I am still not back in the hospital! Things are looking good. The first night home was scary because I didn't have the reassurance of nurses coming in to check on me and I knew that there was no morphine if I went downhill fast. I made my dad sleep on my floor and of course, I was fine. I am still having really painful occasional cramps so I haven't been able to reduce my painkillers the way I would have liked to, but that's the way it goes. Today was rough because the cramps got worse and nothing was passing through my bag, a bad sign. The situation reminded me of how my obstruction started out so I got nervous. I switched back to liquid painkillers because they are easier to absorb and took a valium because the doctors told me it would help cramping. I also went on a liquid diet for 24 hours. I have to make many little decisions about which painkillers to take (and I have a lot to choose from!), what form of painkillers to take, when to take them, what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat and when to go the hospital. It can seem like a lot of responsibility and I almost feel like my own doctor. Luckily, I seem to have done a good job and after five hours I started feeling better, although I am still in a lot of pain. It was reassuring to have a problem that didn't land me back in the ER or the hospital.
Yesterday I went to see the nurse for a post-surgery check up. I found out that my blood type is A positive and that they took my appendix out in the first surgery! My friend Ghislaine told me they took her appendix out during her surgery so I should ask if they had taken mine out as well. My nurse casually said, "Well of course, they're all connected." Thanks for telling me! I also got approval for foods I wasn't sure I could eat, including creamy peanut butter, brownies, chocolate chip cookies and croissants. I do think, however, that chocolate chip cookies are not so good because I had some last night and that might be what led to my unfortunate day today. It's all about trying what works. The earliest possible date for my second surgery is July 5th. I will have an X-ray during the last week of June and depending on the results my second surgery will be scheduled, with the earliest being a week later. So I won't know until shortly beforehand...oh the suspense.
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| Hospital room #2: The room of complications |
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| My wonderful family, coming to keep me company. I still could not eat at this point....so thanks. |
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| Picnic in the hospital! |
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| The view from my room |
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