OT - Crash Update

On Wed 08 Jun 2005 08:23:29p, Damsel wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

The surgery was successful.

There are medication issues.

This has been the longest day of my life.

Thanks everyone. That's all I've got for now.

Carol

WHOOPIE!!!

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Damsel said:

The surgery was successful.

There are medication issues.

This has been the longest day of my life.

Thanks everyone. That's all I've got for now.

Carol

Glad to hear it went well. Been waiting on that report.

Elaine

Quoted message said:

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CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

Quoted message said:

On Wed 08 Jun 2005 08:23:29p, Damsel wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

The surgery was successful.

There are medication issues.

This has been the longest day of my life.

Thanks everyone. That's all I've got for now.

Carol

Try and get some rest Carol, you need to look after yourself too.
Glad everything's gone well.
Take care both of you.
Sarah

"Damsel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The surgery was successful.

There are medication issues.

This has been the longest day of my life.

Thanks everyone. That's all I've got for now.

Warm hugs

O

Damsel said:

Then come back next month and make us some more! <EG>

Carol, who loves potstickers

Thanks, but I'm afraid that's not possible.

Ariane

Are we having fun yet? Okay, here's what's been going on ...

On Wednesday, we had to be at the hospital at 7:15. We did all the pre-op
stuff, and they took him away from me at 8:50. They didn't give him back
to me until 2:50. I sat in the waiting room for nearly 5 hours for a 2
hour operation. By the time I screwed up the courage to go ask about his
status, I was a wreck. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I
collapsed. I sobbed hysterically and shook. Hard. Seems there had been a
traffic jam, and he didn't get into surgery on time. Anyway, the doctor
said that the surgery was successful, and that he'd be in his room soon.

When I have major surgery, I open my eyes, take note that someone is there
with me, and go to sleep again. No such luck for Crash. He was wide
awake, in excruciating pain, and extremely agitated. Like, they had to put
an alarm on him because he kept trying to escape.

Most of you know that I'm pretty mentally ill. Crash is, too, only worse.
And guess what? NO PSYCH MEDS! They cut him off of high doses of the 4
medications that keep him relatively sane. And they're just putting him
back on them this afternoon. The doctor wouldn't listen until I brought it
up with the hospital pharmacist. It pays to talk to the right person. I
wish I had known which strings to pull 48 hours ago!

Despite universal reassurances that this would be a wonderful thing for
him, he's having a ton and a half of pain and has vowed not to go through
with it on the other hip. He'll do it because he has to, but not with the
same level of confidence he had coming into this one. They're talking
about taking him off the morphine-on-demand tomorrow. I hope they don't.

He desperately wants to get up and walk, but they only come in twice a day,
and he hasn't made a lot of progress. On the weekends, they only come in
once a day. They're back to saying he'll be released sometime next week
instead of this weekend. It's so critical that he move certain ways and
completely avoid other positions. And of course, the no-no's are what he
is naturally inclined to do.

When Crash is in pain, he doesn't eat. Period. He lost 10 pounds in the
two weeks just prior to the surgery. He's getting thinner and thinner in
the hospital. One bite per meal is all he's able to get down. He doesn't
even want me to bring take-out to him, and he loves take-out food. (The
hamburgers at the hospital are miserable)

They removed one of his IV bags today, and his catheter. He's practically
a free man. 🙂

At home, he watches A&E a lot. Lots of crime shows. In the hospital, he's
watching cartoons. Toon Disney ran several hours of Tarzan cartoons today.
I wish I didn't have that information.

I came home for a short break this afternoon because the cat or one of the
dogs has sought their revenge for our being gone all day by peeing on the
couch. I am not amused. Anyway, I'm trying to spend a little time with
them during the day when I can get away.

I've uploaded a few pictures:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/head_trollop/my_photos

That's about it. More when I can.
Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

"Damsel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Are we having fun yet? Okay, here's what's been going on ...

On Wednesday, we had to be at the hospital at 7:15. We did all the pre-op
stuff, and they took him away from me at 8:50. They didn't give him back
to me until 2:50. I sat in the waiting room for nearly 5 hours for a 2
hour operation. By the time I screwed up the courage to go ask about his
status, I was a wreck. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I
collapsed. I sobbed hysterically and shook. Hard. Seems there had been a
traffic jam, and he didn't get into surgery on time. Anyway, the doctor
said that the surgery was successful, and that he'd be in his room soon.

When I have major surgery, I open my eyes, take note that someone is there
with me, and go to sleep again. No such luck for Crash. He was wide
awake, in excruciating pain, and extremely agitated. Like, they had to put
an alarm on him because he kept trying to escape.

