TexasRaceLady
Active Member
AllEars, thanks for the up-date. I have faith that Mike will pull through.
Tell him we're all pulling for him.
Tell him we're all pulling for him.
It's on
- Thread starter SouthernN'Proud
- Start date
SouthernN'Proud
Southern Discomfort
Mike's spleen ruptured on the table. He lost a lot of blood and fluids. They had to resusitate him 3 times and he spent the night on a ventalator. Very big scare! They finally weened him off the oxygen yesterday.
Mike is doing very well today he actually walked some today and they are going to move him out of ICU as soon as a bed opens on the floor. He is starting to give the nurses a hard time....welcome back Mike.
Mike is doing very well today he actually walked some today and they are going to move him out of ICU as soon as a bed opens on the floor. He is starting to give the nurses a hard time....welcome back Mike.
TexasRaceLady
Active Member
I don't know what to say except --- GOOOO, MIKE ! ! !
AllEars, thank you so much for the news. I know it has to be tough on you and the chick, but hang in there.
AllEars, thank you so much for the news. I know it has to be tough on you and the chick, but hang in there.
Fucking hillbilly can't do anything the easy way. (tell him I said so)
I'd suggest that she doesn't...it'll probably make him laugh and laughing may not be so good for his healing wound...
TexasRaceLady
Active Member
Yeah, but it may piss him off enough to get up and walk more --- which makes him stronger.
unclehobart
New Member
Did the spleen blow out on its own?... or did the surgical team screw it up?
Gato_Solo
Out-freaking-standing OTC member
Damnable furriner. He doesn't need your permission. All he has to know is that, if he goes, his daughter will end up with a carpetbagging yankee because he won't be around to teach her better. 
woodman19_99
New Member
Hey, if your as tough a southerner as you seem to be, you don't need that gawl darn'd spleen anyway!
J/K man, hope recovery goes as smooth as possible.
Keep us, well, posted...
J/K man, hope recovery goes as smooth as possible.
Keep us, well, posted...
SouthernN'Proud
Southern Discomfort
I'm back home, thank God!
Had me quite a time down there at Vandy, man.
The surgery went well with the one minor blip previously mentioned. I woke up in recovery quite confused and apparently making little sense. This differed from my normal state only slightly. The next time I became aware of things, I began to remember the whats and wheres and whys somewhat and calmed down some, until I started choking on one of the numerous tubes they had running through my nose/throat. I eventually worked it loose with my tongue (thank you Gene Simmons) which caused quite the stir. The nurses insisted that it had to come out through my nose, so I said go for it. They crammed it back in and yanked it out the right way, a most dreadful feeling to be certain. After that, everything was pretty cool.
Several days in ICU. As soon as I could I started getting myself sitting upright and then standing and eventually moved to a chair for most of my waking hours. I walked every time they'd let me. Apparently I was days ahead of expectations, just where I wanted to be.
The epidural was a blessing. But I knew that I had to progress, so I kept doing everything for myself that I could. Pulling myself upright was hard, but I tried to do it myself to start strengthening my abdominal muscles. Weird thinking I know, but look who we're talking about here...
When they finally moved me to a normal room, I declared war on all of it. I didn't give a hoot what anybody said, I was gettin out of this place post haste. I committed to do everything I could do, eat whatever they brought despite taste/consistency/hunger, and keep progressing. The epidural was replaced with a pain pump, which I knew meant I was over halfway there. I used the pump only when absolutely necessary.
They started me on a feeding pump, which was interesting. I tolerated it very well. I began to be able to walk better than before the surgery actually and in no time I was walking out with my folks to smoke (yeah I know, save it).
About Wednesday (I think) the pain pump was d/c'ed and I kicked into another gear. They started talking about sending me home Friday. I was now leaving my room for up to 45 minutes at a time several times a day. They started giving me liquids, then soft foods. Thursday they gave me solid foods. That night we had a pretty ugly encounter. The docs set my tube feeding faster than ever, PLUS I was eating, PLUS they gave me a stool softener. Let's just say, it was too much and things had to go somewhere. I became quite upset with my RN, who was a total idiot, and flat refused to go back on the feeder that night.
I won.
Friday morning they gave me a little grief about the feeding thing (I refused to back down one iota) but agreed to go ahead and discharge me. I had to have my PICC line removed, and I had to have one of the drains from my guts removed, and I needed a few stitches added around the other drain and around the feeding tube, plus the old drain site stitched up. That hurt like hell despite the Lidocaine (sp?) but I made it. After them dicking around half the day (thus ensuring I could be billed for one more day inpatient) we left the hospital yesterday afternoon. It is about a 6 hour drive, so we set out. Stopped a little over halfway home for food. Now, I know from experience what I need to eat at this point...I've done it way too many times. None of it is available at an interstate exit. So after some careful thought I decided on Subway. Had part of a wrap (less bread, more easily broken down) and the apples and water. I hurt like a demon eating it, but felt quite a bit better after it was done. Got home about 9 last night, mega-hugged Kim and the brat, set up some of the peripherals I will need, and crashed.
