Bunn’s Prairie

This is my first successful attempt at “up” and “functional”. so we’ll see how long my stamina holds out. No food in a day and a half dosn’t give me a whole lot of fuel to go on. Ahh… if only I were an electric car. hee. I’d just plug in where the toaster is.
Recovery has been more vicious than I expected, as I have been through this procedure before. For some reason, like I metioned, the ole’ bod seems to have gone into trauma mode, so I’m hoping my crawling around now will only lead to more adventurous activity soon. After all, as Andy mentioned, at some unknown time, in some unknown place I WILL be having the other surgery. Maybe I should just say *#$@%* and have it done at Mayo. At least I think they know what a J-tube looks like.

Ah, well… enough negativity for one day. I am listening to beautiful choral music (one can’t go wrong with the Robert Shaw Chorale..) and I think I may be (almost) free of the nausea trolls that spend so much time with me. YEA! Andy came home to see me and have lunch, which made me smile. I was so glad he was there yesterday, as I was in no shape to talk to the Docs much, myself.

Am hoping to find out when the next surgery will be scheduled. I’m not sure who was handling that end of things.

On a side note, my body does always seem to find an extraordinary “little something” to wow the Docs. This time, the end of my J-tube was tied in a knot. (As Robert mentioned, like you do with your tongue and a cherry stem!) Go figure. Keep in mind that I have absolutely NO tongue, ear, or other nifty things I can do with my face to impress my friends at Perkins. Little did I know, my stomach is the talented one!

Well, think it’s adios for now. I’m kind of worn out, and might go stretch out for awhile. Thank you to all who sent such warm, loving words of encouragement. You keep my spirits lifted.

Kaley had her j-tube replaced this morning. Both Kaley and I were hoping they would perform the surgery we thought we had scheduled for next week (installing a J-only tube, replacing the gj-tube she has now). Apparently this must be done through the OR because it is done laproscopically and cannot be done through interventional radiology (where we were today). So they simply replaced the tube with a new one today. Unfortunately it also came to light that our appointment for next week was scheduled with interventional radiology.

Since they cannot perform the installation surgery in IR, our appointment was made with the wrong department. Gotta love the U of M Fairview. One would think that the scheduler would know what resources would be required when scheduling a surgery. Apparently not. So at this point it is unknown when the installation surgery will happen.

Another interesting tidbit is that last night when Kaley was gagging on the tube, we both tried to pull the whole thing out but when it got to the very end of the tube, she said it hurt a lot. So we both gave up and just tapped the tube down to wait for this morning. Once she got into IR and they were able to see what they were working with, I guess somehow Kaley’s body had twisted the end of the tube into a knot! So the docs had to put the guide wire into the old tube to unknot it before removing it. Weird.

Gosh I hate it when I’m right. I had mentioned previously that I thought my j-tube was out of place, because it just didn’t feel “right” (whatever THAT is). Well, yup, I hit the nail on the head with that one. About an hour and a half ago, I started to wretch and vomit, and almost instantly, my feeding tube came up the back of my throat. Uggh. When that happens, my body goes into complete trauma shock. Luckily, Andy could understand “my tube…” through my gagging, drained the balloon that holds it to my abdomen, and pulled it back through from the outside. He’s well versed in “tube removal”, as this has happened so many times. We TRIED and TRIED to pull it all the way out, but it is securely snagged on something under the skin, and possibly through the interior lining of my stomach. I have a feeling it’s not going to come out without a bit of sharp pain.

The ironic, twisted, WRONG thing about all this is that I was sent for the incorrect x-ray on Thursday to see if my tube was “in place”. It didn’t show anything. Today, I had a different x-ray. The tech that administered it said, “it’s in the right place, do you want to see the x-rays?” “You bet I do,” I thought. So I hunkered over and watched her point out all of these things to me, that I might not have recognized if this wasn’t the 8th time my tube has been out of place. I forced a sort of smile when she pointed to where my tube entered and exited my stomach. Then I pointed to the same spot and said, “But I don’t think it’s supposed to twist into a figure 8 inside my stomach.” She reassured me that it looked fine and sent me on my way. Gee, thanks for the scientific, medical advice, lady.

Anywho, there’s no one at the hospital that can fix it until morning (as we know from sitting in the ER all night once, while I gagged in misery and we waited for the sun to come up). I’m going to call the ER nurse and see when she’d suggest I head in. Hopefully, my tummy and acid will stay somewhat calm until then, as I can’t take any nausea meds through my tube, obviously.

If, by some chance, you read this in the night or early in the morning, please offer up a good word or thought for Andy and I. It could be a long day, and I could use a helping hand with calm and patience. We all know those aren’t normally my strong suits.

I have seven minutes to get to bed. Will I make it? Ahh…doubt it. I’m kind of waiting to see how my liquid meds sttle, as I’ve been having problems with my J-tube. Had the wrong x-ray done on Thurs. (brilliant) and have to have another on Monday. It’s going to be a “heck of a week”, as I have a whole laundry list of Doctor/meds/potential surgery stuff to attend to during the days. More on all that tom.

I had a rough start, but MADE IT to Faribault to celebrate Grandma’s birthday for a few hours with her and the fam. That was so good for me (hee-and I hope for her, as well!) I sat in a lawn chair for 2 or 3 hours and just caught up with her. Made me grin! It was my biggest goal for the day.

Tonight’s been down right vicious. Like a lot of them, only a bit more intense. Whew. I think I’ve finally crossed into a calmer time and am hoping some of my intestinal cramping eases.Of course over the next week, I have MANY things I want and/or need to make priorities. Oh do I wish I could sing in church tomorrow. We’re doing an absolutely beautiful piece set to a poem by Robert Browning. Definitely one that refills the soul. Somehow 7:15 is starting to seem unrealistic for a wake up call. I’ll be bummed, but must keep in mind that Weds. night rehearsals are already a big step for me. (Positive thinking, Kaley…)
My bestest girl, Jess…(matron of Honor in our wedding) is going to be in town with her family around lunch time. Oh, it would be wonderful to see them! I haven’t seen Jess and Gavin since the wedding, and I’ve never met their little girl, Bronte. She’s two for goodness sake!!

So, we’ll see… great frustrations abound, but even greater hopes prevail. Here’s to those!

Andy here. I updated the information on the About page to be more current with the events of the past 9 months. Check it out.