Most of you know that I'm pretty mentally ill. Crash is, too, only worse.
And guess what? NO PSYCH MEDS! They cut him off of high doses of the 4
medications that keep him relatively sane. And they're just putting him
back on them this afternoon. The doctor wouldn't listen until I brought it
up with the hospital pharmacist. It pays to talk to the right person. I
wish I had known which strings to pull 48 hours ago!

Despite universal reassurances that this would be a wonderful thing for
him, he's having a ton and a half of pain and has vowed not to go through
with it on the other hip. He'll do it because he has to, but not with the
same level of confidence he had coming into this one. They're talking
about taking him off the morphine-on-demand tomorrow. I hope they don't.

He desperately wants to get up and walk, but they only come in twice a day,
and he hasn't made a lot of progress. On the weekends, they only come in
once a day. They're back to saying he'll be released sometime next week
instead of this weekend. It's so critical that he move certain ways and
completely avoid other positions. And of course, the no-no's are what he
is naturally inclined to do.

When Crash is in pain, he doesn't eat. Period. He lost 10 pounds in the
two weeks just prior to the surgery. He's getting thinner and thinner in
the hospital. One bite per meal is all he's able to get down. He doesn't
even want me to bring take-out to him, and he loves take-out food. (The
hamburgers at the hospital are miserable)

They removed one of his IV bags today, and his catheter. He's practically
a free man. 🙂

At home, he watches A&E a lot. Lots of crime shows. In the hospital, he's
watching cartoons. Toon Disney ran several hours of Tarzan cartoons today.
I wish I didn't have that information.

I came home for a short break this afternoon because the cat or one of the
dogs has sought their revenge for our being gone all day by peeing on the
couch. I am not amused. Anyway, I'm trying to spend a little time with
them during the day when I can get away.

I've uploaded a few pictures:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/head_trollop/my_photos

That's about it. More when I can.
Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

Poor yous, it can only get better.
Don't forget to look after yourself too.
Sarah

Damsel wrote on 10 Jun 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

I've uploaded a few pictures:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/head_trollop/my_photos

That's about it. More when I can.
Carol

Did crash shave his legs ...just for the pictures?

--
No Bread Crumbs were hurt in the making of this Meal.
Type 2 Diabetic Since Aug 2004
1AC- 7.2, 7.3, 5.5, 5.6 mmol
Weight from 265 down to 215 lbs. and dropping.
Continuing to be Manitoban

"Damsel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Are we having fun yet? Okay, here's what's been going on ...

On Wednesday, we had to be at the hospital at 7:15. We did all the pre-op
stuff, and they took him away from me at 8:50. They didn't give him back
to me until 2:50. I sat in the waiting room for nearly 5 hours for a 2
hour operation. By the time I screwed up the courage to go ask about his
status, I was a wreck. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I
collapsed. I sobbed hysterically and shook. Hard. Seems there had been

a

Quoted message said:

traffic jam, and he didn't get into surgery on time. Anyway, the doctor
said that the surgery was successful, and that he'd be in his room soon.

Man, I am so sorry to hear this, Dams-you must have been scared to death!

Quoted message said:

When I have major surgery, I open my eyes, take note that someone is there
with me, and go to sleep again. No such luck for Crash. He was wide
awake, in excruciating pain, and extremely agitated. Like, they had to

put

Quoted message said:

an alarm on him because he kept trying to escape.

Most of you know that I'm pretty mentally ill. Crash is, too, only worse.
And guess what? NO PSYCH MEDS! They cut him off of high doses of the 4
medications that keep him relatively sane. And they're just putting him
back on them this afternoon. The doctor wouldn't listen until I brought

it

Quoted message said:

up with the hospital pharmacist. It pays to talk to the right person. I
wish I had known which strings to pull 48 hours ago!

Despite universal reassurances that this would be a wonderful thing for
him, he's having a ton and a half of pain and has vowed not to go through
with it on the other hip. He'll do it because he has to, but not with the
same level of confidence he had coming into this one. They're talking
about taking him off the morphine-on-demand tomorrow. I hope they don't.

Do you think that might have been caused by the way they did his
replacement? It's usually bad, but not unGodly bad, from what I've seen.
Not having his regular meds probably isn't helping with it either-your frame
of mind has SO much to do with how you handle pain, IMHO. Crossing my
fingers that they keep him on the morphine till he feels better!

Quoted message said:

He desperately wants to get up and walk, but they only come in twice a

day,

Quoted message said:

and he hasn't made a lot of progress. On the weekends, they only come in
once a day. They're back to saying he'll be released sometime next week
instead of this weekend. It's so critical that he move certain ways and
completely avoid other positions. And of course, the no-no's are what he
is naturally inclined to do.

