Medical stuff – treatments, outcomes, Dr visits
So if you were to look up the definition of “Bummed Out” in the dictionary, you would find a picture of Suzanne there. Her hospital stay of 7-10 days will now be 14 or more the way it’s going. Dr. A was actually in this morning, a Sunday, and said “not Monday” but didn’t speculate beyond that. He wants to scope her throat tomorrow to see how things are going, especially the hole in her throat incision. Monday will be…
Just another typical Saturday in a Chicago Hospital. Unfortunately, we have enough experience now that we can say that. I went home last night to re-load, hopefully for the last time. Got my birds fed, did a load of laundry, discovered I have a critter eating cat food in the barn, found Suzanne’s embroidery, packed and on the road I was. Arriving at the hospital, Suzanne was more than ready to see me. Sharing her stories of what all happened…
Today, Suzanne had the rest of the staples removed from her neck incision by the Grey’s Anatomy team. Upon inspection, they noticed that a small area was still open and would report back to the Doctor. Dr. A arrived around 1 pm with his whole surgical team. After looking both inside and out, he shared that this was one of the complications he originally spoke about that might occur. The skin in that area has been recently radiated, poor quality,…
Showed up at Suzanne’s room today just after noon and already missed most of the fun, well maybe not fun but progress. She was all smiles and anxious to tell me all that had happened so far this morning. The ‘Grey’s Anatomy Crew’ were in early as usual and anxious to do something, anything, as the breaks have been put on them most of the week; but today, they got to jump in. First, they removed the staples that hold…
Kind of what we expected, an uneventful weekend. Halls were quiet, with no incoming or outgoing patients and the staff was a little more laid back. Suzanne spent the weekend mostly in her easy chair. When I’m visiting from noon till evening, walking is what’s on tap. Starting Friday with a slow walk up and back to the end of the hallway was her limit but today, 4 laps around both wings were the record. We both knew that today…
The protocol for Suzanne’s type of surgery is 48 hours in intensive care. That means 48 hours of intense monitoring of Suzanne. Every hour they check the blood flow in her flap reconstruction, medications & hydration; every two hours they: measure the fluid output of her wound drains, administer pain medication, and every four hours; blood count, plus all the other stuff they are looking at that I don’t even know what it is. I had some comfort in seeing…
Calls & texts were the first part of my morning as the inner circle of family and friends wanted to hear a voice. I was unable to visit Suzanne until Noon because my attempt to get an early exemption failed. Amazing how questions in your mind clear after some thoughts. I realized this morning that the fright I saw in Suzanne’s eyes last night is just like a movie plot we have all seen. The patient wakes up after a…
I will use this entry to update all you prayer warriors on events during today. If you subscribe, you will probably only get one email from this initial post so you will have to check the website. I’m hoping to have 2 or maybe 3 more updates as the day progresses. I expect to see one surgeon mid-day but have been told to go back to the hotel and hear from them by phone at the end. I don’t expect…
Today Suzanne was scheduled for her Pre-Op meeting with all those who will be involved with her upcoming surgery next week. No surprises but still informative and a little unsettling. We came up the night before and glad we did. Overnight about 2″ of snow fell in the Chicago area. On top of that, a huge lake effect storm occurred during the day in advance of the winter storm tonight. First up – Reconstruction. This Doctor will be responsible for…
Woke up kind of early this morning, must have had the weather on my mind. The normal routine; shave, wash my face, get dressed, feed Suzanne then my breakfast. Just another day . . . NOT! Today is the day we learn what if anything else can be done for Suzanne’s cancer. Since we were taking a road trip and the weather may not cooperate, we packed some clothes & feeding supplies. Then just before we headed out the door,…