Home again

I came home yesterday at lunch time. The only thing they were doing for me at the hospital was pain management. Since it was all in pill form I told them I would rather be in pain or high on pain meds at home instead of at the hospital taking up space in a room that someone else could use that needs it more. The resident on call agreed and she sped me through the discharge process and got me on my way. Now I sit at home in only moderate pain. They put me on a pain med called gabapentin which was originally designed to treat epilepsy but they found it worked particularly well as a nerve pain killer. I also have some percoset pills if the pain gets too much. I took them twice yesterday after getting a little to aggressive with moving around (in one instance I had to chase Andrew down the path behind our house).

So the plan is to keep the drain in until the fluids run clear and decrease significantly in volume. At that point they will probably try to inject a special biodegradable glue into the abscess through the drain to help it close up. At that point the drain will be removed (yay!) and the whole infection should be gone.

I'm not sure what the criteria are for my liver surgeon to book my surgery. I'm not sure if he was just going to wait a week or two and book it no matter what or if he will wait until they put the glue in the abscess and take out the drain. Either way I need to talk with him tomorrow to gently remind him that I want to get this surgery over with ASAP.

The weather here is beautiful today. I think I'll go and sit in the sun and have a popsicle.

No silver bullet

I'm still here with no plan in place. Well no perfect plan anyways. The interventional radiologists are hesitant to put in a new drain given the fact that the abscess has shrunk over the past week making it harder to hit, even with CT guidance. Don is hesitant to remove the drain as it is still doing its job. If he were to remove it now, I would just end up back here in a month going through the same process all over again. So that leaves me stuck between a rock and a hard place. I can't reposition the drain or take it out and I can't make the pain go away despite my junkie-like experimentation with pain meds. I think it will come down to me heading home to wait this out with enough pain meds to sedate a wildebeest. Hopefully it will all happen today so I can enjoy this nice May weather. Lunch is here. Chicken salad on whole wheat with tomato soup. Yum yum.

Sineogram - done!

I got my sineogram done this morning at 10 - on time! I had the same radiologist and tech that I had last week which was good. It's always nice not to have to explain myself over and over again. so the test showed that there was no communication between the abscess and the colon. It was inconclusive on whether or not the drain had moved. So really, like I expected, its back to square one. I expect to still go to interventional radiology and get my drain replaced/repositioned but that decision will be up to Don. I expect he will do it just to try and relieve some of my pain. I should also say that the nurses are getting good at timing my fentanyl (pain med). They gave it to me just as I was going down for my sineogram and the pain was quite manageable. I only wish I could have it all the time. It makes me happy...

My roommate now is a lady I did a seminar with early on in my cancer battle. She's had her surgery and chemo and radiation and just got her ileostomy reversed. She's having a hard time getting used to using that part of her body again but she's looking forward to getting home and getting on with life. Her husband is here all the time and they are both easy to talk to and fun to have around. I wish all my roommates were as easy to deal with as her.

Wow. Dr Sutherland (my liver surgeon) just came to talk with me. He suggested backing the liver surgery off maybe a week or two to give me a chance to take care of the abscess and associated pain in my pelvis. His reasoning was that the liver surgery poses enough risk in and of itself and you don't want to go into a major surgery with an infection already in your body. So, while this is a bit of a blow to my scheduling and mental preparation it feels like the right thing to do. I can't say I'm happy about it but it feels good to have a definitive answer on the subject one way or another. I better go call my peeps and give them the news...

Morning update

I spoke with my gaggle of Doctors this morning and we came up with a plan. I'm going for my sineogram test at 10 (so they say). That test will show if the drain got repositioned somehow when I was at home. Of course my pain seems to indicate strongly that it has been repositioned but the Drs. seem to want to confirm it with a test. If/when they determine that it has moved they will send me back to interventional radiology to have the old drain removed and a new drain inserted in the correct position. Of course it would be nice to have it removed all together and not re-inserted but if they did that I would be back in a month with the same problem. The good news is that there should be no lasting nerve damage from the drain pain and if they can re-insert it in a manner that's pain free I could be home soon. By now I've learned not to hold my breath on any of this but my hopes are high for a life that will soon be pain free.

Still waiting...

Its 4 0'clock and still no sineogram test yet. They do some x-ray work into the evening here (things don't completely shut down at 5) so I haven't given up completely but its sure not looking good. I got cocky and tried a hard sudoku and got stuck so after an hour or so I gave up even though I have very little else to do. Penny came by today and brought the laptop (a million thank-yous to Astrid and Stephen for the loan) and then she wheeled me outside for an hour or so. We got a bit of sun while discussing the holes in the health care system. It's an easy target these days but you become acutely aware of the deficiencies of the system when you're immersed in it 24/7. I think I'll surf the net while I wait for the impending trip downstairs for the test. Hope everyone had a good day.

Hospital fun

Today I'm going for a sineogram. That's basically where they inject an x-ray sensitive barium dye into my drain and see where it goes. I've had two of these already and they both showed no communication with my bowel so things should be ok. But the docs use the excuse that no test is perfect and given my recent infection down there there must be a leak from my bowel. So, my day will consist of getting high (T3s and phentanyl (sp?)) and trying to get myself through this sineogram test. The pain meds help a bit but not enough to make me comfortable moving around. I hope they can either fix this drain so it doesn't hurt or take it out. Good times. I'm off to do some sudoku.

