Day 5: LONG Day

I WILL POST INFORMATION ON VISITING AND PHONE CALLS LATER TODAY (Wednesday). Highlights of Tuesday: Insomnia, Doctors, Slow Walking, More Doctors, Solid Food, Flocks of Docs, X-Rays, MRI, and a Turkey Sandwich.

Today was a 15 hour active day for me. Jean's day was longer.

She didn't sleep well the previous night. The docs are giving her Decadron, a steroid which reduces inflammation of the nerves. Unfortunately, it also wires you like a monkey on espresso. Jean took Decadron to minimize th side effects of Erbitux, so she knows it well.

She tried to catch a nap today, but every 30 minutes a doctor would show up. Surgeons and residents from Dr. Hanto's team, anesthesiologists, orthopedists, neurologists. Mostly they checked on her leg. Most repeated the same tests and asked the same questions. "So, you can't move your right leg?"

Because she was so busy, she only walked a little today, not as much as we'd like. Obviously, Jean's been through abdominal surgeries before. She knows the quickest way to heal, feel better, and get out of the hospital is to get up and walk up and down the halls. The bum leg is truly a handicap in that sense. Even for the simplest trips, like crossing the room, she needs to call 2 nurses to help lift her legs, maneuver out of bed, clamber into the walker with her IV pole and catheter, and slowly cross ten feet of space in three minutes, one nurse spotting her and the other pushing her IV pole.

They took her down for x-rays, which lasted an hour, and a second MRI, which lasted three hours. The x-rays showed there were no broken bones or damaged muscles in her knee and upper leg. The second MRI was of her lower back, to determine if there were any signs of internal bleeding, spinal hematomas, or other crippling problems. The results were clean: no damage to the spine.

Which doesn't explain the leg. According to the neurologists and Dr. Hanto, the most likely explanation is that a retractor may have compressed a major set of nerves controlling muscles and senstivity in her quadruceps. If this is what's wrong - and there's no guarantee - then there's a possibility the nerves will regenerate. How long will it take? What will we need to do? We'll work with the doctors to figure it out. She's made great progress on healing from the surgery - kidney and bowel are starting up and sound good. It's the weakened right leg that's frustrated all of us.

When Jean got back from the MRI, it was 8:00 PM. The kitchen had closed - no hot dinner! Also, we had missed her cousin Noreen, who had kindly stopped by for a visit. Sorry Noreen! For any potential visitors: I recommend calling first, not for permission as much as to make sure Jean hasn't been shuttled off for another scan!

Finally at 9:00 PM the on-call resident and nurse took pity on her. They got her a cold turkey sandwich, gave her some sleeping aids, and agreed to give her a "do not disturb" order for most of the night. It was kindness after a long day. Everyone of us could use a good night's sleep.

Thanks for staying with us!

Posted by gasbarro at March 21, 2006 11:54 PM