I was able to keep down some saltine crackers at midnight Thursday night, but yesterday morning (before breakfast was served) I threw up a few more times. At least this time I had a bucket to use so it wasn't an ordeal to clean me up like it was on Thursday evening. A little later I asked the nurse for some toast as I felt that part of my problem was that I hadn't really eaten anything (aside from saltine crackers) in over 24 hours. The toast seemed to help a bit. They were going to bring me a tray of clear liquids, but I asked for "my" tray and figured I'd pick at it over time. There is little variation in the menus from week to week. They have a seven day rotation for lunch and dinner, and there are more subtle changes in the choices for breakfast each day. I had selected a breakfast sandwich as my entree yesterday. It was rather tasty, and it was perfect timing as I don't think my stomach could have handled any syrup. Most mornings I pick either one slice of french toast or one Belgian waffle. I hope that breakfast sandwich shows up on the menu again sometime in the next couple of weeks. I still felt rather queasy so I asked for some anti-nausea meds. I had asked for these in the OR, but I am guessing I wasn't given any then. I got the approval to have a shot in my iv every 6 hours. I turned down the dose at 6am this morning as it truly didn't seem necessary any more. I felt like a new woman after that first dose yesterday morning.
I got barely any sleep on Thursday night due to feeling itchy, nauseous, and having a horrible case of heartburn. Thankfully I slept much better last night. I was really needing a decent night's sleep. I got more sleep last night than the previous two nights combined. I couldn't blame my lack of sleep on Thursday night on Oliver. Usually he moves all around at night, which means that the nurse has to constantly relocate the fetal monitor on my belly. Wouldn't you know that she never had to adjust the monitor even one time all night long! Normally the interruptions during the night are much more frequent on the 8th floor than the 9th floor, but I have to say that they have been very minimal the last two nights here on the 8th floor.
Aside from the nausea and a sore back (from my 4th lumbar puncture in 16 days), the other side effect I was experiencing from the surgery was dehydration. The vomiting probably also was a factor in this problem. I have been on an iv since 4am on Thursday morning, and normally when I am on an iv I have to go to the bathroom every 1-2 hours. This was not happening this time. My input was far exceeding my output, and without getting into the gory details, let's just say I'd never seen urine that color before. They tried increasing the amount of fluid I was getting by iv. It was coming at such a fast pace that my arm hurt. That didn't do the trick either. Finally during the night last night things got back to normal. Now I'm going to the bathroom about every 15 minutes to make up for lost time I guess. I'm definitely not dehydrated any more! I asked a couple of times if I could be unhooked from my iv, and they did agree to that earlier this morning. In addition to not wanting to go to the bathroom quite that often, it will also be easier to snuggle with the kids today if I'm not receiving iv fluids while they're here.
When the doctors did their rounds yesterday afternoon, I asked if I could shower (not yet) and go back upstairs (not yet). At that time I had gone about 15 hours without bleeding. Wouldn't you know that soon after the doctors left my room I started bleeding again? It wasn't another bad episode, but I did bleed a little for about 5 hours. I had assumed they'd let me move upstairs today, but now I'm not sure if that will happen or not. We shall see.
Yesterday morning I had an ultrasound, and Oliver was still doing really well in terms of the anemia. His number was much lower yesterday than it was the first day after the first transfusion. Hopefully we can go at least three weeks before I have to enter that OR again. I'm going to ask that we avoid the anesthesia through the iv next time since it made me so sick to my stomach. The spinal was very effective. I don't think anything else is really necessary. Yesterday when she was doing the 4D portion of the ultrasound he was sticking his tongue in and out. It was so cute! She printed a couple of pictures for me and then printed a picture for Dr. Martinez. Then she saved a 17 second video on the computer as she said Drs. Tressler and Martinez would get a kick out of watching Oliver stick his little tongue out. I'd share the picture with you, but I don't have access to a scanner or camera.