When Crash is in pain, he doesn't eat. Period. He lost 10 pounds in the
two weeks just prior to the surgery. He's getting thinner and thinner in
the hospital. One bite per meal is all he's able to get down. He doesn't
even want me to bring take-out to him, and he loves take-out food. (The
hamburgers at the hospital are miserable)

They removed one of his IV bags today, and his catheter. He's practically
a free man. 🙂

At home, he watches A&E a lot. Lots of crime shows. In the hospital,

he's

Quoted message said:

watching cartoons. Toon Disney ran several hours of Tarzan cartoons

today.

Quoted message said:

I wish I didn't have that information.

I came home for a short break this afternoon because the cat or one of the
dogs has sought their revenge for our being gone all day by peeing on the
couch. I am not amused. Anyway, I'm trying to spend a little time with
them during the day when I can get away.

I've uploaded a few pictures:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/head_trollop/my_photos

Well, he was in fine form when he went in<LOL> Hoping he's flippin ya off
again real soon!

Quoted message said:

That's about it. More when I can.
Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

Hugs to you both,
Lynne A
[email hidden]

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 16:48:59 -0500, Damsel <[email hidden]>
connected the dots and wrote:

~Are we having fun yet? Okay, here's what's been going on ...
~
~On Wednesday, we had to be at the hospital at 7:15. We did all the
pre-op
~stuff, and they took him away from me at 8:50.
....
Anyway, the doctor
~said that the surgery was successful, and that he'd be in his room
soon.

Glad to hear that.

~When I have major surgery, I open my eyes, take note that someone is
there
~with me, and go to sleep again. No such luck for Crash. He was wide
~awake, in excruciating pain, and extremely agitated. Like, they had
to put
~an alarm on him because he kept trying to escape.
~
~Most of you know that I'm pretty mentally ill. Crash is, too, only
worse.
~And guess what? NO PSYCH MEDS! They cut him off of high doses of
the 4
~medications that keep him relatively sane. And they're just putting
him
~back on them this afternoon. The doctor wouldn't listen until I
brought it
~up with the hospital pharmacist. It pays to talk to the right
person. I
~wish I had known which strings to pull 48 hours ago!

They do that to everyone. You can't bring your meds with you, they
have to dispense them, and then they don't take down the whole list.
It's interesting to me that the pharmacist is the one the doctor
listened to.

~Despite universal reassurances that this would be a wonderful thing
for
~him, he's having a ton and a half of pain and has vowed not to go
through
~with it on the other hip. He'll do it because he has to, but not
with the
~same level of confidence he had coming into this one. They're
talking
~about taking him off the morphine-on-demand tomorrow. I hope they
don't

He's young enough that he should get back most of his mobility, unlike
my Mom, but they lie--it hurts like the dickens afterwards, and it
would be easier for most folks to face if they told you straight out.

~He desperately wants to get up and walk, but they only come in twice
a day,
~and he hasn't made a lot of progress. On the weekends, they only
come in
~once a day. They're back to saying he'll be released sometime next
week
~instead of this weekend. It's so critical that he move certain ways
and
~completely avoid other positions. And of course, the no-no's are
what he
~is naturally inclined to do.

Ask them to show you how to get him up and out of bed. Then you can
take him for short walks, at least to the door of the room or the
bathroom.

~When Crash is in pain, he doesn't eat. Period. He lost 10 pounds in
the
~two weeks just prior to the surgery. He's getting thinner and
thinner in
~the hospital. One bite per meal is all he's able to get down. He
doesn't
~even want me to bring take-out to him, and he loves take-out food.
(The
~hamburgers at the hospital are miserable)

For some reason, probably the methods used for keeping food hot for
the time it takes to get from the kitchen to the last patient, the
food at any hospital is the pits. Try and get him to order soup.
That's one thing that sometimes will go down well.

~I came home for a short break this afternoon because the cat or one
of the
~dogs has sought their revenge for our being gone all day by peeing on
the
~couch. I am not amused. Anyway, I'm trying to spend a little time
with
~them during the day when I can get away.

Poor babies! Is there noone who would come by once a day to give them
a little love and exercize so you don't have to run back and forth?

~I've uploaded a few pictures:
~http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/head_trollop/my_photos

He does look good in that color<g>, but he sure hates getting his
picture taken, doesn't he? Many hugs and backrubs for you, virtually.
Hang in there, Carol, this too shall pass.

maxine in ri

We've been told all along that on the third day (today), he'd be in street
clothes and wouldn't be hooked up to meds of any kind. He's still in
hospital gowns and still hooked up to IVs. Nothing has been said about any
of this changing over the weekend. I don't know how much longer he'll be
in, but I don't think he'll be coming home any time soon. The nursing and
therapy staffs are stretched to the breaking point. And Crash is running
them all ragged.

