We had anticipated Dana's discharge today but were concerned about the rash she developed on her back. We still don't have a definitive answer but we are down to two scenarios. 1, It was told to us that sometimes in surgery a pad will be placed near the incision site on the back in this case, attached by glue on the whole surface. This pad is then pulled to keep the skin tight around the incision. 2, Tap that holds the drapes in place. Kinda funny to me that we have talked to three people in that surgery room, one being the surgeon and non of them can recall which it was. We are to the point that we figure Dana has a sensitivity to the glue.
One nurse explained that sometimes where skin gets pulled or stretched can open up the skin enough to allow the glue into the skin and cause irritation.
Interesting thing is, the leads they glue to the chest on some of the sites have caused a similar affect but only on the outside edge of those pads. She has square red borders on some of those sites. I do not believe she is sensitive to latex because everyone touched her with latex gloves on may parts of her body and no problem. Other areas like her IV were covered with clear flexible tape but no redness. The area around her incision had tape but no marks. In this case I saw the covering on the incision removed and replaced 5 times before they changed it but no redness. That had to cause some pulling on the skin even more so than the other sites. Why no rash there? Well some day well will get to the bottom of this dilemma but since the rash is not spreading the doctors are not concerned enough to investigate further. Just keep an eye on it they say.
So the story of the discharge. This morning the PA came in looked at Dana's back, incision and asked a few questions. She said Dana was ready to go home and after the surgeon came by after two surgery's, he would discharge her. He showed up just after 12:00 and gave us the green light to go home today. Shortly after, the nurse came by to take vitals and let us know that she had one other patient do discharge before she could work on Dana's paperwork. I'll be back in one hour she said as she rolled her blood pressure machine out the door. She returned about two, went over the orders, gave us prescriptions and said a wheelchair would arrive to take us down shortly. Up to this point we had been extremely patience with delays. Dana had been up and out of the bed for the longest period of time since her stay, from 10:00am till 2:30pm. She had visited with 5 visitors and was tired before that from the longest and fastest walk we had taken so far. The wait seemd forever for her and she wanted to lay back down to rest but if she had they would have been right there getting her right back up. As it turned out, whe could have layed down for 45 minutes and taken a nap.
I believe that if the attendant had not showed up when she did, Dana was going to find alternative ways to escape from that room. The stairs were close to her room and I could just envision her taking flight down three floors and walking right out. She could have walked it because everything is working so much better and besides, she had just finished walking further than that this morning. She used to lag behind me when we walked but this time I was not having to slow down much at all.
The trip home was good except for the bridge on the turnpike just north of 39th street. I would like to get a hold of the engineer who designed the sections of that bridge. There are 19 of them and it is like a low level roller coaster. I slowed down to 50mph and the car still bounced as it crossed each section of that bridge. Looked over at Dana expecting to see a life size bobble head sitting next to me. If you have traveled that section you know what I'm talking about. It's almost as bad as I-40 between Morgan road and El Reno.
So we get home and settling in but Dana is watching TV and getting up and down like I have not seen in years. I'm doing some chores and she gets into bed and falls asleep almost as her head hits the pillow. It's great to see her in her favorite bed, a safe and warm place to be. I personally think she way over did it today, we will find out later tonight or tomorrow. She is a trouper.
I need to add two additional benefits we see from surgery. 1, no more chronic coughing and 2, no choking while sleeping or eating. Not that she has had a lot of sleep but not once during her short spurts has she choked. Oh by the way, she slept from about 11:00pm last night till 5:00am this morning. The most sleep she has had since I can remember. Hopefully she can get a full nights sleep tonight so she can get up and start cleaning our house, it's her most favorite thing to do...LOL Just kidding, oh stop it, she really hates it. No I will be gladly handling the cleaning until she is able and then I will still help even when she tells me that I don't have to. The way she was running around the house today, I'm gonna have to keep an eye on her and hold her back. She really does have a new lease on mobility and I'm thinking she is gonna want to do all the things she had a hard time doing before. Well not cleaning but all the other things.
