Hello Everyone,
A lot has happened since the last entry. Susan was released from the hospital after her surgery five days later on Tuesday the 6th. She was doing excellent. Feeling good, the pain was diminishing, and eating well. The plan was to go back the next Monday and have the staples removed and head back to Florida on the 20th, three weeks after. Well, the next day after getting out of the hospital she started getting nauseous and started throwing up. We contacted Emily and Dr. Beilman. Doctor Beilman said this was an Ileus. Sleepy bowel syndrome. They helped us get Zofran to help control the nausea and with luck, it would pass in a couple of days. For Susan, this was not happening. Things were getting worse. We tried to get out so she could walk around hoping that might help, but that venture was cut short due to the increasing Nausea. Doctor Beilman stayed in touch with us every day. Sue had developed a lump under her incision which Dr. Beilman knew about and said would eventually go down. On Saturday while sitting in a lounge chair her incision started leaking. A clear reddish fluid. The lump started draining which the doctor said was ok and a good thing, just keep it bandaged and clean. I would say about a cup and a half of fluid drained out. Having a really good Doctor who knows what he is doing stayed calm and explained everything that was happening was really good for me as her primary caregiver I was able to stay calm, not worry and support her 100% and that kept her form worrying and making things more difficult. Like when Sue had the TP-IAT It takes a team to help the patient. Support, care, and all the assistance you can give, really help. Without that the recovery is harder. On Monday, day 11, after the surgery I was able to see that Susan was not getting better and that she had lost enough weight to be very noticeable. I asked Dr. Beilman if there was something IV she could have to give her nourishment. Since day 6 when this started, she was having nothing to eat or drink (NPO). He said it was time to get her back into the hospital. A CT showed A liter of fluid in her stomach and an NG tube is needed to remove that. Sue does not like an NG Tube by any means but by now she said yes let’s do it. She was admitted on Tuesday. Shortly after, the tube was inserted and immediately 400mls came out. Within the hour 300 more through the tube and by nightfall another liter. That night at least another 600mls more. A TPN (IV Nourishment) was started also. The next day, Wednesday, the nausea started to subside, and by evening she was able to walk around the hospital. Walking was important. Moving around is the best way to stimulate the bowel to start working. On Thursday there was gurgling and by midday, gas was passing and she had a bowel movement. They did a barium test starting early. They put barium down into the stomach and 8 hours later they take an X-ray to see the progress. This will show any areas of concern. On Friday the results came back, and everything was clear. No obstructions or blockages. Doctor Beilman’s diagnosis was spot on. His experience and skills tell him what to do and he does what his experience tells him but most of all he involves the patient and the family in the process. For Sue, she can handle pain but the nausea is very difficult. Also, having a close trusted advocate to help and support her is invaluable. She makes the decisions but in a difficult condition having trusted people around her helps her know the right decisions are being made. And I have said it before, she does everything the doctors tell her to do to a tee. This helps the doctors too. They know that she follows directions and anything further to be done is not because they didn’t. The doctors need to have faith and trust in the process and the patient as well. On Friday, yesterday, day 15, Susan had turned the corner. She looked better, the nausea was totally gone she was having good bowel movements, the NG tube was removed (YEA), a TPN is building up her strength, and she is able to keep clear liquids down. She is restless which is good because she moves around, and it becomes the first sign she is becoming her old self. Getting mad at me for saying dumb things is second and that is happening too, when she starts cleaning up the room and asking for a mop, then it is time to leave, and I think that might be on Sunday or Monday. She is a great woman, strong, resilient determined, and most of all my beautiful Bride!