Paul and the kids spent about 2.5 hours with me yesterday. It's always so bittersweet. I give them as many hugs and kisses as I can, but then I feel so very sad when they leave. I had done well with previous visits in not crying while they were here, but yesterday I cried as they were leaving. Never in a million years did I anticipate a circumstance that would keep me away from my sweet little children. I only worked full-time one semester over the past four years because being at home with my kids was more important to me than making more money. I am being separated from them a lot more now than I would have been if I had been working full-time. I have to constantly remind myself why I am here. I am here for Oliver Elliot. He is definitely worth it. Most people who are in the hospital for weeks on end aren't here for happy reasons. They're here because they have cancer or something like that. Even though I'm here for a happy reason, it's still hard to be in the hospital for days and weeks on end, especially when I'm so far away from my family. I am not sure why they are able to do so, but two of the husbands are almost always with their wives up on the antepartum unit. Both of them are expecting their first baby, and both of them have been here since the end of May and will be here until they deliver. They're both due in September. One is a lawyer, and she's been married for 10 years. She's expecting a girl. She's been able to keep working from the hospital. Her law firm set her up with a printer, scanner, etc. in her hospital room. I am not saying what she's going through is easy, but I do know it would be easier for me if my husband was with me most of the time and it was my first pregnancy. I just have to keep taking it one day at a time, or I will spend most of the day crying. Paul needs to keep working so he can graduate in December. If I want to become a SAHM, he needs a job, and for him to get the job he wants, he needs to finish his PhD. Some day this extended hospitalization will fade from my memory, and in the long run it's much better for me to spend many weeks in a hospital bed than for Oliver to spend many weeks in the NICU.
I'm extremely grateful to my in-laws. I don't know what we would have done without them. On Thursday they took the kids and Shawn to the Ben Franklin science museum in Philadelphia. I'm sure the kids had a wonderful time. They're still at the age where it's hard to get much out of them. I never saw my grandparents very often when I was growing up as they lived far away from us. I am thrilled that Ian and Nadia are able to have such a close relationship with Paul's parents. Ian and Nadia are going to spend the last week of July with my family as that's when the big family reunion is taking place. Everyone (except for Paul and I) will be there, and it will likely be at least two years until we have such an opportunity again because Yvonne (and her 5 kids and hubby) only plan to return to the US from Turkey every 2 years, and Maurice probably won't be able to come up from Brazil for two years either. I really wish I could be there as well, but I'm glad at least Ian and Nadia will have a chance to play with 8 of their cousins as well as interact with their aunts, uncles, and my parents.
Yesterday I finally was given another week's worth of menus. I had been asking for them since Wednesday. The stack I was given started on Monday. I told the hostess that I hadn't filled out a menu for this Saturday or Sunday. She said they'd just use the ones in the stack that were dated for next Saturday and Sunday. I told my nurse that I fully expected to receive the "house" diet tomorrow as I know from experience the correct date must be on the menu. Unfortunately I was right, and the hostess was wrong. I received the house diet for breakfast (which always includes bacon and orange juice - neither of which I ever eat or drink and it never includes things like a muffin or fresh fruit, which I always request). At least it came with a slice of french toast this morning. That is something I'd order. I asked her to try to correct the situation for lunch and dinner today. I'm thinking of asking again for a menu for tomorrow. I have no idea why she didn't just give me two more menus yesterday. The solution seemed so simple to me. I had been craving a milkshake for more than a week, and Paul was going to stop and get me one yesterday. In light of my tummy troubles yesterday, I told him to skip it as the last thing I wanted yesterday was ice cream. I've also come to the conclusion that although the pizza on Friday is very tasty (not hospital food), the heartburn I get from eating it is just not worth it. It pains me to think I'm going to pick hospital food over food from a restaurant, but a few minutes of enjoying a tasty food isn't worth hours of awful heartburn (even Prevacid hasn't been enough). After I give birth to Oliver I can't wait to have a nice big hot fudge brownie sundae. I am in chocolate withdrawal!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment