Well I'm home - finally.
9 days in the hospital, not fun at all and I'm really really glad to be home.
Surgery itself went really well, lasted 5 hours and my surgeon was extremely happy with how everything went. He said I had very few adhesions (scar tissue) which made the work much easier and I think he found less disease than he thought he would. I have my Kock pouch.
I did have unfortunately some terrible experiences in the hospital. I was woken up in the PACU (post anesthesia care unit) around noon because I had a reaction to some painkillers I was given immediately post-op. I stopped breathing - yes, it happened. Because of that I was given a medication to wake me up and keep me awake and also I was not allowed any pain medication for over a hour. This was an excruciating experience for me. Under normal circumstances I would not even wake up in the PACU and would sleep most of the day of my surgery. Because of the drugs though I was wide awake an fully aware of everything that was happening to me. The nurse who attended me was very unkind and unsympathetic. I will spare you the details except to say that I cried the entire time I was in there, It was a truly horrible experience.
Eventually I was allowed pain killers and given access to my pain pump but after being off pain killers it takes a while for them to bring the pain under control, it was probably 5pm before I was actually comfortable again.
I woke up with a catheter in my bladder and a stent (to prevent the formation of scar tissue), with an abdominal drain (to drain fluid out of the abdominal cavity and prevent sepsis), my catheter for my kock pouch and my IV.
The next couple of days in the hospital went well. I managed to walk to the bathroom get a little sponge bath, sit up in a chair etc etc. On Monday they took away my pain pump and started me on percocet. This was a mistake as it was inadequate pain control. With the pain pump I could dose myself every 6 minutes which I didn't usually need to unless I was getting up or moving around etc. With the percocet I was given pills every 4 hours and oxycondon in between time for "breakthrough" pain but it just couldn't bring anything under control. Tuesday and Wednesday were both horrible days for me. Between the pain and nausea and my small intestine still not being "awake" (meaning functioning) I was absolutely miserable. I was able to speak to my doctor about the inadequate pain control and they agreed to put me on Morphine since I was still not eating and I was also sent for a GI x-ray with contrast so they could see how the pouch was doing.
Also on Wednesday my IV infiltrated and a new one had to be started. They brought in a special nurse to do it who tried 3 times with no luck. Then they called in the IV SWAT team (not lying) and they did manage to get it started. Had my abdominal drain removed on Wednesday. It was sutured to my skin so they cut those and then pulled it out. That hurt more than I can put into words. I was glad shon was there to hold my hand as I believe I almost crushed his fingers and glad my mom was not there to hear me.
Thursday was my turn-around day. I actually got some sleep wednesday night (which let me tell you, in a hospital is an amazing feet) I started taking longer walks down the hallway. By Thursday night I was actually hungry - I went 7 days with no food. Friday I was allowed soft foods and was told if the pouch kept functioning and I had no nausea I could go home on Saturday.
No more nausea and lots of walking and sitting up and I got sent home yesterday and arrived around 3pm. I still have my constant drain in my k-pouch and that will stay in for the next 4 weeks until I go see my surgeon. I've been taught how to take care of it though and I feel fairly comfortable with the whole thing.
This was probably the worst hospital experience that I've ever had, mostly due to inadequate pain control. The care I received over-all was quite good. I had some excellent nurses and some that were just so-so. I can't thank God enough for allowing my mom to be here to help take care of me. Besides keeping me company and helping spare Shon some of the burden its just nice to have my mom here. Shon has been truly amazing. I have been blessed beyond measure to have him as my husband. I sat trembling in the bathroom naked, cold, in pain and tired day after day as he patiently and tenderly got me cleaned up. Not grossed out by dried blood and mucus, by drains and poop and my inability to do anything for myself. He was always by my side when he could be holding my hand and encouraging me. Telling me how proud he was of me. Thank you God, for giving me Shon.
And thank you all for your prayers. As hard as this experience has been I felt God's presence and encouragement and I know how much your prayers helped my family as well.
I'm Home.
No comments:
Post a Comment