Re: home again, home again-long

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

((((((((((((HUGSZ))))))))))))))))) I only wish those could really be felt!

But my prayers and thoughts are real. I know God will give you the strength

to get through this. I am going though the toughest time in my life EVER

right now and all I can say is I am doing it one day at a time. Funny,

because many times in my " fatter " life I thought if I was just skinnier I

could handle it all. WELL, lately I feel like God is putting that therory to

the test! LOL Hang in there ! This too shall pass. I am sure hoping for

the same !!!!!!

(((((((hugsz))))))))

Deanna

300lbs bmi 50 day of surgery 02-15-01

181lbs. bmi 29 as I sit here now!

(no longer obese.....simply over-weight!)

THANKS GOD !!!! http://www.duodenalswitch.com/Patients/Deanna/deanna.html

home again, home again-long

> This is my first time back at the computer. Thanks for good wishes

> sent my way. I was discharged Monday afternoon after my hernia repair

> on 10/03. As my angel, , reported my hernia was much bigger than

> the docs thought and the surgeon said some of my small bowel appeared

> ready to rupture due to the hernia. He used surgical mesh for the

> repair but said he wasn't able to completely bring the muscle

> together. Hopefully, this won't fail again.

>

> I was only supposed to be in the hospital overnight. He had to get

> through a lot of adhesions before he could even get to the hernia.

> That's one reason it took so long. My hospitalization was not

> pleasant. My IV site had to be changed about 8 times in five days.

> That's not counting all the sticks trying to get a site started. Each

> arm is bruised from the elbow to wrist. The last IV site was lost

> Saturday evening and another was not found. My morphine pump had to

> be discontinued, of course. Due to a misinterpretation of the orders

> the nursing staff decided that the long acting pain med that was

> prescribed as 1-2 tabs every 12 hours meant only every 12 hours AS

> NEEDED. It was supposed to be scheduled in order to have at least

> three doses before the morphine was discontinued. When the pump had

> to be discontinued early I'd only had one dose. And then the nursing

> staff still didn't give me the original pain med unless I asked.

>

> Unfortunately, I wasn't on a surgical floor post-op. Sure wish I had

> been, they would have understood the orders and challenges of pain

> management better. I was discharged on Percocet but it hasn't been

> much help.

>

> Then there's the hospital induced insomnia. I'm sure you're all

> familiar with the problems getting sleep while hospitalized. I never

> got more than 40 minutes before being awakened. I can truly say I saw

> every hour of all six days after waking up post-op. These patterns

> have followed me home. Last night I did a little better, actually got

> about 1.5 hr before waking up the last time.

>

> Then there's my mom. For my WLS I sent her to visit my brother in

> Texas. This time she absolutely refused to go anywhere. My mother is

> mostly blind (from diabetic retinopathy), has had several small

> strokes, is on home oxygen, and very unsteady on her feet. She said

> she had to be here to take care of me. It was a sweet thought, but

> I'm sure you can see the problem here. My elder brother, in

> Wisconsin, was going to have her visit while I recuperated. Mom flat

> out refused since this was just a " simple " surgery, just overnight,

> after all. When we realized post-op how long my recovery time should

> be (6-8 wks) she started rethinking the issue. Friends had been

> checking in on her daily and someone had spent each night at our home

> with her.

>

> Monday morning, before my discharge, mom fell. She'd gotten up and

> started in for breakfast. She got dizzy, blacked out and fell. After

> regaining consciousness she absolutely refused to be taken to an

> emergency room or her doctor. She had to be home when I got home,

> that's all there was to it. No one bothered to call me at the

> hospital. I could have talked her into it. She did finally agree to

> go to the ER Tuesday morning, having to be transported by ambulance

> by then. She's broken her right wrist (and is right handed), has

> bronchitis, and severe vertigo. She came home with RX's for pain

> meds, antibiotics, and medication for the vertigo. There's absolutely

> no way she can travel now.

>

> So, here we are. I can't assist her and she definitely can't assist

> me. We have friends and family coming in to check on us daily and

> bringing meals. Mom's doctor arranged for home healthcare but she

> only qualifies for a home aide two days/week. My brother is Wisconsin

> feels guilty for not forcing the issue pre-op but of course can't

> help long distance. (We are in Florida.) My brother in Texas had his

> usual response of how I let this happen to her (just like last year

> when she broke her left shoulder) before remembering I'd been

> hospitalized when she fell. So maybe I have an excuse, huh?

>

> Any prayers you can send our way are greatly appreciated. We're in a

> mess here.

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