Last night and today have been horrible. The chest drain moved and caused a lot of pain, breathing difficulties , discharge and sleepless nights for both of us. Today his chest was gurglng with escaping air and no one around to do anything about it as the surgeon was away and the duty doctor was not a chest specialist. However he was told this was not life threatening and to keep calm. He managed a shower but it exhausted him. Continue reading »
The tube feeds, the normal food and supplement drinks are all working and Malcolm has gained weight not lost it. Amazing.
He is still having antibiotics, pain killers and nebulisers and the chest drain is still in but he is more mobile. His legs are swollen from the heat and he needs to walk more and elevate them but on the whole he is continuing to get better. If the chest drain was out he would be able to walk more and that is better for his legs and getting his digestive system working properly. The surgeon is still pleased with his progress so we wait.
I watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony this morning and was glad I had the fast fowrard button handy. It got a lot of use.
Here’s hoping for more positive news tomorrow.
At last Malcolm was able to eat real food today. 2 little soups and 2 little shepherds pies with 2 trifles for his night feast when he wakes up early. Hurray!
Several freinds called in today which pleased Malcolm no end. It was good to see them. Continue reading »
Malcom has been up and dressed all day today adn looks really good. Catheter now out and one drain to go. Not on food yet as still some blood in the drain but he is so much better and lucid. Still on nebulisers and painkillers and antibiotics for at least a week. He will have a food tube in for at least 2 months to ensure he can eat well enough not to need suppliments once home. He is walking well and astonishing the nurses with his progress and positive attitude. He has started giving me orders now so he must be feeling better. Continue reading »
That is what Malcolm said this morning to me on the phone. He was moved from HDU to a normal ward 11 as he was no longer needing morphine. They also took out the anaesethic block over the wound in his side. Then the pain started and got worse and worse all night. He was in agony and could not move. That was when he ran out of courage. His nurse got the junior doctor who contacted his boss who contacted her boss. An X ray was taken and revealed his right lung had a deep internal infection. This was not to do with the op. He is back on painkillers and antibiotics and a nebuliser. They worked fast and he was able this afternoon to walk round the ward and has sat out most of the day in a chair. He looked ungainly and unsteady on his crutches as he had an entourage of drips., stands and bags to take with him. He wanted to walk more but the physio stopped him. He is much brighter now and ready for more visitors. Continue reading »
After one night on High Dependency Malcolm was deemed fit enough to go to general surgery ward 11 where he will stay until discharged. He will start food tomorrow as the drain is now out with no leakages. He had a migraine as a result but is fne now and able to make sense ( Well as much sense as usual)
I am keeping this memo short as I am tired still and need my beauty sleep. ( Don’t say anything)
More tomorrow.
More drains out today and then water BY MOUTH. He could have H2O every hour as his tipple and made sure every hour he did. No leakages from the join so he was transferred to HDU tonight whilst No.1 son and family were there. He could be on semi solids by weekend if all goes well. He is still being fed for 20 hours a day in his ilium so is getting nourishment all the time.
We had a lovely surprise too. 2 dear friends from Brazil were in Manchester for the day and called to see Malcolm for half an hour whilst I got a coffee. He was so pleased. Continue reading »
This morning the physio came round to get Malclom’s legs working. The next thing the nurse had to do was gather up all his tubes and instruments of torture and follow him quickly down the ward as he walked to the nurses station. Every one was amazed and they had to tell him to slow down so the nurses could keep up with him. He got back to his chair and washed his hand and face. Continue reading »
Malcolm was allowed out of bed for an hour this morning but stayed up in a chair for 4 hours which greatly impressed the staff. As you can tell he is doing well. They are gradually starting top unplug him from drains as well so by Tuesday he should be able to walk around more. His personal nurse said that his sats were the best she had seen in ICU and he was recovering fast but ofcause still in a lot of pain. So the nurse and I together told him not to be macho and stubborn but actually use the pain shoot as being pain free was a good idea. Continue reading »
The operation is over and Malcolm appears to have reacted well. I saw him tonight and he was chatty if drained with a lot of drains in him. The nurses will get him up tomorrow and he starts physio as well to get him healing. The surgeon rang me 5.0 tonight to say all had gone according to plan. The tumour was huge and until they get histiology results they are not sure if they got it all but so far so good. The nurses on intensive care will start feeding him tomorrow through a tube in his Ilium ( small intestine) until the stretched stomach and gullet have healed. Continue reading »