Feeding Jamie since his surgery back in December was a bit tricky. He has only a certain variety of foods he likes to eat. Because of his initial surgery, he had some food restrictions -- no peanuts, corn, beans, seeds, gummy things, or anything that comes out looking very much like it went in. Foods like that could cause a blockage in his newly reworked digestive system.
Now that everything is hooked up again, he is off the food restrictions. We're still getting used to the fact that he can have some of his favorite foods again. Last night I picked up lots of his favorite treats -- popcorn, trail mix with peanuts and cashews, honey roasted peanuts, roasted cashews, and dried pineapple.
Today I fixed him my awesome chicken noodle soup with corn and black beans, and there is currently a crock pot full of 4-bean chili slowly cooking for tomorrow.
Hopefully, we can do more eating at home now that he can have a little more variety to his diet. YAY! I like to cook!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Home!
Jamie came home from the hospital yesterday. This was his shortest hospital stay yet (not counting having his port inserted when he was only at the hospital for a few hours). Everything seems to be working ok. He has some pain and discomfort right now, but hopefully it will continue to lessen over the next few days.
He is happy to have his bed, his tv, his wife-cooked food, and to not be bothered every two hours in the middle of the night. Most night nurses will just peep in on patients during the night hours, but we had one who insisted on turning on the lights and doing a full check every two hours overnight. We missed seeing two of Jamie's nurses who only work weekends. They were awesome night nurses.
He is happy to have his bed, his tv, his wife-cooked food, and to not be bothered every two hours in the middle of the night. Most night nurses will just peep in on patients during the night hours, but we had one who insisted on turning on the lights and doing a full check every two hours overnight. We missed seeing two of Jamie's nurses who only work weekends. They were awesome night nurses.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Wednesday Update
Jamie's continuing to improve. He has eaten real food (the kind that requires chewing) today for lunch and dinner. Keep your fingers crossed - he may get to go home tomorrow!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tuesday Evening Update 2
A few minutes after my last email Jamie's night nurse stopped by and said "I think I'll just go ahead and unhook you from the IV."
YAY! He still has the needle in his hand, but he isn't tethered to the pole any more.
*happy dance*
YAY! He still has the needle in his hand, but he isn't tethered to the pole any more.
*happy dance*
Tuesday Evening
Jamie saw the surgeon for all of about 10 seconds earlier today. "Belly's soft" was about all he had to say, which is good. A soft belly is what we want.
Jamie had a five-lap shuffle around the floor and sat up in a chair for most of the day. He was nauseous right after waking up but it went away. He has eaten chocolate pudding and applesauce, and was able to keep two vicotin down. He is conked out in the bed right now.
Things seem to be going ok.
Jamie had a five-lap shuffle around the floor and sat up in a chair for most of the day. He was nauseous right after waking up but it went away. He has eaten chocolate pudding and applesauce, and was able to keep two vicotin down. He is conked out in the bed right now.
Things seem to be going ok.
Tuesday Morning
Not much to say this morning. We've only just actually decided to be awake for the day -- not that either of us really slept much all night. Jamie spent some time last night with his new book (Thanks Betsy!) and his new iPod, which is good because last time he didn't want to do much of anything but lay in bed and stare at the tv.
Hopefully today will continue to improve.
Hopefully today will continue to improve.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday Afternoon Update
Jamie's doing pretty well. He spent an extra hour in recovery because of pain. His surgical site is his main pain complaint this time. When he got up to the room, he was really nauseous, which seems to be pretty normal for him after surgery. After some Zofran in his IV and a shot of Phenergan in his hip, his nausea has subsided for the time being. We walked around the hospital floor twice.
We've seen lots of familiar faces and lots of people have recognized Jamie from his previous visit. We even learned that two of his favorite nurses (Chuck and Jen, they're Canadian) from his July stay are married to each other! How cool!
Jamie was on a liquid diet as soon as he got back from surgery. At least he doesn't have to wait on a sip of water. He'll probably be on the liquid diet for a little while. Right now he has a dinner tray of jello, broth, tea, and juice. If he's able to keep down something, then he'll be able to have some Vicotin.
We've seen lots of familiar faces and lots of people have recognized Jamie from his previous visit. We even learned that two of his favorite nurses (Chuck and Jen, they're Canadian) from his July stay are married to each other! How cool!
Jamie was on a liquid diet as soon as he got back from surgery. At least he doesn't have to wait on a sip of water. He'll probably be on the liquid diet for a little while. Right now he has a dinner tray of jello, broth, tea, and juice. If he's able to keep down something, then he'll be able to have some Vicotin.
