Saturday, November 29, 2008

Some more on the surgery

  I want to talk a little bit more about the surgery.  Refer to Tuesday where we left off.  I hope that this is not too hard to follow. It is easier for me to break up the information this way. That way I do not have to sit so long to finish the blogs.
  I ended up in the hospital in Calgary for five days after the surgery. I had the chest vacuum going, sucking surgical debris, blood and air out of my body cavity.  I had a catheter still in. I wanted to walk so badly. I felt that I was so sore from lying around. So Leanne and my mother helped me up and I started to walk. At first I was sure I felt a difference. I did notice I had foot pain right away. Leanne and I wrote it off as being pain from being so inactive. I was walking and that was better than before I arrived for surgery? I was very optimistic at this point. I was unable to walk far at all. It was funny having Leanne carry my blood bag from the chest tube and my mother carry my urine bag  to go walking. I had my intravenous  pole in my hand for support for walking. 
 What I didn't know at this point was .......everything.  I certainly didn't know anything about what they had used after the surgery for pain control . I still had my intravenous pain pump. I also still had my chest tube in. Another reason that the tube was in my chest was to suck out the air that was in the chest cavity. If the air was left in there it would push against my lung. I wouldn't be able to inflate the lung properly.  Leanne and I noticed that the chest tube was making a odd sucking noise. It wasn't sealing proper at the entrance hole to my chest. I was sucking air into my body cavity. I was filling up with air. Leanne called for the nurse to come and look at it. The nurse was kind enough to reseal the tube where it enters my chest. It has a gauze and Vaseline seal where the hose enters the body. I did suck in air because of the leak.  I felt as though I was drowning and not getting air with the lung on my right side where the tube entered my body. I had a funny bubble sensation and a pressure up under my neck. The surgeon was coming soon to pull the tube out and seal the hole. I was upset because I wanted all the air to be removed before he closed up the entrance wound in my side. He waited another day and came to pull the tube out. There were stitches in placed around the hole ready to pull tight when the tube was removed. It was a pull, out comes the tube and pull, close the hole. The surgeon told me then that the rest of the air and blood in the body cavity surrounding my lung would be absorbed by the body.
   I was able to use pain pump for pain control. They started to wean me off of the pump and get me ready to leave. The doctor came in and let me know that he will give me enough Tylenol #3 for pain control until I got home. We left the hospital with out a rehab. plan other than it I should be better in eight weeks ??  Leanne and I moved from the hospital and  stayed in a hotel. We had to stay in Calgary for another few days before I could fly. It was pure hell in that hotel room. I took my Tylenol 3 and took it on time every time. Pain Relief ? LOL that was crazy. This was hell. I think that all the anesthesia and numbing drugs they use before during and after surgery was wearing off. IT was hell pure hell. It was never ending, uncomfortable, steady pain. It was like I said HELL.
  Leanne ended up getting me better drugs for pain control. We came back home. My mother in law and a female handler we had stayed to look after dogs and son Ben and daughter Rachel while we were gone . God bless them for their help at our time of need. 
  I didn't know this at the time but my future would be more of the same PAIN for months and then for years and now I know for the rest of my life. 
 Be patient and I will carry on with the rest of the story that lead to me being in chronic pain for the rest of my life and how I cope with it. 
  OK People. Write down or think of something great that has happened to you today. I think that it is important to look for the small details in life that help us carry on. Today I woke up feeling more rested than I have for a while. Some pleasures or happiness in life count for big pleasures when you suffer from something chronic. Take care of yourself until next time by 4 now.

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