Its starting

Medical mayhem part one.

We went to the pre-admission clinic for the skinny portion's next surgery yesterday.  He is blase, I am worried.  There are decided risks to this surgery.  Yes, I know, all surgery involves risk.  Some of the risks discussed yesteday are beyond scary.

We have a definite date of February 4 - unless they change it.  He will be in surgery for between four and seven hours. Unless it is longer - which is apparently more than possible.   A minimum hospital stay of ten nights.  A slooooow recovery.  And then, all things being equal, another operation in three months time.  Joy and bliss.

Today it is my turn.  I have an all day pain management clinic.  Which makes me hurt thinking about it. 

His sister is coming to stay for the duration.  Which means that I have to reclaim (again) the spare bedroom.  Not fun.  I have been using it for a depository since she left last time.  Most of the books I have greedily acquired are on the bed.

I also need to get our tax ready so that I can take it to the accountant, and so that he will not be needed at that appointment.  I don't play spreadsheets often enough to feel comfortable with them.

Aaaaargh.

So, the limited time in the blogosphere starts now.  I will be thinking of you all, and will drop in when I can.

A further update

The Smaller Portion is home again.

We have had an exhausting day wrestling with the bureaucracy at the hospital.  It took just under five hours to get the discharge complete.  In that time he had no pain killers.  He was sent home with three different ones but has refused them all retiring to bed saying he is tired and in pain.  I have no doubt he is.


They removed every second staple today (28 of them) and the community nurse will be around on Wednesday to take out the last of them.  It is a very impressive scar and does a neat curl around his navel, looking as if the surgeon hiccuped and continued on.


He has been rejecting food which, while understandable, makes it difficult to know if the ileostomy is performing as it should.

All things being equal the hospital have given us a completely unreliable promise that the ileostomy will also be reversed in three months time.  Keep your fingers crossed for us please.


He is vilely cantankerous and is taking it out on me.  Since I am also very very tired and in pain we will see who snaps first.  His sister is with us and, for the moment, he is treating her with charm - as he should.

Thank you again for your words of support.  I am hoping that now he is home I can play in the blogosphere again - though I still have those bulbs to plant ..........

Do you want Steak Knives with that?

And the week from hell is drawing to a close.

It amazed me how quickly I adapted to a new routine.  Get up, feed the cats and the fish, go up to the hospital.  Come home, do some of the myriad things that need doing (only some, but still).  Sweep the bird seed off the veranda, feed the birds.  Go back up to the hospital.  Come home, make phone calls, flake.  Wake up, repeat.  Second verse, same as the first:  just a little bit louder and a whole lot worse.

My smaller portion is still doing it tough.  He now has fluid on the lungs to contend with, and is very, very short of breath.  Two or three words have him coughing and a sentence leaves him stuffed.  So the physiotherapists are torturing him with deep breathing exercises.  Which make him cough.  Which pleases the physiotherapist.  And while I can see the necessity it breaks my heart to see his eyes bulge and the perspiration break out from the sheer pain of coughing through multitudes of stitches and tubes.  He is back on oxygen, but at least the catheter and one of the drainage tubes has been taken away.  The bruises on his arms where they have been inserting things are spectacular.

He believes he will be coming home on Monday or Tuesday.  I really, really hope he is wrong.  I don't want him home until they are on top of the infection, his breathing is OK and he is eating again.  And until he/we have learned how to manage the colostomy.  And of course I couldn't track the doctor down today.  So presumably will have to go to the hospital at the crack of dawn on Monday.  Sigh.

Still, as I said in an earlier post.  I can do anything if I have to.  And that philosophy hasn't let me down yet.

And on a completely unrelated note.  I have been rereading Mary Poppins on the buses and while waiting for medical procedures to finish.  I didn't think she was the epitome of sweetness and light as portrayed by Disney.  And I was right.  Bad tempered, conceited and self confident to the point of egotism.  Much more interesting..