Well after Dana fells up to reading everything I have told about her journey so far I fear she will ban me from this blog so this may be my last. I hope not because while I have had some time away from work I have actually enjoyed writing about this experience we have gone through. I must confess that I do not write much and am not good at it but I have enjoyed sharing with you. It will be interesting what she has to say about what she recalls when she feels like sharing with you. As clear as she is now, she may remember the events of the past five days. So far, everything we have talked about has been spot on. Oh, I need to let you know that we have re connected in conversation also, she is so easy to talk to now. This surgery has been so good for us in so many ways. Such a blessing from God to be bestowed on us at this time in our lives. If you knew Dana before, you will see a new woman in so many ways when you see her again.
I'm feeling the affects of lack of sleep and adrenalin drop off so I'm going to close for this day with the hopes I will get to share more as time passes. I would just like to say this; thank you all for the love and support, prayers and thoughts you have shown our family as we have gone through this. We are truly blessed to have such good friends.
Wes
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Settling in and getting better
After getting settled in her room, we were blessed to have some great visits from family and friends. Dana was doing really well at noon when I got back to see her. She was walking without a walker and acting like she was going to break out a dance move. She walked down to the end of the hall and back which tired her out. Her bandage was getting stiff so she asked the nurse to change it. After the change she started having more pain than ever. After trying to deal with it for 5 hours, we asked the next shift nurse to take a look at it to see if she could do something. She peel off the two layers of tape and came up with the idea that placing three clear bandages that are used on an IV might work better which it did. Dana had instant relief with the new bandage. If you are ever in the same situation, don't be afraid to ask for help. I think what happened was the the first change had a wide very stiff tape that caused pressure on the incision causing the muscles to stiffen up. The thinner flexible tape worked best.
Dana has been the perfect patient. She had done everything nurses and doctors have asked. She had been pleasant even when in the worst pain. She is pushing herself to get home by walking as much as possible and using her breather every time she sees it.
I could not be more proud of how hard she has worked to get better. Her attitude is so completely positive. You can see that she has regained so many functions that she lost and it has changed her persona. She has a spring in her step (a slow spring) but it is there and a glow in her eyes that I have not seen in many years. I did not see how her condition had slowly diminished so many activities for her. It got to a point that the simplest thing became a huge effort for her. She would put off doing even the simplest of tasks because it took so much effort and energy. I did not realize the affect it was having on me. I was getting so discouraged because I was beginning to feel like she was avoiding doing thing with me because of me but it was just too much of an effort. It is such a joy for me to think about how much easier her daily tasks will become as she progresses and heals. What I have seen so far are leaps and bounds beyond my wildest dreams. A year down the road who knows, maybe we will be playing tennis or hiking in the mountains or just walking at the mall without coming home in total exhaustion. The possibilities are exciting.
On the other side of interesting happenings, Dana had developed a strange square rash about 8 inches below her incision. It is extremely itchy red and blistering. It is a definite pattern like a large bandage had been placed there, removed and caused some kind of allergic reaction. We have conjured up all kinds of things that might have caused this. We surmise that a pad or apparatus that was bolted to her head to hold her head still during surgery was cleaned with something that her body does not like. She had a similar reaction to steri strips over laperscope incisions when she had her gallbladder taken out. It would be good to find out what she is allergic to.
Well we had a fantastic time with the ladies of ECI. I can see why Dana love to work with them. I can only imagine how much easier her daily duties at work will become now that she is doing so much better than her last day at work, it was very hard for her. As I type this we are waiting for pain meds and a change on her covering over the rash. There is a chance that she will go home tomorrow so I want to be here early in the morning to see the doctor. Not that Dana is not capable of understanding but I have missed that last two times he has come in and I have a few questions for him.
I want Dana to play a trick on her other doctors like the eye doctor and go in for an exam with out telling them about the surgery and see what they say when they test her peripheral vision and find out it has reversed its direction and is much better than the last exam.
