(My first day home)
Hello everyone! I hope everything is going good your way, my way is much better! In this post, I will tell you the trials and tribulations of finally getting home from the hospital after 29 days.
The day I got out of the hospital felt so surreal, I thought I would never get out! I could not wait for my husband to get off work so I could get the heck outta there! During my time in the hospital, my Aunt Shirley was on call, so to speak. She had her bags packed ready to come and help me get around the house while my husband worked. When we got home, she was like a breath of fresh air to me, for I knew I was close to freedom!
When I was discharged from the hospital, I could not walk very well because I didn’t have much physical therapy in the hospital due to my racing heart rate, so I had to walk with a walker. I also had come home with a foley catheter, a pigtail (abdominal) drain and of course my colostomy bag. I had all these drains hanging off me while I was trying to walk – it was some task!
That first week or two, I really couldn’t do much for myself. Things that I took for granted before surgery, I now had to figure out how I was going to do them. I couldn’t dress myself – I wore night gowns, I couldn’t shower myself – I had a stool sitting in the bathtub and my husband and aunt would help me shower. Back then, it literally took all three of us! I couldn’t cook for myself – either my aunt of husband would fix me something or we would order out. I couldn’t drive – my aunt or husband would have to drive me to my doctor’s appointments, which averaged 2-3 times a week in St. Louis. At night, I slept in the recliner in the living room because my bed is high and I couldn’t get in it, also I needed to sleep upright for my stomach. If I needed something during the night, I would squeeze my dog’s piggy she had and it would oink loudly. Whoever heard it first would come in and check on me…those were some good times! Poor pig.
My mother also came up to take care of me. There was this instance where I was trying to change my colostomy bag for the first time since I had been home. No matter what I did or tried to do, I did something wrong. I was on my third bag change and at my wit’s end when I thought I finally had done it correctly. I looked down and I forgot to peel the backing off and I just broke down right there. My mom told me to just walk away from it for awhile because I had been trying for an hour and a half and was mentally worn out. If it wasn’t for her there telling me to walk away, I probably would have gone crazy! I enjoyed our time time together and the talks we had. I miss them now. My best friend, Luann, also came up for a few days to take care of me. I am so blessed to have someone like her in my life!
During this whole time, since I came home from the hospital, I have been eating and it came right out. I couldn’t keep anything in me because before the surgery, I had short gut syndrome and after my surgery, I really have short(er) gut syndrome! To no surprise I was getting very dehydrated because of this, no matter how much I drank during the day. My hair was falling out big time (I’m glad I had plenty to begin with), my nails were so brittle that they were just crumbling off and my skin was so dry and ashy it looked like it was snowing when I took my clothes off! One day, before leaving for an appointment, I started vomiting and feeling light-headed. I was headed to an appointment with my G.I. doctor so when my aunt and I got there, I told my doctor what was going on and she ordered some labs. Just as I was almost home, my doctor was calling me and telling me that I needed to go to the ER and get an infusion of magnesium and potassium. I was very low on my magnesium and that’s why I was vomiting and feeling light-headed. I got my infusions and was admitted to the hospital for 3 days receiving more infusions until my levels were normal. This issue happened 2 other times which landed me in the hospital again for 3 days each time. It was then that the doctors and myself decided to put me on TPN again for the second time in my life.
I’m going to stop right here and save the rest for the next post. This is what I endured during my recovery at home. In the next post, I will tell you about the TPN and some of my mishaps during this time. Just remember to take one day at a time and we will get through this together. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to ask.
Chow for now!