The Last 4 Days

When Monday rolled around, it was a better day. My doctor was back on duty and thankfully Dr. Ego was now out of the building.

The morning started off with blood work and I think God intervened and sent a nurse that was able to get blood on the first try. My only complaint was why on earth they decided 5:45am was the perfect time for labs.

I was able to take a brief nap before they showed up at 7am to take me to radiology. This came to be a morning tradition to monitor the status of my obstruction. The transport staff came to know me very well as the took me to and from radiology. Actually I think a lot of hospital staff came to know me in the almost two weeks I was there.

The best thing about Monday was that John made it back from camp and spent the day with me at the hospital. It was primarily an uneventful day. The xray results showed an improvement but not enough to change my status from NPO. I would have given a kidney for something to drink! Once evening rolled around I joked with my husband that the reason he was glad I was readmitted was because he would be able to watch the NBA playoffs (we recently cut cable).

Tuesday started off the same as Monday and my x-ray showed even more improvement so I was able to coax Dr. Y into allowing me to have “sips” of clear liquids. I don’t think a coke has ever tasted so good!

By this time, my neck IV was starting to become a major annoyance. I kept snagging my tube on everything when I tried to walk the halls. Getting in and out of bed in the middle of the night on my own was annoying. And holy cow did it burn when I was given my meds! I wasn’t going to complain too much however because I hated the thought of getting a new IV more than I did this one.

On Wednesday I was given the all clear for a full liquid diet and enjoyed a breakfast of jello and orange juice. Not really the best combination but I was thankful. The other liquid options for breakfast were grits and cream of wheat so since I find them both revolting, I was happy with my jello. When Dr. Y came to check on me, he brought the good news that he hoped to have me discharged the next day as the morning’s xray was clear! No more blockage! Woo-hoo! I would have done a happy dance if I wasn’t worried about snagging my tube! Wednesday turned out to be a great day not only because of this news but also because there was a NCIS marathon on! I was going through Gibbs withdrawal 🙂

Thursday morning the nurse came with my discharge papers just as Dr. Y expected! This time, however, the nurses made me promise that the next time I saw any of them would be at Wal-Mart and not getting admitted back into the hospital! That is a promise that I would definitely like to keep!

By 9am I was on the road back home! I definitely felt better coming home this time around. I still had pain but it was a little more manageable and I did not have nearly the nausea. When I was discharged the first time, I was dependent on nausea meds to help me get through the day but this time around I hadn’t taken them for a few days and felt totally different.

The second half of my hospital stay was definitely more uneventful but sometimes in life the uneventful is nice! One thing I can say about my two weeks in the hospital is that I had the most amazing nursing staff. They were so personable and really genuine in their care for me as a patient. The hospital goal is to provide excellent care and I definitely feel like they achieved that during my stay (with the exception of Dr Ego). If I ever have to have surgery again, I know which floor I’m requesting!