Another Step Backwards

Today I am tired! I went to the hospital at 6:30a.m. to be there when the doctor made his morning rounds. I could only stay until 7:30 but the doctor didn't get in until almost 10:00. It was frustrating. The early hour did me in for the whole day. You had made it through the night without vomiting and had urinated a few times. JC came back on as the day nurse and the night nurse had been one of your favorites. I left you all my questions at 7:30. You dutifully asked the doctor and wrote down his answers for me.

Work was a challenge. I was hard-pressed to stay on top of things, and one of my students made my job very difficult today. Then one of the twins went to the nurse because her head was itching, and you know what that means. Oh, another round of head lice. Thankfully, I have never gotten it but this would be one time I wouldn't know how to handle it if I did.

After work I went to the hospital after going home, paying the cleaning lady (bless her heart) and resting for 20 minutes. You had vomited 900ml after only taking in 90ml. This was not good news. It meant that your stomach was not emptying itself at all. You are suddenly becoming very good at following doctor's orders. You won't even take a sip of water unless it's to swallow your pills, and you only swish your mouth with water when you are parched. You are learning the hard way.

We did talk to the doctor about 6:00p.m. He is frustrated too. They will have to reinsert the NG tube, you might have to go home with the J tube, but hopefully not with the NG. I am sad for you because you have to have that darn thing stuck back down your nose again. It's debilitating and very uncomfortable. You might be eating Thanksgiving dinner through your J tube. (Do they make turkey-flavored Vivonex?) The doctor says there are patients whose bypasses open up within a few days and others whose bypasses don't open up for months. Which kind will you be? He said they have sent your tissues to an outside lab to biopsy because their pathologist couldn't figure them out. They are rare, that's for sure, just like you.

I don't know when you'll be home. I think the hospital is the best place for you right now, but I am getting a little tired of driving there every day. Not much gets done around the house but that's the way it will be for the foreseeable future.