Back in the hospital AGAIN!

I'm back in this damn hospital again. Of course I'm in the same bed in the same room in the same unit as last time (I think they save it for me!). Over the past few days I've been having excruciating pain associated with my drain. I think it must have moved around a bit and now its sitting on a nerve or something and it kills. Whenever I try and move it really hurts. I've been bedridden with the pain. I even got stuck standing in the bathroom for an hour yesterday for fear of moving and causing pain. I've been freaking the kids out too with my screams. Carly has been trying to play doctor by checking my bag and covering me with blankets and Andrew just likes to crawl up on top of me while I'm on the couch. Its pretty cute but I don't have the pain tolerance to put up with their doting so it can get frustrating. For now the plan for tomorrow is to have a date with radiology (have some x-rays taken following the injection of a radiopaque medium) and then possibly a CT scan to check the position of the drain. Hopefully they can find the problem and take away the hurt. Until then Tylenol 3s and phentenyl (sp?) are my best friends.

Home - for now

I got released this afternoon for good behavior. I still have my drain in and will probably keep it in until after my liver surgery. It's way more comfotable than the last one I had. They didn't sew this one to my cheek they just taped it in place. I spoke to Dr Sutherland (liver surgeon) before I left today and he said we should proceed with my June 1st surgery as planned. I was happy to hear that. Its full steam ahead for a week and then back into the hospital for my liverectomy.

A good sleep in the hospital?

a good sleep in the hospital?, originally uploaded by DPC Tutt.

Just woke up from a great sleep - in the hospital of all places. The doctors came around on rounds and had to shake me to wake me up. I had one of those sleep masks on, ear plugs and I had a sleeping pill last night all of which contributed to fine siesta. I'm planning on making a break for it today. I need to talk to my liver surgeon first but after that I'm outta here. I have to go home with my drain and keep it in for "quite a while" according to Don. It's not that big of a deal, I already have one bag, now I have two! After my liver surgery I may have a biliary drain which would bring the total to 3. It will be quite the collection.

I'm going to watch some Bourne Identity on the laptop while I wait for my tepid gelatinous oatmeal. Happy Friday all.

Unit 102 - again

I got moved to a unit this evening (I spent all yesterday and last night in the ER). Would you believe I got moved to the same bed in the same unit that I was in for three weeks after my colon surgery? Weird. Nothing much has changed here, although they do have vanilla pudding in the refrigerator now. yum yum. I'm off to watch the rest of Silence of the Lambs then take a sleeping pill (they work real nice) and hit the rack.

Down the drain

I just had my drain put in. It hurt(s) like a bee with an itch. Thank god for tylenol 3s. They take the edge off but it still hurts. I have to stay in the penitentiary here for a few more days so they can administer some potent IV antibiotics. They got about 90ccs of puss and blood out of the abscess which seems to indicate it was the source of the infection. Hopefully the antibiotics do their job and this thing never comes back. I'm currently reading Nikki Sixx's memoir about a year in his life while he was hooked on heroin and various other drugs. Its a crazy story and I'm surprised he hasn't died from an overdose or an STD. Anyways, I'm off to watch Silence of the Lambs and wait for the nurse to come back and tell me if I can eat.

She just walked in and told me I can eat. Yahoo!

Here's the deal:

They think that the fluid accumulation that I had just after my surgery has come back. The original fluid accumulation was between my tail bone and my colon. I hated the drain they put in last time. The drain tube went through my butt into the accumulation. Then they sewed it to my ass cheek to keep it in place. SEWED IT! You realize real quick how much you use your butt when you have a painful drain sewn to it.

So I guess really this is good news. It could have been a lot worse. Think broken pancreas, more cancer etc.

That's where things stand. Now I think the plan is to put in a drain maybe tonight but likely tomorrow. I know I can go home with a drain in so hopefully this all happens fast!

Back at the Foothills

I'm back in the hospital now. I came in this morning and would you believe I didn't have to wait! There was no one in the waiting room when I got there and the triage nurse said they had 8 open beds! I went from car to hospital bed in ten minutes. Awesome.

So I'm still feeling bad and decided I needed to sort out what the issue was sooner rather than later so it doesn't mess with the upcoming liver surgery. In the ER the doctor saw me quickly and ordered a bunch of tests. He also paged my medical oncologist and my colorectal surgeon (Don) to get their opinions. Their collective opinion was to send me for a CT scan. So, here I sit in the ER drinking the requisite 2 litres of contrast dye for the CT and listening to some tunes. I'll be sure to let you know how it all goes.