Our next door neighbors dropped by the hospital while I was home this
afternoon. Their visit was a huge surprise to him. They brought him a
nice card and a bouquet of tulips, carnations, daisies, and a white version
of those flowers that are usually kind of a salmon color with dark spots.
I can't recall their name, but I like them.

When I went back after my break, I stopped at Hardee's to get him something
I knew he liked, so he'd finally eat something. He didn't take a single
bite. It's to the point that, when I call Room Service, I order something
I like, because he probably won't eat anyway. They don't have the
traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner there. They actually have room
service. You can phone them anytime between 7am and 7pm, and they'll have
your food up to you within 30 minutes. Their grilled cheese sandwiches are
good. The burgers contain no meat of any kind, to the best of my
knowledge.

I was there this evening when they changed his dressings for the first time
(yes, I took a picture). It's about a 12-inch incision, held together with
lots of surgical tape. I'm not posting the picture, but I'll be happy to
distribute it in e-mail if anyone is that curious. LOL!

Lynne and Pam (his girlfriends on the side) called tonight. Lynne (a
nursing assistant) said that the reason he's probably experiencing such a
great deal of pain was that they didn't cement the new pieces in, they
pounded them in. This is because he's so young and will undoubtedly have
to have these done at least once more. So he's probably kinda bruised up
inside. Pam and her main squeeze (besides Crash) are coming from Wisconsin
for a visit tomorrow. And taking me out to lunch, like a real person! 🙂

When I left at 8, he still hadn't been given his psych meds (grrr!). They
had me bring in all of his meds yesterday (I suppose the doctor didn't take
our word for it that he took them?) If he isn't getting his meds by
tomorrow morning, I'm going to grab his home box (which is in a cabinet
outside his room that is accessible from the hall!) and start giving them
to him myself, and I'm not kidding.

The lighting is too good at that hospital. I came home and dyed my hair.
I'd been growing the salt and pepper out, but it looks so terrible there
that I couldn't face going back without some dark brown covering the
silver. It's temporary stuff this time, but I'm probably just gonna start
trying to be something I'm not (young).

I think that's it for now. Catch you guys later, and thanks so much for
your support. We both appreciate it a lot.

Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

On Fri 10 Jun 2005 09:17:38p, Damsel wrote in rec.food.cooking:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

When I left at 8, he still hadn't been given his psych meds (grrr!).
They had me bring in all of his meds yesterday (I suppose the doctor
didn't take our word for it that he took them?) If he isn't getting his
meds by tomorrow morning, I'm going to grab his home box (which is in a
cabinet outside his room that is accessible from the hall!) and start
giving them to him myself, and I'm not kidding.

<snip>

Although it's standard procedure to withhold psych meds just prior to and
following surgery, it's also part of the reason he's feeling more pain.
The difference in level of awareness abruptly shifts.

They did this with David when he had his quadruple bypass last year. He
didn't get back on his regular meds for 5 days, and during the interim
lived some horrible side effects.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Fri 10 Jun 2005 09:17:38p, Damsel wrote in rec.food.cooking:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

When I left at 8, he still hadn't been given his psych meds (grrr!).
They had me bring in all of his meds yesterday (I suppose the doctor
didn't take our word for it that he took them?) If he isn't getting his
meds by tomorrow morning, I'm going to grab his home box (which is in a
cabinet outside his room that is accessible from the hall!) and start
giving them to him myself, and I'm not kidding.

<snip>

Although it's standard procedure to withhold psych meds just prior to and
following surgery, it's also part of the reason he's feeling more pain.
The difference in level of awareness abruptly shifts.

No one said a word about this to us!

Quoted message said:

They did this with David when he had his quadruple bypass last year. He
didn't get back on his regular meds for 5 days, and during the interim
lived some horrible side effects.

5 days??? That poor man. That must have been horrible for both of you!

I should have stayed in commando mode. On Wednesday night, I was stomping
up and down the hall, raising hell and threatening legal action. Crash's
evening nurse pretty much told me to shut up and stay that way. When I
left that night, she told me that Crash's doctor was up at the desk, but
that I was not to speak to him. Whatever possessed me to listen to that
[censored]?

