holes in it. I immediately thought that we could use it in place of the pvc pipe in our mash tun. What a great sparge filter it would make! I wonder how it stands up to temperatures close to 200 degress? Sorry, I drifted off to the wrong blog for a second (see the beerworks blog for translation and more info).

You get the picture, there were masses of humanity gathering around Renee and for a welcome change they were removing rather than installing medical accessories. Earlier, one of the posse doctors stopped in. It was before I got there which was about 8:30 A.M. He also was very positive in his assessment on Renee’s progress. He said discharge may be as early as tomorrow BUT the surgeon recommended maybe staying overnight or longer locally so if any problems crop up they can deal with them here.

Good idea, but, it is highly unlikely we would hang around. They are setting it up for home health care nurse visits again so I don’t see the point. Plus, I don’t believe them. They always hedge their answers, maybe tomorrow, maybe Monday. We’ve been through this before, one day you think you’re going home, the next they’ve got the whole hospital staff at your bedside trying to figure out what’s wrong. I’m not being pessimistic, just realistic. Renee does not have a good track record for recovery. We don't need to bug out before she's ready.

I will say that she looks and sounds so much better than I’ve ever seen her following surgery. This is so unlike Renee. So far there has been no drama. I tried to manufacture some but she’s just not cooperating. It has not been all wine and roses but compared to the last trip to this town it is more like a cocktail party than the full out rumble I remember.

This is good people! Do I hear applause? Well I should!
C’mon now, put your hands together and lets keep this vibe going!
I mean it!
All Right!
You at the computer!
All Right!
I’m not feeling it!
All Right!
That’s better!
All Right!
Give me an
All Right!
C’mon now!
All Right!
Let’s go now!
All Right!
Ya know what I mean now?
All Right!
We’re talkin’ Renee now!
All Right!
We’re talkin’ get better now!
All Right!
We’re talkin’ Renee now!
All Right!
We’re talkin’ get better now!
All Right!
We’re talking home now!
All Right!
C’mon Doc!
All Right!
Just say it now!
All Right!
Oh Yeah!
All Right!
Oh Yeah!
All Right!
Oh Yeah!
All Right!

Fade out ……………………All Right!