Monday Morning - Post Op
I'm a good girl! I'm doing what I said I'd do!
We arrived at the hospital at 6am and Jamie was quickly taken back to pre-op with the other first-thing-in-the-morning patients. About 40 minutes later, I was called to go sit with him. At 7:20am he was wheeled back to surgery. At 8:45am the surgeon called to say he was finished and everything looked good. I'm currently (9:00am) sitting in Jamie's room up on the third floor of the little hospital waiting for him to get out of the post-anesthesia/recovery unit. Hopefully he'll be up in about an hour.
I'm really hoping that since this surgery was so quick that his hospital stay will be much shorter. Hopefully, his belly will wake up quicker. Hopefully, he'll look much better when he gets wheeled into the room this time.
We arrived at the hospital at 6am and Jamie was quickly taken back to pre-op with the other first-thing-in-the-morning patients. About 40 minutes later, I was called to go sit with him. At 7:20am he was wheeled back to surgery. At 8:45am the surgeon called to say he was finished and everything looked good. I'm currently (9:00am) sitting in Jamie's room up on the third floor of the little hospital waiting for him to get out of the post-anesthesia/recovery unit. Hopefully he'll be up in about an hour.
I'm really hoping that since this surgery was so quick that his hospital stay will be much shorter. Hopefully, his belly will wake up quicker. Hopefully, he'll look much better when he gets wheeled into the room this time.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Story of Us, Part V
So, it has been a while. Jamie went into the hospital on July 23 for his second surgery and didn't come out again until August 12 -- 21 days later. The full story (in emails) is posted in Story of Us, Part V.
My new violin (I think I'll call her Sabine...Top Gear fans might get the reference) had its first public performances -- in church with piano accompaniment and at a wedding as part of a violin duet. I can't wait to play it in an orchestra!
For Labor Day Weekend, we took our first mini-vacation trip. We've traveled to other places and stayed in hotels before, but we've always gone because of something. When we visited the museums in Raleigh, we were in town for me to play at a wedding. When we went to the beach, we were there to be Mom for her surgery. When we went to Anacortes together, we had to pack up Jamie's stuff. When we went through the Shenandoah Valley and up to Bethlehem, PA, we were on a business trip.
We went to Charlotte for our mini-vacation. We stated at the Hilton Garden Inn in Uptown Charlotte. It was super nice and directly across the street from the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We ate great food and visited lots of new places: Discovery Place, the Charlotte Nature Museum, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Southpark Mall, and the Carolina Raptor Center. We took lots of pictures (go to our Flickr album!).
The days are quickly counting down to Jamie's third and final surgery on October 11. This surgery will only take about an hour and will have a much shorter recovery time (3-5 days). Since the surgery will be shorter than the last one, we're hoping Jamie won't have the same intestinal problems. Anesthesia makes the digestive system really sluggish and sometimes it takes a while for everything to start working again. The longer a patient is under anesthesia, the harder it is for the gut to wake up. And, when the patient has digestive problems to begin with...well you get the idea.
If I'm a good girl, I'll post my surgery/hospital update emails on the blog as soon as I send them.
My new violin (I think I'll call her Sabine...Top Gear fans might get the reference) had its first public performances -- in church with piano accompaniment and at a wedding as part of a violin duet. I can't wait to play it in an orchestra!
For Labor Day Weekend, we took our first mini-vacation trip. We've traveled to other places and stayed in hotels before, but we've always gone because of something. When we visited the museums in Raleigh, we were in town for me to play at a wedding. When we went to the beach, we were there to be Mom for her surgery. When we went to Anacortes together, we had to pack up Jamie's stuff. When we went through the Shenandoah Valley and up to Bethlehem, PA, we were on a business trip.
We went to Charlotte for our mini-vacation. We stated at the Hilton Garden Inn in Uptown Charlotte. It was super nice and directly across the street from the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We ate great food and visited lots of new places: Discovery Place, the Charlotte Nature Museum, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Southpark Mall, and the Carolina Raptor Center. We took lots of pictures (go to our Flickr album!).
The days are quickly counting down to Jamie's third and final surgery on October 11. This surgery will only take about an hour and will have a much shorter recovery time (3-5 days). Since the surgery will be shorter than the last one, we're hoping Jamie won't have the same intestinal problems. Anesthesia makes the digestive system really sluggish and sometimes it takes a while for everything to start working again. The longer a patient is under anesthesia, the harder it is for the gut to wake up. And, when the patient has digestive problems to begin with...well you get the idea.
If I'm a good girl, I'll post my surgery/hospital update emails on the blog as soon as I send them.
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