I've mentioned a few times that I have been throwing up a lot. Well last week I thought I had hit rock bottom. On Wednesday I saw a nutritionist who stated that due to my weight loss alone, I was considered malnourished and should be receiving some help with my nutrition. The plan was to get TPN (total perinatal nutrition) started to help me out, then if we couldn't get the vomiting to stop, in three or four months have a tube placed in my stomach. Sean and I left feeling pretty good about the plan. I let Dr. Li know about it but she still didn't want to do the TPN but wanted to do a tube. After much discussion, talking to our Cleveland dr, we decided we wanted to do TPN and would go to another doctor if Dr. Li couldn't make it work. She decided to prescribe it but in the end, due to the fact that I don't have an official diagnosis, insurance wouldn't cover the TPN and I would have to have a tube put into my stomach. On Thursday I had scheduled the appointment to have the tube placed and threatened to cancel it but never did and I'm glad or it would have taken me longer to get in.
Over the weekend we had planned on celebrating our anniversary but I was too sick to feel up to doing anything, so we stayed home and enjoyed being together as a family. On the 29th of September, 2005 is when our family was created and it was fitting that we spent the weekend together. Our actual anniversary was on Monday but that was Sean's busiest day of classes so we didn't get to do anything that day and the next day I was headed in for surgery.
Tuesday morning I headed into the OSU hospital to have a g-j tube placed. The Drs wanted to place the j tube through the g tube because it would bypass the stomach and go right into the small intestines. Unfortunately, when I woke up Dr. Walker said that there was something different with my anatomy and it wouldn't allow for them to place the j tube. He then said that in four weeks if I didn't tolerate the feeds that they could try to put the j tube in again.
Over the weekend we had planned on celebrating our anniversary but I was too sick to feel up to doing anything, so we stayed home and enjoyed being together as a family. On the 29th of September, 2005 is when our family was created and it was fitting that we spent the weekend together. Our actual anniversary was on Monday but that was Sean's busiest day of classes so we didn't get to do anything that day and the next day I was headed in for surgery.
Tuesday morning I headed into the OSU hospital to have a g-j tube placed. The Drs wanted to place the j tube through the g tube because it would bypass the stomach and go right into the small intestines. Unfortunately, when I woke up Dr. Walker said that there was something different with my anatomy and it wouldn't allow for them to place the j tube. He then said that in four weeks if I didn't tolerate the feeds that they could try to put the j tube in again.
I didn't really realize how bad things had gotten until I had a hard time waking up from the anesthesia. This was my fist experience in not waking up well. It took me a while to wake up in recovery and then when the wheeled me back to the starting room I had a really hard time waking up and doing anything. The nurse wanted me to get up and use the bathroom but the minuet I stood up I fainted back onto the bed. I came too fairly quickly but my legs were not going to support me. Unfortunately I ended up having to use a bed pan. It was not a highlight of my day, that was for sure. After that they finally got me admitted into the hospital. After you have a g tube placed they monitor you for 24 hours and start introducing the feed but that has to be done in the hospital.
Admitting me required taking me from the 2nd floor to the 11th floor and for some reason, between those floors the police changed from them being able to use my PICC line on the 2nd floor to not being able to use it on the 11th floor. The nurse said that they had to have an xray of where the PICC line was in my chest before they could use it. All I really wanted to do was sleep. With in about an hour, I was starting to have a lot of chest pain and pain in my stomach. They didn't want to give me any pain medicine as I wasn't alert enough. I guess I started to scare the nurse because I really wasn't responding well and I was hard for them to get me to communicate. The nurse ended up calling in a bunch of Drs to make sure I was ok. I still didn't have any fluids running through me at this time, so the drs thought that I probably wasn't metabolizing the anesthesia, making it stay in my system longer. Since I was having chest pain though they, decided to run some labs to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack.
About 3 hours after I had been checked into my room, they Xray team finally made it and took the Xray. We then had to wait another hour for it to be read. According to Sean, my nurse was not happy at all that it took them so long. The that frustrated me (once I was coherent enough to get frustrated) was that the OSU hospital was the one that placed the PICC line in the first place, they could use it on the 2 floor but the second I was admitted, they no longer could use it. I think that was some poor hospital policy there.