Well we removed the covering to look at the patch and the rash looks about the same. We will have to see what the doctor says about it tomorrow. Time for some rest if you can call it that.
signing off for now, Wes
Dana has been the perfect patient. She had done everything nurses and doctors have asked. She had been pleasant even when in the worst pain. She is pushing herself to get home by walking as much as possible and using her breather every time she sees it.
I could not be more proud of how hard she has worked to get better. Her attitude is so completely positive. You can see that she has regained so many functions that she lost and it has changed her persona. She has a spring in her step (a slow spring) but it is there and a glow in her eyes that I have not seen in many years. I did not see how her condition had slowly diminished so many activities for her. It got to a point that the simplest thing became a huge effort for her. She would put off doing even the simplest of tasks because it took so much effort and energy. I did not realize the affect it was having on me. I was getting so discouraged because I was beginning to feel like she was avoiding doing thing with me because of me but it was just too much of an effort. It is such a joy for me to think about how much easier her daily tasks will become as she progresses and heals. What I have seen so far are leaps and bounds beyond my wildest dreams. A year down the road who knows, maybe we will be playing tennis or hiking in the mountains or just walking at the mall without coming home in total exhaustion. The possibilities are exciting.
On the other side of interesting happenings, Dana had developed a strange square rash about 8 inches below her incision. It is extremely itchy red and blistering. It is a definite pattern like a large bandage had been placed there, removed and caused some kind of allergic reaction. We have conjured up all kinds of things that might have caused this. We surmise that a pad or apparatus that was bolted to her head to hold her head still during surgery was cleaned with something that her body does not like. She had a similar reaction to steri strips over laperscope incisions when she had her gallbladder taken out. It would be good to find out what she is allergic to.
Well we had a fantastic time with the ladies of ECI. I can see why Dana love to work with them. I can only imagine how much easier her daily duties at work will become now that she is doing so much better than her last day at work, it was very hard for her. As I type this we are waiting for pain meds and a change on her covering over the rash. There is a chance that she will go home tomorrow so I want to be here early in the morning to see the doctor. Not that Dana is not capable of understanding but I have missed that last two times he has come in and I have a few questions for him.
I want Dana to play a trick on her other doctors like the eye doctor and go in for an exam with out telling them about the surgery and see what they say when they test her peripheral vision and find out it has reversed its direction and is much better than the last exam.
Well we removed the covering to look at the patch and the rash looks about the same. We will have to see what the doctor says about it tomorrow. Time for some rest if you can call it that.
signing off for now, Wes
Friday, November 6, 2009
Moved to a room
Dana moved to a room this afternoon after sitting up in a chair for two hours. She is taking more food and using the bathroom on her own. I know that sounds funny but it is very important to regain those functions and she has. We have had some visitors today and we love to see everyone. She falls asleep quickly but wakes up just as fast. Makes me wonder if she is getting any rest at all. Dana is really doing well, much better than I expected. We had another breakthrough that her boss noticed. Dana's right eye would droop when she was tired. Denise was looking at her and commenting on how good she looked. No drooping and her face was symmetrical for the first time in a long time.
I don't know if things will keep getting better after the swelling goes down but I thought that things would improve at a much slower pace. Dana took a good look at her self in the mirror and she was amazed at how good she looked. That really made her happy and even though smiling hurts at this point, she was, with no complaints about the pain.
Dana has a device on her legs SCD (sequential Compression Device)that pumps air in and out like a continuous massage that she wants to have at home. I'm sure that it cost way too much but she loves it. Frankly I think it is what is keeping her awake.
Well she just got some more "don't care about anything" medication so we will be trying to sleep for a few more minutes.
Wes
I don't know if things will keep getting better after the swelling goes down but I thought that things would improve at a much slower pace. Dana took a good look at her self in the mirror and she was amazed at how good she looked. That really made her happy and even though smiling hurts at this point, she was, with no complaints about the pain.
