Surgery Done but Recovery is NOT Fun

L, again live from 5 south, and what seems like home these days. When I last blogged, B was awaiting surgery, well today marks day 3 post op and B is still in pain. From a surgical standpoint, the surgery was a great success. Dr. # 15 was able to place the catheter exactly where he wanted it, and he is hopeful that this new approach will work. Monday ended up being a pretty long day. The surgery started a bit late, and B ended up being in the OR for about 2 1/2 hours. The RN who assisted Dr. # 15 during the procedure came out to let us know that it took about 45 minutes to get B placed comfortably on the OR table. I guess that B's pain was so high they had to move him in little increments, and this took much longer than anticipated. While B was being sliced and diced, D Bone, Kid Bro, Nanc, Big D, and I all waited and passed the time with gossip and some Netflix viewings.

Finally Dr. # 15 came out and told us that the surgery was over. He told us that he has been working in pain management for a long time and that B's case is one of the worst he has even seen. He classified B's pain as extreme. Before wheeling B off, his pain was a 12 out of 10. It was clear to everyone, even perfect strangers, that B was suffering. After the surgery they called me back into PACU where B was resting. I must say, this was my favorite part of the day. After having such a long and hard day, B and Versed were the perfect remedy. First off, B did not believe me that the surgery was over. I think the conversation went something like this. L: "Hi honey your surgery is over and you did great." B: "don't lie to me." L: I swear your surgery is over." B: " I hate when you lie." L: "Bible swear the surgery is over." B: "Don't start with the Bible swear." and then he got quiet a minute before telling me that he was going to break my glasses on my face. I told him, simmer down now or I will break your glasses. This obviously did not bode well with B because he apologized and begged me not to break his glass. Again, B got very quiet for about 15 minutes before whispering that he had something to tell me. He told me to learn very close and then he proceeded to congratulate me on having a baby girl. What, a baby? I think all this talk of epidurals and such has Mr. Muttz very very confused.

We finally got back to our room around 7:30 or so. B was still very sedated so I headed home to shower and to drop off Kid Bro. D Bone and I stayed the night with B on 5 South. It actually wasn't' that bad of a night. B rested pretty well, except for when they came to take him for an X-Ray, which was not fun at all.

So as it stands the pump is in. Dr. # 15 is working hard to figure out if this is going to work for B or not. It is too early to tell, but yes B is still in pain. He is particularly sore in his abdomen and lower back, where the incision and stapes reside. He also has to wear an abdominal binder, which can best be described as Spanx, or a corset for men. It is not comfortable, and not pretty. And the incision is a pretty good size and it will take about 2 weeks to heal. However B is reporting the pain feels a bit different and the pain may be a bit lower. We are not sure when we are busting out of here, but are hopeful to be home snuggling with perro and gato soon.

As for today, they plan to take B down for a hip aspiration. The CT scan showed some fluid in his right hip. Dr. # 13 wants the fluid removed from the hip so that they can assure there isn't an infection. The fluid in the hip can be from a number of things, however all the Dr.'s want to be sure that this fluid is not something serious. Also they feel that by removing the fluid, they will be able to relieve additional hip pressure/pain. This is a procedure they attempted to do yesterday, however with B's pain so high they were not able to complete the procedure. So the hip aspiration is back on tap today under anesthesia. The fluid will be biopsied and we hope to have some additional answers by days end.

B continues to rate his pain as a steady 6 while he is resting in bed, and that number is about an 8 out of bed. Dr. # 12 also continues to make adjustments to the additional meds so we are hopeful to get to a 0 and soon. Please pray for us. This journey/cross is getting to much to bear.

Thanks again for stopping in and more to follow soon.