Update On John

Ericalynn

Hi all
I thought I would give you an update. Monday was a rough day for John but he was doing much better by late Monday afternoon. Fri. & Sat. nights he did not sleep very well, the nurse on days (ICU) really tried to help manage his pain but by Sunday night he was not feeling very well due to lack of sleep. The nurse asked Dr. to order additional pain meds bolus every three hours and Ativan before bed (thought it might relax him. John’s sister told the nurse that John had been less than truthful regarding quitting smoking, so nurse also requested nicotine patch. Monday morning John called me at 4 AM very upset he asked if I could get to the hospital quickly (Hospital is at least 45 minutes from our house). My sister-in-law and I jumped in car and were at the hospital by 5:15 AM. The Ativan had the opposite effect on John and he had become very agitated. The night nurse told me when he got to John he was standing next to bed and his IV had come out. Thank God no other tubes were pulled out. My SIL is a nurse and worked on cardiac floors she was looking at monitor noticed irregular heartbeats (PVC, PAC), which means AVib. Nurse called Dr. he ordered labs, electrolytes a little low, they gave John Potassium, Magnesium etc. (John called it IV Gatorade). The Day shift nurse on Monday was wonderful. She looked at John and said, “you are in pain” she gave John bolus of dilaudid and explained PAC pump to him. He was waiting for severe pain before he would hit pain pump. Once his electrolytes were back to normal and his pain was better (he slept all Monday morning) his heart was back to normal and he felt so much better. He was transferred to surgical floor Monday afternoon. Pretty uneventful Tuesday he is sleeping at night better. Today (Wednesday) he went to Imaging for swallow study. I told the Technologist that I too was an X-Ray Tech. When exam was over they showed me images. John has a very small leak he is very disappointed. The RA (Radiology PA) said the leak is so small it should resolve itself and she would page the doctor. We are back in room waiting for doctor. My understanding is they will wait a couple more days to see if the leak resolves by itself. We are still waiting (3PM) John is getting more upset by the minute. Actually I am in the waiting room because he is so upset that he was trying to pick an argument with me and I am so tired that I was starting to react so I excused myself from the room. He is now out walking with his sister I think they went outside. They just called a code red (fire) so I am not getting on elevator. I’ll keep you posted. What a roller coaster but so far so good just small little bumps in the road on the way to recovery!
Erica

TerryV

Thinking of you!
Oh golly, Erica. What a ride you've been on.

I'm sure it will all work out in the end, but the hospital stay would have been nicer without the additional bumps.

I believe that Niki's Jeff had a small leak, so thin liquids weren't approved but thicker ones were. You might review her thread about his stay for that information. Lucky ducks, they have gone home today

Glad John has the nicotine patch. I know it makes life easier for Nick. Can't imagine him in the hospital without it.

btw, when Nick was on Dilaudid, he had horrible nightmares. He changed to morphine and the frequency of the nightmares reduced dramatically.

Hoping for some really good days quickly for you!

Terry

btw, nice job walking away from a tempermental husband. I often don't and regret it later.

Ericalynn

TerryV said:

Thinking of you!
Oh golly, Erica. What a ride you've been on.

I'm sure it will all work out in the end, but the hospital stay would have been nicer without the additional bumps.

I believe that Niki's Jeff had a small leak, so thin liquids weren't approved but thicker ones were. You might review her thread about his stay for that information. Lucky ducks, they have gone home today

Glad John has the nicotine patch. I know it makes life easier for Nick. Can't imagine him in the hospital without it.

btw, when Nick was on Dilaudid, he had horrible nightmares. He changed to morphine and the frequency of the nightmares reduced dramatically.

Hoping for some really good days quickly for you!

Terry

btw, nice job walking away from a tempermental husband. I often don't and regret it later.

Walking away
Thank you Terry,
I sat in lobby and finished my the latest post while he stayed in room with his sister; he came out about 30 minutes later and told me he was going for a walk. He and his sister went outside and sat in a nice little spot that they have with benches for employees and patients.
It is a beautiful day here in Florida the humidity is down and it is not blazing hot. We are all back in the room still waiting on the doctor. It is definitely a marathon not a sprint. Glad Nick is doing well. I am hoping John will not pick up cigarettes after he gets home. He has not talked about the patch and I have not asked, LOL!
Thank you again for the encouraging words.
Erica

NikiMo

TerryV said:

Thinking of you!
Oh golly, Erica. What a ride you've been on.

I'm sure it will all work out in the end, but the hospital stay would have been nicer without the additional bumps.

I believe that Niki's Jeff had a small leak, so thin liquids weren't approved but thicker ones were. You might review her thread about his stay for that information. Lucky ducks, they have gone home today

Glad John has the nicotine patch. I know it makes life easier for Nick. Can't imagine him in the hospital without it.

btw, when Nick was on Dilaudid, he had horrible nightmares. He changed to morphine and the frequency of the nightmares reduced dramatically.

Hoping for some really good days quickly for you!

Terry

btw, nice job walking away from a tempermental husband. I often don't and regret it later.

Leaks
Hi Ladies,

We made it home, so nice to be back in Philly. I am lounging on the couch and Jeff is sleeping in his NEW recliner. He was very happy when I suggested he get a recliner for recovery. We have been married for 6 years and he always wanted one but our house is small so I always suggested sectionals instead to save on space. I finally buckled, he loves it so much. I never saw him sleep this well in the hospital.

About my Jeff's leak. It was not a leak at the anastomis site, it was a leak in his vocal cords. Something from being intubated, pretty rare. So he can drink thick liquids but not thin liquids. Sounds like John's leak is a little different, but our surgeon said if Jeff had a leak it would probably heal on it's own in a few days. Unfortunately it sounds like John will have to wait for that first sip. I am sorry for that, I can't imagine how upset that makes him.

Stay strong Erica, I know that this is one of the most stressful weeks of your life. At least it was for me. But, watching them walk back into the house and sit in their favorite chair is worth all of the stress. I wish you good news with your path report. I believe Laura's husband had a little bit of the tumor left in esophagus but no nodes and his docs seemed very happy with that.

Big hugs,

Niki