That night, the nurse came in like every hour to wake me up and make sure I was ok. Sean didn't spend the night because he needed to get back to take care of Maia and Kassia. We were so blessed to have support to help with their care while I was in the hospital!
The next morning I was starting to feel better but I still couldn't get to the bathroom on my own so the nurse got me a kamode and placed it next to the bed so I could use the bathroom. I have to say I would much rather use a Kamode over a bed pan either day but an actual toilet is the most preferred. I wasn't allowed to have anything to eat or drink as I was hooked up to a bag to drain my stomach content. I have to say I was pretty miserable because I hadn't had any nutrition for 3 days at this point and I was hungry and weak.
I ended up having an occupational therapist and physical therapist visit me the next day to help me get moving and regain the use of my legs. The physical therapist brought me a walker that I had to use any time I got out of the bed. Another humbling experience as I knew I need it. I really had to lean on it to get where I needed to go because my legs would just give out on me. Gratefully my arms were strong enough to support me. That evening they finally started me on the Tube feeds, They started me off really slowly to make sure I would tolerate it. It seamed to go well at first. They started me off with 10 ml a hour and then ever 2-4 hours they would up it another 10 ml.
The next morning I seamed to be doing ok with the feeds so they again had the Physical Therapist come in and I was graduated from the walker to using a cane. My legs were starting to feel better and I was getting a bit stronger but it was no where near where I was used to being. Since I could get up and move around and the feeds were staying down, they decided I could go home.
Sean surprised me with the news that his mom was flying into town to help out with the kids while I recovered. I was overwhelmed with emotions as it was exactly what was needed at the time. I didn't realize how hard this was on Sean until he said she was coming. He has been such a trooper through this whole ordeal and I forget sometimes that this affects him differently then it does me. He is watching me go through this and he was holding down the whole house while working and going to school. I am so blessed to have this wonderful man as my husband.
Thank you also for all those that helped us with watching our daughters, for your prayers and for the positive thoughts sent my way. They truly were felt.
About 3 hours after I had been checked into my room, they Xray team finally made it and took the Xray. We then had to wait another hour for it to be read. According to Sean, my nurse was not happy at all that it took them so long. The that frustrated me (once I was coherent enough to get frustrated) was that the OSU hospital was the one that placed the PICC line in the first place, they could use it on the 2 floor but the second I was admitted, they no longer could use it. I think that was some poor hospital policy there.
That night, the nurse came in like every hour to wake me up and make sure I was ok. Sean didn't spend the night because he needed to get back to take care of Maia and Kassia. We were so blessed to have support to help with their care while I was in the hospital!
The next morning I was starting to feel better but I still couldn't get to the bathroom on my own so the nurse got me a kamode and placed it next to the bed so I could use the bathroom. I have to say I would much rather use a Kamode over a bed pan either day but an actual toilet is the most preferred. I wasn't allowed to have anything to eat or drink as I was hooked up to a bag to drain my stomach content. I have to say I was pretty miserable because I hadn't had any nutrition for 3 days at this point and I was hungry and weak.
I ended up having an occupational therapist and physical therapist visit me the next day to help me get moving and regain the use of my legs. The physical therapist brought me a walker that I had to use any time I got out of the bed. Another humbling experience as I knew I need it. I really had to lean on it to get where I needed to go because my legs would just give out on me. Gratefully my arms were strong enough to support me. That evening they finally started me on the Tube feeds, They started me off really slowly to make sure I would tolerate it. It seamed to go well at first. They started me off with 10 ml a hour and then ever 2-4 hours they would up it another 10 ml.
The next morning I seamed to be doing ok with the feeds so they again had the Physical Therapist come in and I was graduated from the walker to using a cane. My legs were starting to feel better and I was getting a bit stronger but it was no where near where I was used to being. Since I could get up and move around and the feeds were staying down, they decided I could go home.
My drainage tube.
Sean surprised me with the news that his mom was flying into town to help out with the kids while I recovered. I was overwhelmed with emotions as it was exactly what was needed at the time. I didn't realize how hard this was on Sean until he said she was coming. He has been such a trooper through this whole ordeal and I forget sometimes that this affects him differently then it does me. He is watching me go through this and he was holding down the whole house while working and going to school. I am so blessed to have this wonderful man as my husband.
Thank you also for all those that helped us with watching our daughters, for your prayers and for the positive thoughts sent my way. They truly were felt.
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