Under the weather

I've been feeling pretty rotten for three days now. I have a fever, I'm fatigued, have night sweats, a headache and an acute pain in the upper part of my abdomen. I went to see my family doctor yesterday and after two hours in her office and some consultations with Don (my colorectal surgeon - were on a first name basis now) she set up a meeting later in the afternoon for me to meet up with him at the hospital. After some poking and prodding and some blood work he deduced that the likely culprit was my pancreas and that it was probably inflamed (he also said that colon cancer doesn't metastasize to the pancreas so that's out as a potential cause). He said usually heavy drinkers get this condition due to the high amounts of sugars they ingest. But since I don't drink more than a beer or two per month, it could also be caused by a recent high food sugar intake. At first I didn't think I had increased my sugar intake at all recently but upon further reflection I realized that the past week of cookies and cakes in Victoria paired with my recent compulsion with drinking cranberry juice could be the culprit. The cure? Don't eat. If the pain goes away or gets better then it was the correct diagnosis if not then its back to the drawing board. So here I sit at 5pm not having eaten or drank anything other than water for the past 20 or so hours. The good news is that it seems to be working. My abdominal pain is better and I'm feeling overall like I might soon be back to normal. The true test will be if I'm still getting better tomorrow or if things are regressing. Damn I'm hungry!

When brothers try to celebrate Mothers Day

This is exactly what would happen if my brother and I tried to take a mothers day picture.

Surgery date!

Row row row your boat, originally uploaded by DPC Tutt.

Well, I finally found out my surgery date. Monday June 1st is the day. I can't wait to get in there and get it over with. I'm really not looking forward to it but at least I have two weeks to enjoy before I head in. Hopefully we get some warm weather so the plants we are about to put in don't die.

I had a gastrogram (gastrograph?) today at the hospital. Basically they cram a bunch of barium fluid up where the sun don't shine and then, using x-rays they look to see if anything leaks out (where they made the join in my colon). It's exactly like checking for leaks after you repair your sink at home, only for me it wasn't a sink that they were checking. The whole process was actually not too bad but then my threshold for that sort of thing is much higher than most given the events of the past few months. I don't find out the results until my doctor calls me back but no-one there seemed at all concerned and I'm not worried.

Back From the Coast

Just thought I'd let you know we're back from our visit to Sidney. We had a great time with some varied weather but we still managed to do a lot. We made it up to Nanaimo one day to visit a few friends, played at the beach, went out for a row in the dinghy, visited with other friends and family in Victoria, played at the park, planted seeds in the garden and Granny even took Carly to the Butterfly house (like a zoo for butterflies). I think we all had a good time.

Tomorrow I have a procedure at the hospital called a gastrogram. They have to check to make sure that the colon connection they made in my last surgery will hold, um, water. I'm not sure exactly how they do that (I do know they use an X-Ray at some point) but I envision it like a pressure test on a sewer system. Needless to say I'm not looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes. I promise I won't post any pictures...

Still no surgery date

I still don't have a date for my liver surgery. But things are moving in the right direction. This past Friday I had my pre-admission phone consultation with a nurse. Its part of the pre-admission program that every surgical patient has to go through at the Foothills. The second part of the consultation took place on Monday. I was expecting to have an abbreviated meeting with the anaesthesiologist handling my case given the fact that I just went through the entire pre-admission process only 3 months ago. But it turned out that it actually took 3 hours. I had to have an ECG, run through my entire medical history with a nurse AGAIN, meet with the anaesthesiologist and then meet with another nurse to discuss my upcoming stay in the hospital. A big thanks to Shannon and Nora for looking after the kids while Penny and I were at the hospital.

Tomorrow we're off to Victoria for a week. We were able to take advantage of some $49 Westjet flights and figured with no planned surgery date we might as well take advantage of our soon-to-be non-existent ability to get away.

One other thing: Congratulations to Carly and Jay Frank on the birth of their son Matthias.

IKEA: Swedish for brilliant marketing

I'm starting to have the ability to relate to all you stay-at-home moms. Sometimes you just need to go somewhere to get out of the house. Not for any purpose other than to just get out and see some grown ups, see some different scenery, and maybe have an adult conversation or two, even if it is just with the barista at Starbucks. Well just because there are two of us at home now doesn't mean things are any different. Sometimes we just need to ditch this place. Our favourite outing (besides the zoo) is for sushi but because that's pretty expensive we've been trying to come up with less expensive options. One of the best ones we've found to date is IKEA. You can go there to shop, to eat and to play. It pretty much keeps every family member happy.

So we went there for lunch the other day. We got two kids meals, two adult meals and drinks all around for sixteen bucks! The food was great (the kids ate everything up) and the view was nice (ok it was just the parking lot and Deerfoot trail but it was better than a food court). You can also go for breakfast for $1. I haven't tried the breakfast but how could you go wrong? After you eat your steal-of-a-deal brunch/lunch there's no excuse not to go shopping. In order to make the experience bearable for kids, scattered through their maze of a showroom they have strategically located kids play centres. How brilliant! In other stores the kids are begging to leave but do you think that happens in IKEA? No way. The kids were begging us to STAY right in the bowels of the home office section. Of course we picked up $700 worth of office furniture which took us 3 hours to assemble. It sort of makes you wonder who's taking advantage of who. Give a person a deal on a cheap meal and a place for the kids to play and they have no problem dropping big $ in your store. Brilliant marketing IKEA. You got us again. Maybe we'll stick with sushi from now on.