Dana has a device on her legs SCD (sequential Compression Device)that pumps air in and out like a continuous massage that she wants to have at home. I'm sure that it cost way too much but she loves it. Frankly I think it is what is keeping her awake.
Well she just got some more "don't care about anything" medication so we will be trying to sleep for a few more minutes.
Wes
Recovery Day Two
From Wes,
Last night Dana's IV vain collapsed and they could not get another one started after 13 attempts so they decided to give oral meds now that she can swallow and shots instead.
Even with Ambien she did not sleep more than 10 minutes at a time. It was funny because she would be talking, fall asleep mid sentence. When she would wake up she would pick up from where she was in sentence and finish what she was saying.
Physical Therapy got her up and had her sit in a chair for an hour. At about 50 minutes she started getting dizzy but she lasted the whole hour.
Her progress is very good with close to equal strength in both arms and legs. Her left side has been weaker for 25 years. She mentioned that her left leg no longer feels like concrete and when the physical therapist had her lift her left leg she could do it equally as well as her right foot. The burning sensation down the left side of her left foot is less than recent so we are so excited that these improvements have come so soon.
She is in a lot of pain in her neck and her throat is sore and it hurts to swallow. Much of that is due to swelling from the wound and will lessen as the swelling goes down.
I just want to express my gratitude and thankfulness to all the staff at Mercy Hospital. Especially to Dana's care nurses, they have been so kind and helpful.
The Doctor just stopped in to see her and said she is ready to go to a room so she is moving to 369 in just a few minutes. I will uptate later this afternoon.
Wes
Last night Dana's IV vain collapsed and they could not get another one started after 13 attempts so they decided to give oral meds now that she can swallow and shots instead.
Even with Ambien she did not sleep more than 10 minutes at a time. It was funny because she would be talking, fall asleep mid sentence. When she would wake up she would pick up from where she was in sentence and finish what she was saying.
Physical Therapy got her up and had her sit in a chair for an hour. At about 50 minutes she started getting dizzy but she lasted the whole hour.
Her progress is very good with close to equal strength in both arms and legs. Her left side has been weaker for 25 years. She mentioned that her left leg no longer feels like concrete and when the physical therapist had her lift her left leg she could do it equally as well as her right foot. The burning sensation down the left side of her left foot is less than recent so we are so excited that these improvements have come so soon.
She is in a lot of pain in her neck and her throat is sore and it hurts to swallow. Much of that is due to swelling from the wound and will lessen as the swelling goes down.
I just want to express my gratitude and thankfulness to all the staff at Mercy Hospital. Especially to Dana's care nurses, they have been so kind and helpful.
The Doctor just stopped in to see her and said she is ready to go to a room so she is moving to 369 in just a few minutes. I will uptate later this afternoon.
Wes
Sleeping beauty.
On my way into the hospital I heard the sweet sound of a baby being born. At Mercy everytime a baby is born a lullaby is played to celebrate the occasion. What a sweet reminder of how precious a new life is.
When I made it to the ICU mom was sleeping. I knew dad was on his way up so I didn't want to disturb her.
Her vitals were good. But I'm sure she still hates her hair.
The ICU waiting room is busy this morning, I love to people watch. Pretty soon after I got seated I made friends with the sweet receptionist, Michelle. She's a doll.
I can't wait to see my zipperhead momma! But alas I will wait to wake her until her love, my father gets here. :)
Goodmorning everyone, an update will be on it's way shortly.
When I made it to the ICU mom was sleeping. I knew dad was on his way up so I didn't want to disturb her.
Her vitals were good. But I'm sure she still hates her hair.
The ICU waiting room is busy this morning, I love to people watch. Pretty soon after I got seated I made friends with the sweet receptionist, Michelle. She's a doll.