Woke up once in pain, took meds, went back to sleep. Woke up again (probably out of habit from the everloving nurses waking me up at 4AM for a blanketty-blank blood sugar), and after half an hour or so blanked out again. Woke up at 7:30 feeling as good as one could hope after a surgery like this.
Later today, home healthcare will bring out my IV pole, feeding machine, and the gunk to put therein. I have been taught how to calculate the amount of it I need daily, and will do so faithfully. I have pledged to tax my body 0% for the next week. I'm staying put, doing nothing more strenuous than goofing on the puter and such. During this week I will begin once again to reacclimate my body with the notion of food. If all goes as it has previously, ten days or so from now I should be eating fairly normally, and within a month or less the feeding machine can be halted.
So that about sums it up. I made it through, I'm back, and hopefully all this pain shit is done and done.
Had me quite a time down there at Vandy, man.
The surgery went well with the one minor blip previously mentioned. I woke up in recovery quite confused and apparently making little sense. This differed from my normal state only slightly. The next time I became aware of things, I began to remember the whats and wheres and whys somewhat and calmed down some, until I started choking on one of the numerous tubes they had running through my nose/throat. I eventually worked it loose with my tongue (thank you Gene Simmons) which caused quite the stir. The nurses insisted that it had to come out through my nose, so I said go for it. They crammed it back in and yanked it out the right way, a most dreadful feeling to be certain. After that, everything was pretty cool.
Several days in ICU. As soon as I could I started getting myself sitting upright and then standing and eventually moved to a chair for most of my waking hours. I walked every time they'd let me. Apparently I was days ahead of expectations, just where I wanted to be.
The epidural was a blessing. But I knew that I had to progress, so I kept doing everything for myself that I could. Pulling myself upright was hard, but I tried to do it myself to start strengthening my abdominal muscles. Weird thinking I know, but look who we're talking about here...
When they finally moved me to a normal room, I declared war on all of it. I didn't give a hoot what anybody said, I was gettin out of this place post haste. I committed to do everything I could do, eat whatever they brought despite taste/consistency/hunger, and keep progressing. The epidural was replaced with a pain pump, which I knew meant I was over halfway there. I used the pump only when absolutely necessary.
They started me on a feeding pump, which was interesting. I tolerated it very well. I began to be able to walk better than before the surgery actually and in no time I was walking out with my folks to smoke (yeah I know, save it).
About Wednesday (I think) the pain pump was d/c'ed and I kicked into another gear. They started talking about sending me home Friday. I was now leaving my room for up to 45 minutes at a time several times a day. They started giving me liquids, then soft foods. Thursday they gave me solid foods. That night we had a pretty ugly encounter. The docs set my tube feeding faster than ever, PLUS I was eating, PLUS they gave me a stool softener. Let's just say, it was too much and things had to go somewhere. I became quite upset with my RN, who was a total idiot, and flat refused to go back on the feeder that night.
I won.
Friday morning they gave me a little grief about the feeding thing (I refused to back down one iota) but agreed to go ahead and discharge me. I had to have my PICC line removed, and I had to have one of the drains from my guts removed, and I needed a few stitches added around the other drain and around the feeding tube, plus the old drain site stitched up. That hurt like hell despite the Lidocaine (sp?) but I made it. After them dicking around half the day (thus ensuring I could be billed for one more day inpatient) we left the hospital yesterday afternoon. It is about a 6 hour drive, so we set out. Stopped a little over halfway home for food. Now, I know from experience what I need to eat at this point...I've done it way too many times. None of it is available at an interstate exit. So after some careful thought I decided on Subway. Had part of a wrap (less bread, more easily broken down) and the apples and water. I hurt like a demon eating it, but felt quite a bit better after it was done. Got home about 9 last night, mega-hugged Kim and the brat, set up some of the peripherals I will need, and crashed.
Woke up once in pain, took meds, went back to sleep. Woke up again (probably out of habit from the everloving nurses waking me up at 4AM for a blanketty-blank blood sugar), and after half an hour or so blanked out again. Woke up at 7:30 feeling as good as one could hope after a surgery like this.
Later today, home healthcare will bring out my IV pole, feeding machine, and the gunk to put therein. I have been taught how to calculate the amount of it I need daily, and will do so faithfully. I have pledged to tax my body 0% for the next week. I'm staying put, doing nothing more strenuous than goofing on the puter and such. During this week I will begin once again to reacclimate my body with the notion of food. If all goes as it has previously, ten days or so from now I should be eating fairly normally, and within a month or less the feeding machine can be halted.
So that about sums it up. I made it through, I'm back, and hopefully all this pain shit is done and done.