Yesterday we brought Dad home! He seemed relieved to be out of the hospital. When they asked him if he’d like to eat something before leaving, he politely turned down the offer, to which the nurse replied, “Yeah, you’ve probably had enough of our cooking”- a truth he did not dispute. Despite being attached to what I call his “ball and chain”, all the tubes and bags which hook up to his bladder every evening, he said he felt detached from the drugs but happy to be home.
At the hospital, he’d been woken up every two hours to be poked, prodded, or injected, making it impossible to get any restful sleep. He woke up this morning after nine hours of uninterrupted sleep, and felt much improved. He was able to eat a normal breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and coffee. The most impressive feat of the day was going grocery shopping. After a week of only walking from one end of the hall to the other, traipsing back and forth through Fred Myer on a Sunday afternoon was quite exhausting. I know he is frustrated and surprised by how little stamina he has, but I think it’s pretty amazing to be shopping for sweat pants only a week after having organs removed; heck, I’d just be lounging in sweat pants period!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Neo
We joked before dad went into surgery that his new nickname would be "Neo" like the character in the Matrix, more accurately, for the new "neo bladder". Upon entering the hospital room on Friday, I felt like perhaps we had stumbled into a scene of the Matrix; dad had so many tubes and gadgets hooked up and, in conjunction with the pain meds, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was partially in cyber space fighting Machines.
Despite the pain and exhaustion, his sense of humor remained in tact. He was pretty tired though, so we came and went in small doses.
Saturday I got caught in St. Patty's Day parade traffic on my way to the hospital. I was surprised when I got there to see dad sitting in the well padded chair. Some of the tubes had been removed and he was much more alert (although the tube in his nose was still source of much aggravation). He immediately had me take out his lap top and post a blog. I was there for about 40 minutes, and he remained sitting for the entire time which is excellent because, apparently, the more one gets up and moves after surgery, the quicker the recovery and less pain (seems a bit counter intuitive to me but it seems to be working for him).
I had just enough time to jet home and make it the fire station's annual crab feed! We did a good job stuffing our selves as usual, although I felt sorry for Kehlen who was volunteering and could only watch us and empty our shell buckets (not too sorry though because she got to take the extra crab home).
I was surprised to see snow this morning; finally, remembering that it is supposed to be spring, the weather has now turned to slushy rain. Dad called and, despite the nasal pitch from the tube, he sounded well rested and much better. He has been moved from the ICU to a room on the 17th floor, with a view of Lake Union! Sorry, I'm still not positive which room number it is. He said he had a bit of a rough night as the pain meds ceased for a period, but is doing well today. He even went for a walk up and down the hall twice! I believe the combination of every one's thoughts and prayers with his desire to get the heck out of there a.s.a.p., he's on his way to a speedy recovery!
Despite the pain and exhaustion, his sense of humor remained in tact. He was pretty tired though, so we came and went in small doses.
Saturday I got caught in St. Patty's Day parade traffic on my way to the hospital. I was surprised when I got there to see dad sitting in the well padded chair. Some of the tubes had been removed and he was much more alert (although the tube in his nose was still source of much aggravation). He immediately had me take out his lap top and post a blog. I was there for about 40 minutes, and he remained sitting for the entire time which is excellent because, apparently, the more one gets up and moves after surgery, the quicker the recovery and less pain (seems a bit counter intuitive to me but it seems to be working for him).
I had just enough time to jet home and make it the fire station's annual crab feed! We did a good job stuffing our selves as usual, although I felt sorry for Kehlen who was volunteering and could only watch us and empty our shell buckets (not too sorry though because she got to take the extra crab home).
I was surprised to see snow this morning; finally, remembering that it is supposed to be spring, the weather has now turned to slushy rain. Dad called and, despite the nasal pitch from the tube, he sounded well rested and much better. He has been moved from the ICU to a room on the 17th floor, with a view of Lake Union! Sorry, I'm still not positive which room number it is. He said he had a bit of a rough night as the pain meds ceased for a period, but is doing well today. He even went for a walk up and down the hall twice! I believe the combination of every one's thoughts and prayers with his desire to get the heck out of there a.s.a.p., he's on his way to a speedy recovery!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Success!
Talked to mom briefly and it sounds like dad's bladder removal/reconstruction operation was a success! No signs of hidden cancer (although they'll have to wait for the micro something-or-other scope results to be sure) and now he's in ICU recuperating. Tomorrow he's supposed to be moved to a room on the 17th floor, so at least he'll have a view! Thanks for everyone's concern and please pass on the good news. I'll be posting any new information on my blog
Thanks!
Lauril
Thanks!
Lauril
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