Well, now I know how to get everything coordinated for the next surgery.
I don't know if I posted this earlier or not. The reason I was able to
talk to the hospital pharmacist was that he visited Crash's room along with
the nutritionist and a social worker. There were FLAMES coming out of the
social worker's eyes when I mentioned that Crash's psych meds were being
withheld. We'll probably see her 2-3 weeks before the next procedure so
she can coordinate Crash's care with his psychiatrist and with the hospital
staff. Crash should be given Ativan before he even goes to his room.

G'night all!
Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

Damsel said:

I sat in the waiting room for nearly 5 hours for a 2
hour operation. By the time I screwed up the courage to go ask about his
status, I was a wreck. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I
collapsed. I sobbed hysterically and shook.

((((( That's awful! )))))

Quoted message said:

Hard. Seems there had been a traffic jam, and he didn't get into surgery on time.

You had every right to be concerned. They should have kept you posted
about the delayed start time.

Damsel said:

Crash should be given Ativan before he even goes to his room.

Ativan? I took it (and now Klonopin) for pain! Withdrawal from even
minor doses can be a major problem. I wonder why that issue wasn't
addressed too?

http://www.breggin.com/minortranqs.html

Individuals who take only one pill daily for sleep or anxiety are not
exempt from withdrawal problems. In my private practice during the
last few years I have worked with several people who were unable to
stop taking a once-a-day standard dose of Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, or
other minor tranquilizers. In each case, the attempt to stop the
medication led to a disturbing degree of anxiety or insomnia within
twenty-four hours. The problem seemed to be caused by rebound anxiety
or rebound insomnia (see ahead). In a personal communication in late
December 1990, internist John Steinberg confirmed that patients taking
one Xanax tablet each day for several weeks can become addicted.
Steinberg is medical director of the Chemical Dependency Program at
the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and president of the Maryland
Society of Addiction Medicine. He points to research that Xanax and
other short-acting benzodiazepines can cause a reactive hyperactivity
of the receptors that they block. The hyperactive receptors then
require one or more doses of Xanax each day or they produce anxiety
and emotional discomfort. Steinberg calls the impact of Xanax "a
fundamental change in the homeostasis of the brain." After the patient
stops taking the Xanax, according to Steinberg, it takes the brain six
to eighteen months to recover. Xanax patients should be warned, he
says, that it can take a long time to get over painful withdrawal
symptoms. Since doctors frequently don't realize this, they, too, are
likely to be confused and to continue the drug in the hope of
"treating" the patient's drug-induced anxiety and tension.

sf said:

Damsel said:

Crash should be given Ativan before he even goes to his room.

Ativan? I took it (and now Klonopin) for pain! Withdrawal from even
minor doses can be a major problem. I wonder why that issue wasn't
addressed too?

Crash was taking 1mg of Klonopin daily for a long time. This never, ever
should have happened.

Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

After surgery, you're supposed to get better and better. Crash is getting
worse and worse. He's having Problems. He didn't know I was there anyway,
so I came home. That's all I'm able to pass along right now.

Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

Damsel said:

After surgery, you're supposed to get better and better. Crash is getting
worse and worse. He's having Problems. He didn't know I was there anyway,
so I came home. That's all I'm able to pass along right now.

That's terrible! Is he back on his meds? Could he be having a med
conflict? Get the names of everything they are giving him and use the
internet to research drug interactions when you get home.

sf
<just guessing>

Damsel said:

After surgery, you're supposed to get better and better. Crash is getting
worse and worse. He's having Problems. He didn't know I was there anyway,
so I came home. That's all I'm able to pass along right now.

All I can say is I'm very sorry you both have to go through this, and
all the other garbage on top of it. As Cathyxyz would say "keep your
chin up". There's not much I can do except empathize with you and
hope for the best, so that's what I'm doing. People say that whatever
doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and there is a lot of truth in
that. Best wishes.

--
The Doc says my brain waves closely match those of a crazed ferret.
At least now I have an excuse.

AlleyGator said:

Damsel said:

After surgery, you're supposed to get better and better. Crash is getting
worse and worse. He's having Problems. He didn't know I was there anyway,
so I came home. That's all I'm able to pass along right now.

All I can say is I'm very sorry you both have to go through this, and
all the other garbage on top of it. As Cathyxyz would say "keep your
chin up". There's not much I can do except empathize with you and
hope for the best, so that's what I'm doing. People say that whatever
doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and there is a lot of truth in
that. Best wishes.

--
The Doc says my brain waves closely match those of a crazed ferret.
At least now I have an excuse.

Seems like poor Crash is having a rough time of it. Poor Dams, too.
Hope things get better soon.
Cheers
Cathy
ps. Hope you feeling better too, Gator? Sent u an email..

--
I don't suffer from insanity - I enjoy every minute of it