Re: The fears are settling in

[Guest guest]

,First when Bill went in for his surgery we were prepared for him to come out with a stoma.That way we wouldn't be disappointed. He was prepared for this.Thankfully he was able to have the one step. He did not go to the ICU. Just recovery.The first night he was not in pain as he still had the epidural in.I stayed at night because as a chest PT I knew there was a chance he could spike a fever if he developed atelectasis  [ part of the lung not inflating, common after surgery] and every time he woke up or they came to do vitals, I had him deep breathe and cough which prevents this. [ I also positioned and treated him since I was trained in this]  If you are with her , just ask her to take deep breaths and cough, especially if her fever spikes. When this happened to Bill, the nurse wanted to start drawing blood for cultures, I treated him, he coughed up a lot of mucus, the fever was gone. Saved him some poking.Then day two, not much pain as epidural still in. I stayed one more night.Day three, urinary catheter out so epidural out, needed pain meds. Out of bed to chair. I think he started to walk to bathroom.He was hungry and looking for something good to eat.They waited for bowel sounds before giving him the go ahead.So relax a little, it is not as bad as you are thinking. Like I said, call or email me anytime.LeeAfter seeing what my Mom just went through with her lobectomy, I have become more fearful for what Suzanne will go through. Although I know the focus of this group is PSC, IBD is so related that I also know there are many people with IBD as well. Those of you who have (or cared for someone who has) had their colon removed, could you give me a synopsis of what to expect the first few days afterwards. Even the basic things like will she be in ICU afterwards? We met with the surgeon in January, and will be able to talk to him prior to the surgery, but some of these questions I always hesitated to ask in front of Suzanne because I did not want to increase her fears. And as the day gets closer my mind is focusing more on her surgery and less on my Moms. The fears are creeping in and I will address them if I need to, but I don’t want to have my mind create unfounded fears. So any input so welcomed (always!). Lee, thanks for the grocery list, that is so helpful. LINDA LINDA(Mom of Suzanne, 17; IBD 1/04; PSC 3/04) --No virus found in this outgoing message.Checked by AVG Free Edition.Version: 7.5.441 / Virus Database: 268.18.3/699 - Release Date: 2/23/2007 1:26 PM