Surgery Update

May 22, 2011 14:01

Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow (Monday) "early AM" -- whatever that means. The doctors say that there is no actual blockage in the gall bladder, which is all to the good, but it's still full of stones and they want to get it out ASAP.

They tried to move her onto clear fluids today, but after some beef broth and apple juice, she wound up having another minor attack, so that was reconsidered. She's allowed ice chips and a few sips of water, but nothing else until afterward.

For the most part, she's doing well, although incredibly exhausted. I brought her Tempurpedic pillow from home yesterday, so she's much more comfortable than she had been, at least. They've got her calves covered in these inflatable bladders to continually work the muscles to prevent blood clots, and she hates those. They keep checking her blood sugar even those she's not diabetic, and she hates that, too. (The prevailing unspoken attitude of She's fat! She must be diabetic! She must sit around on her fat ass and stuff her fat face with Twinkies all day! is seriously pissing us all off.)

But all of that hate pales in comparison to the hate for the central line that they're going to be putting in. They put the IV initially into a vein that Saundra specifically asked them not to (since it has a habit of blowing out when it has an IV in it) and, surprise, it blew out. They wanted to put in a PIC line, which she was against, but a conversation with the very nice PIC nurse led to a compromise of him attempting to insert a mid-line (basically a PIC line that stays in the arm and doesn't go all the way to the heart). But after trying on both arms, he was unable to locate a vein on the ultrasound that was straight enough for the insertion. (Nothing about her is straight; I think I may have mentioned that before. ;) ) So the decision was made to go for the central line, and the doctors were firm that they wouldn't proceed with the surgery without it. Which does not make for a happy Saundra.

We're very hopeful that the surgery will go smoothly. If there's a problem going in laparoscopically, they'll have to do the full incision, which will mean a longer recovery time and most likely a longer hospital stay. Apart from her weight, there aren't any indicators that the full incision will be necessary, so we've got our fingers crossed.

saundra

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