Friday, March 27, 2009

Friday Evening Update

It is Friday evening, and I have been here at the hospital with Master since about 12:30 this afternoon. When I arrived this afternoon, He was miserable. He complained of more or less continuous "regurgitation" of liquid into His throat in quantities that would certainly cause choking if He were not constantly swallowing and/or spitting it into a basin. The coughing and throat clearing and gagging attendant upon all of that was making His already tender belly very sore and achy. On top of that, He hadn't slept (except in brief snatches of a few minutes here and there) in well over 24 hours. Now, some 6 hours later, He is freshly showered and installed in bed, resting comfortably for the first time in about a day and a half.


The working diagnosis, at this point, is that Master has a post-operative ileus -- a temporary paralysis of a part of the intestine, causing food and liquids to back up rather than flowing through as they should. This is apparently a fairly common complication after abdominal surgery. The doctors do not seem to be terribly concerned, and are basically telling us that the treatment of choice is to "rest" the


I've been in regular contact with T, who remains at home, and she continues to do well and feel good. She has reduced her pain medication, and feels really well. We've discussed it, and as it stands right now, I'll likely spend the night here at the hospital with Master. If T needs me, a phone call can take me to her side in about 25 minutes.

One really good piece of news in all of this confusion and worry -- As of this morning, four days out from surgery, Teresa has lost a total of 21 pounds. How kewl is that?

swan

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find myself coming back to see if everything turned out alright. Funny how connected one can feel to total strangers.
I'm so glad things are looking up again. Thanks for taking the time to update!

Hugs from a super lurker (well, not so much lurker anymore)
Anna

selkie said...

hugs to you Swan, how scary though- even knowing that it is sometimes a common side effect. and how terribly uncomfortable and painful for Tom!

Bravo to T for being such a trooper and on that weight loss!

Keeping fingers crossed, that in THIS csae, things "unkink" soon in your Master's tummy!

Anonymous said...

I also cannot keep from checking in several times a day....am relieved to hear that Tom is feeling somewhat better...and yahhhhy to T for weight loss. Swan, take care ...all the best

Karen

A said...

I came back off and on all day, I was so concerned; this morning I told Dan about what happened (Dan knows quite a bit about medicine for a non-doctor, tho he is a medical prof) and Dan said that yes, this is very common and happens frequently.

Please keep us updated and we're all here for all of you.

Tangerine Tease said...

Thinking of you all and lighting a candle for Tom. I don't see why they could not have done the sleeve for him as well.

sin said...

Oh gosh, how crummy for you all. i feel like I am just echoing the others. I hope Tom is better soon. And congrats to T for the recovery and weightloss. And poor swan, just trying to care for and nurture the world.

Good luck to all three of you. You cyberfriends are checking on you regularly, and trying to send positive vibes your way.
sin

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear that Tom is having a more difficult time, but glad to hear he is resting. That's great news about Teresa. I'm like the others. I keep looking and wondering what's going on. Hang in there Swan :-)

Hugs,
kitten

M:e said...

I'm hoping you've both had a better night and that things start to improve for Tom soon.

As for T....wow...well done!!

love and hugs xxx