I can't wait to see my zipperhead momma! But alas I will wait to wake her until her love, my father gets here. :)
Goodmorning everyone, an update will be on it's way shortly.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Recovery
From Wes her husband and caretaker,
Surgery was longer than we expected but waiting is one of the most difficult things to do when your me. The PA said three hours in surgery was about normal then the doctor said two was about average. Well after four I was beginning to get a little anxious. If we had not had friends and family here to visit with, it would have felt like forever and my stress points would have been much higher. Recovery was more of the same. The doctor came out to tell us that all went as planned and that Dana did good through the surgery. He said she would be in recovery for about 45 minute and then into ICU. About 3.5 hours later we are told she is going to ICU. We get to ICU about 10 minutes later and have to wait another 30 minutes to see her.
Alex and I go to visit first and Dana is talking but feeling pain in the front of her head. She has spikes of pain, smiling makes her neck hurt and she feels sleepy but very coherent. We leave to let your parents come visit. With H1N1 hitting hospitals so hard they are only allowing two people in the room at a time and no kids under 18. Alex and her boyfriend leave and when Ron and Sharon finish their visit, they also leave.
I go back to stay with her, (now 4:30ish). Dana wants some ice chips and lip balm, her throat is sticky and sore. I'm testing friends and family with updates and Dana from a quite state burst into tears..."I just noticed the numbness in my hands and tingling in my fingers is gone!". The nurse comes in to see what is going on and were both in tears telling her about what she just discovered. Man, God is good!
The nurse gives me a form to fill out. This is the same form that Dana filled out at the Neurologist and at admission this morning. Wouldn't it be easier if they just made the form in triplicate and sent it to the departments that needed it?
So I take this form to the nurse at the nurses station to ask a question. As I re-enter Dana's room and she is crying. Odd thing about these ICU rooms at Mercy, you can not hear anything in the room until you pass through the sliding doors. When I get in the room, Dana is hard to understand because she is crying and talking at the same time. It might be a man thing but women are hard to understand when they are crying and talking at the same time. I'm almost positive other women can understand this type of communication but, well I'm a man.
"I can see your phone" I realized at this point that my phone is on the tray that is almost behind her. It hits me that for years she has had diminished peripheral in her right eye and that she has just realized that she can see more than she could just hours before. An overwhelming joy has consumed me in that instant and now we are both crying and rejoicing. For a brief moment I almost think I was beginning to understand her while I was crying and talking but,could this really be happening toa man?
During shift change they ask that all family and visitors leave for an hour so I head out to eat dinner while this happens. David and Sara Sutton meet me and I tell them about what happened. When I return Suzy Biggs is visiting with Dana and there is a lot of kidding and light laughing going on. A good sign that she is doing better. They visit for a little bit and then Suzy heads home. The nurse gives Dana some more pain meds while I start this blog and return some calls and texts. I think I have texted more this day than all the rest of the time I have owned a cell phone.
Just as I get semi comfortable in the recliner chair and start texting, Dana gets hit with a wave of nausea. This could be bad so I get the nurse and she quickly loads a syringe with something to to stop her from erupting. She has really done well up to this point and what ever they shot into her IV did the trick and good thing because I'm beginning to think I'm a sympathetic vomiter. Well she is in and out of sleep. Its funny because when she wakes up she thinks she has been awake all the time and she finishes sentences that she started before she fell asleep. She is doing better know so I think I will close my first attempt a blogging and try to sleep in this very uncomfortable recliner of a chair. More to come as her recovery progresses.
Wes
Surgery was longer than we expected but waiting is one of the most difficult things to do when your me. The PA said three hours in surgery was about normal then the doctor said two was about average. Well after four I was beginning to get a little anxious. If we had not had friends and family here to visit with, it would have felt like forever and my stress points would have been much higher. Recovery was more of the same. The doctor came out to tell us that all went as planned and that Dana did good through the surgery. He said she would be in recovery for about 45 minute and then into ICU. About 3.5 hours later we are told she is going to ICU. We get to ICU about 10 minutes later and have to wait another 30 minutes to see her.
