Belly Achin'

I'm sitting here at the kitchen table watching the crazy hummingbirds diving into the feeder and enacting Hummingbird Wars as they quibble about who has first dibs on the nectar. I wish they could all get along. The neatest thing is when the alpha male gets his tail feathers in a flurry and opens them wide like a peacock as a threat display to whomever among his h-bird peeps is trying to access the feeder. Quite amusing on a daily basis as i sit here working on my laptop while recovering.

Speaking of recovery, I am doing well just 3 weeks after being sprung from the ICU at Scripps Memorial Hospital in LaJolla, CA. Belly achin' summary follows...

Oct. 4, Sunday---fly to San Diego, eat "last meal" at Vincenzo's in Little Italy (it was outstanding)

Oct. 5, Monday---physical exam with Dr. Wittgrove (surgeon) and pre-admitting testing at Scripps, including the ever-popular transvaginal ultrasound. There are no words to adequately describe this high-tech torture machine.

Oct. 6, Tuesday---5:30 a.m., much too early for anything, nevertheless got prepped for surgery, including a large dose of Fragmin, a blood thinner
---circa 8-9 a.m., zonked out on anesthesia, ready for the scalpel
---9 a.m. til ? p.m., surgery and recovery
---2 p.m. to room, not much pain, groggy from anesthesia. what bothered me most of all were the "leg-exercisers" that they placed on my calves to prevent clots. These #@$@&# things were electrically powered to puff up every 15 seconds and ABSOLUTELY DROVE ME NUTZZZ. I hate to have anything on my feet when resting or sleeping. These things should have been used at Abu Graib.

AND, i had lots of discomfort from the abdominal drain that was placed in the southwest most incision closure on my belly. I learned afterward that the drain tubing extended in a full circumference of the belly to drain all 6 incisional areas. It pressed on the diaphragm and its nerve feeds, which gave me a huge pain in the left shoulder area, kinda what i envision is a heart attack pain. When the drain was removed on Thurs, the pain disappeared!

They had me walk on Tues evening, not even 12 hr since surgery. I did fine, but was nauseous from meds.

Oct. 7, Wednesday---had no food since surgery. Doc came in mid-morning. We talked about the nausea, and I reported to him that i had a lot of gurgling in my abdomen, like a bowel movement was imminent. Since there had been no substantive food or drink in my belly since Monday 2 p.m., it was unlikely that it was a bowel movement. Doc said it was likely clotted blood irritating the bowel and that I would pass it via the bowel.

Well, pass it I did. Just after he left, they brought me broth and sugar-free jello. Two sips of each and I lost total control of my anal sphincter. To spare readers the ooogliness of this, just let me say that losing one's clotted blood at the back door was not pretty. I soiled the bed repeatedly and the floor in a big way as Vern tried to assist me in getting to the john.

Ultimately, after Vern went down to the cafeteria, i began feeling very weak. I knew i had to go again, so i ventured forth from the bed to the john, about 10 ft away. Got on the pot, then keeled over onto the ice-cold tile floor. I was unconscious for I don't know how long. When i woke up, i scanned the area and could not find a call button. So I hollered unsuccessfully for a nurse. When someone finally came in to do my vitals and found me, all hell broke loose.

The hospital's Rapid Response Team descended upon me. They asked me to sit up, with help, then try to sit in a chair. I told them repeatedly that i was faint, but they insisted. When they lifted me into a chair, my eyes rolled back and i was out for awhile. I came to in a surreal vista of a bunch of talking heads hovering over me. They plopped a huge oxygen mask on me and were billing and cooing that i'd be ok.
Some lab villain dissected my arms and hands looking for a vein to pillage. Eventually, the lab reported that my hemoglobin was 7 and hematocrit 25, which should be 13 and 35 respectively if all was okay.

A phone call to Dr. Wittgrove and i was headed to ICU. Apparently, i am one who does not benefit radically from a blood thinner. Where they stapled my intestinal relocation, there is naturally some bleeding. Because of the blood thinner, i did not clot real soon. All the bleeding that i did filled my bowel, and that was what was being emitted from my bottom. The rapid massive blood loss made me faint and very weak.

In ICU, i was transfused with 5 pints of San Diego's best red stuff. Now, i find myself fighting an overpowering urge to push a buggy along the boardwalk, hunting aluminum cans.

Oct. 8,Thursday p.m.---after 24 hr in ICU, I was sent back to the bariatric floor. I continued to improve with teh new infusion of blood. The bowel leakage lessened dramatically.

Oct. 9, Friday---feeling stronger, i washed my hair and rancid body in the bathroom sink, still tied to the IV. Doc came in as I was cleaning up. He removed the drain and i begged him to be released. He concurred. One thing that didn't get done was the removal of staples in my belly. They were soooo uncomfortable during my hotel sojourn over the weekend. I was released from hospital at 5 p.m.

When we got to the hotel, i needed to hit the bed, as i was quite worn out. I spiked a really high fever, no reason known, for a few hours. Then i slept on and off all night. It was not a restful sleep due to the staples and the fever. but it was a semblance of rest.

Oct. 10, Saturday---taking it easy, sat on a chaise longue at the pool for a couple hr while Vern had breakfast and went to the supermarket. Against the dietary rules, i asked for a couple of poached eggs to add to the protein supplements I was drinking. They slid down the hatch effortlessly, but when they hit the newly transformed mini-stomach, they were like lead pellets. I made it thru the cramping and lumpy fullness that the eggs caused and continued to lounge in the lobby in a sitting area w/ fireplace.

Vern never missed a meal, and while he had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel, i hung out in the room.

Oct. 11--Sunday....we went to CVS for diabetes test strips. Then we drove to La Jolla Shores Beach area. I laid out the towels and enjoyed a 70ish day of sunshine and nice breeze. I even got into the ocean for a short time to relieve myself. Vern wandered hither and yon exploring the shore as i rested. It was very relaxing.

Oct. 12---Monday....Vern did 2 loads of laundry at the hotel. I worked all day on my laptop on my office email. It was not easy, because i had episodes of fogginess (anesthesia legacy).

Oc. 13---Tuesday...0830 a.m. appt w/ Dr's office, followup and removal of staples. 3 hour diet and exercise lecture followed. Released to go home at noon. The night before, i had trouble sleeping, and while awake, i decided to change our existing 6:30 pm reservation to return to AZ earlier. This was successful, and we took a 5 pm flight that got us to AZ at 6 p.m.

When we landed in AZ i was overcome with relief. I slept like a baby and felt 1000% better the next morning.

And I have improved daily every since. I've obviously lost some weight from the ordeal and from the fact that i cannot eat solid foods yet. If i eat an egg, it has to be mooshy. Most of what i exist on these days are liquid protein supplement drinks, soup and broth, and sugar free desserts.

My incisions are mostly healed, a few small scabs remain.
My mini-stomach is hypersensitive to anything more than an ounce of input over a short period of time. It's very difficult to get used to SIPPING, SMALL BITES, etc. when you've been wolfing your food down for 50 years or so.

I'm optimistic and looking forward to the day when i can chow down on a rare piece of beef. Until then, i am delighted to be able to draw a breath. Next week, i have my one-month blood draw to check my chemistry. My diabetes meds have been dropped to less than half of what they were before surgery.

Until the blood results are known, I wish you peace, love, and happiness.
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