Its been an emotional roller coaster so far. Lots of questions. No straight answers. Everyone has their own version of how things need to be and when things need to happen. Its seems (although it is totally counter intuitive to whole idea of health care) that the patient seems to be left to the bottom of the list every time. Don't get me wrong, there are great doctors and nurses here but it seems that the system itself is sluggish and overwhelmed.
To tell you the truth I couldn't come to relate in any detail to you the reader the events of the past 10 days. I have simply been too overwhelmed. I've had tubes put everywhere, tons of medication (some fun, most not), panicked nightmares, assorted tests and constant interviews with different doctors, nurses, fellows, attendings, lab personnel and porters. It's been stressful all the time and sleep comes infrequently and in short spurts.
There are a couple of issues the doctors need to solve before I will be given permission to head for home. The first is the fact that my new ileostomy doesn't seem to be working exactly as advertised. It seems to be putting out pure liquids only. The doctors seem to think this suggests a partial blockage. Their usual treatment is just to wait and then things seem to work themselves out. The second and slightly more worrisome issue is an infection I seem to have acquired (my WBC count was rising until today). I feel fine (fever wise i get some hotflashes but that's pretty much it). I had a CT last night but no obvious issues showed up (infection wise). I think their plan is to treat with antibiotics and maybe put a drain in one of the possible infectious sites tomorrow.
It looks like I'll be here through the weekend and possibly into next week although I'm hoping for a Friday discharge if things get moving fast.
Penny has always been and will forever be my rock.
Thanks to all the others who have offered to help with childcare, food, cleaning and emotional support. We appreciate your efforts even if we may not always respond to your offers. I still don't think I'm in any shape for visitors but if/when that changes I'll be sure to let you know.
Updated:
Wow. Penny has been doing a great job at keeping you all informed about whats going on with my surgery. She has been the best advocate a person could ask for. She's not afraid to stroll right downstairs, find a doctor she needs and stop him in his tracks until he gets shit done or at least gives her an answer that satisfies her. She's awesome!
2 comments:
Hey Dan:
Glad to see you're sitting up and able to get on the blog yesterday. We are cheering for the ileo and hoping for more success for you today. Of course we are thinking of you constantly. Sheilah (my reiki friend) pictures you with green healing light and that light she says is full of love. I can tell that much of this is from Penny, Nicky and Bruce, and Sandi. Sheilah also has you covered in white light. For what its worth we are sending our share of love and energy from DeWinton as you are never far from our thoughts.
On another note - we enjoyed having Carly here last weekend and she really liked our new nanny Carla. They went on the slide at Westside about 6-10 times - I lost count but my legs were a bit sore the next day so it was quite a few. She is really a character and made me laugh tons.
Rest up, my friend and we will see you very soon.
GGG
I googled some of the medical terms and have a better appreciation of what you've been going through. Sorry to hear things have not gone exactly as planned! I sometimes hear of the bogged down system, but I don't think you can truly appreciate how frustrating it is until you or a loved one are experiencing it. I remember we dealt with it with my grandmother, so stressful. Wishing you luck on your impending discharge, hope the remainder of your hospital stay is on the up and up.
Jen
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