Alex and I go to visit first and Dana is talking but feeling pain in the front of her head. She has spikes of pain, smiling makes her neck hurt and she feels sleepy but very coherent. We leave to let your parents come visit. With H1N1 hitting hospitals so hard they are only allowing two people in the room at a time and no kids under 18. Alex and her boyfriend leave and when Ron and Sharon finish their visit, they also leave.
I go back to stay with her, (now 4:30ish). Dana wants some ice chips and lip balm, her throat is sticky and sore. I'm testing friends and family with updates and Dana from a quite state burst into tears..."I just noticed the numbness in my hands and tingling in my fingers is gone!". The nurse comes in to see what is going on and were both in tears telling her about what she just discovered. Man, God is good!
The nurse gives me a form to fill out. This is the same form that Dana filled out at the Neurologist and at admission this morning. Wouldn't it be easier if they just made the form in triplicate and sent it to the departments that needed it?
So I take this form to the nurse at the nurses station to ask a question. As I re-enter Dana's room and she is crying. Odd thing about these ICU rooms at Mercy, you can not hear anything in the room until you pass through the sliding doors. When I get in the room, Dana is hard to understand because she is crying and talking at the same time. It might be a man thing but women are hard to understand when they are crying and talking at the same time. I'm almost positive other women can understand this type of communication but, well I'm a man.
"I can see your phone" I realized at this point that my phone is on the tray that is almost behind her. It hits me that for years she has had diminished peripheral in her right eye and that she has just realized that she can see more than she could just hours before. An overwhelming joy has consumed me in that instant and now we are both crying and rejoicing. For a brief moment I almost think I was beginning to understand her while I was crying and talking but,could this really be happening toa man?
During shift change they ask that all family and visitors leave for an hour so I head out to eat dinner while this happens. David and Sara Sutton meet me and I tell them about what happened. When I return Suzy Biggs is visiting with Dana and there is a lot of kidding and light laughing going on. A good sign that she is doing better. They visit for a little bit and then Suzy heads home. The nurse gives Dana some more pain meds while I start this blog and return some calls and texts. I think I have texted more this day than all the rest of the time I have owned a cell phone.
Just as I get semi comfortable in the recliner chair and start texting, Dana gets hit with a wave of nausea. This could be bad so I get the nurse and she quickly loads a syringe with something to to stop her from erupting. She has really done well up to this point and what ever they shot into her IV did the trick and good thing because I'm beginning to think I'm a sympathetic vomiter. Well she is in and out of sleep. Its funny because when she wakes up she thinks she has been awake all the time and she finishes sentences that she started before she fell asleep. She is doing better know so I think I will close my first attempt a blogging and try to sleep in this very uncomfortable recliner of a chair. More to come as her recovery progresses.
Wes
The day she became a zipperhead.
Greetings. This is Dana's daughter, Alexandria. Today my mother became a zipperhead.
It was an early morning. My fiance' and I arrived at the hospital this morning around 6:30am on this crisp morning. After being directed down the hall to her room we came in to find her calm and ready to stop hurting.
She still hates her hair.
Returning to the waiting room we found more of our friends and family who came to support her. We have such a support system within our family, friends and church family. About 20 people came to keep us company throughout the duration of her surgery.
Surgery lasted 2 hours longer than projected but the DR. said everything went as expected. I will update on her condition after we get to see her.
Thanks for your prayers,
Alexandria
It was an early morning. My fiance' and I arrived at the hospital this morning around 6:30am on this crisp morning. After being directed down the hall to her room we came in to find her calm and ready to stop hurting.
She still hates her hair.
Returning to the waiting room we found more of our friends and family who came to support her. We have such a support system within our family, friends and church family. About 20 people came to keep us company throughout the duration of her surgery.
Surgery lasted 2 hours longer than projected but the DR. said everything went as expected. I will update on her condition after we get to see her.
Thanks for your prayers,
Alexandria
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