The “C” Word – Day 66 Quiet Day of Anticipation

For the first time in two weeks, George got a decent night of sleep (in spite of the usual night time interruptions).  Also, for the first time, he was not hooked up to any IV nor did he have the little bags hanging off his belly.  This enable him to sleep any which way he pleased.  The nurse put my “Please Enter Quietly” sign on the outside of the door. 

He came to some level of consciousness whenever they came in to do vital signs or give him meds, but quickly covered his eyes back up with a small towel and went directly back to sleep. 

Dr. Bastidas came in at 6:30 this morning for a quick check. He noted that the xray was clear. We chatted about George’s breathing issue for which he said, “the lung doctor did not come yesterday?  I will put it in again today.” [Note: It is 7:30PM and we never saw anyone today either.]  He said we would be going home tomorrow.  We talked a bit about the diarrhea issue and he said that the antibiotics can cause it so we were working a couple of battles at the same time.  The meds for diarrhea will be backed of slowly over about thirty days as George’s body starts to function in its’ new way.  The labs from 5:15 had not been completed yet so we did not know how they looked.  We found out at about 10:00 that his calcium was low so a bag was hung and George was tied to the IV for about an hour and a half today.

We managed three walks “around the block” today, each one appearing to be a little bit easier than the prior one.  George doesn’t like having to walk but he knows he has to do some in order to help his body. 

Bathroom breaks have been almost nil today – such a far cry from a few days ago.  We have to be careful that we don’t go from one extreme to another. 

In anticipation for the homecoming tomorrow I took a break this afternoon to go the grocery store and stock up on a few things.  Lots of fruits (so I can make our own smoothies), some cereal, bread, soup.  Very basic things for George to eat.  Took advantage of being home and stepped into the shower as a treat for me!  Picked up McDonalds for late lunch/early dinner.  George had ordered French fries for lunch from the cafeteria but they were cold and rubbery on arrival.

He has been more alert today and spent more time watching TV or daydreaming.  His voice was a little bit stronger today although it becomes strained if he tries to do too much talking.  He is looking forward to sitting in his recliner at home and not being bothered by the flow of vital signs, blood work, etc. 

I am not sure what meds we will be prescribed upon going home as some of the things he receives here are via injection (blood thinners). I assume that the same schedule for some of them will continue at home which means waking him up in the middle of the night to take them.  That will ease up over time.

So this is our last night at Good Samaritan Hospital.  George and I agreed that the best we could give this place is a C.  The choices of food that George has had are mediocre – mostly due to the fact that the food is cold when it gets here, or the breads are dry.  The staff are scarce a lot of the time.  The response time to calls is very long.  It is not like we called very often as I was doing most of the care to begin with.  We only called when there was something that I was not allowed to handle. 

We have spent a fair amount of time waiting for something to happen or someone to stop by (xray tech, specialist, etc.).  We did see a care specialist while in ICU but have not seen anyone since.  We will report the issue with the bed either when we leave or once we get home. 

It has been a LOOOOONG two weeks since surgery.  Tomorrow the next phase of journey begins.  The journey of home recover and learning to live with new changes to George’s body.  It will take some getting used to.  The first few weeks he will probably want to stay within the confines of the house and back yard.  We will have several doctor appointments I am sure (I know we already have one confirmed for next Tuesday.  This is our new life.  One filled with on-going doctor appointments, tests, adjustments to diets and so on.

We have to agree on one thing – that we should be grateful that George is alive, that things went well in surgery and that George is on the road to recovery. For that we give thanks and praise.