A Rough Time

 I stayed in the hospital 2 nights after my Wednesday afternoon surgery. I was expecting the first night because of the drain in my back. However, I had nausea (mainly dry heaves) which would not stop. When I was in the hospital room that evening, the nurse gave me benadryl to stop the nausea. She said this is the only hospital she knows that uses the drug that way, and she has no idea why it works. She has been nursing for 30 years. The benadryl made me fall asleep, and when I woke in 1 1/2 hours the nausea was gone. 

There were some surprises. My Thursday morning bloodwork showed high blood sugar; they ended up giving me some insulin. I have never been told I am hyperglycemic before this. Friday the level was sort of high, but not enough for more insulin. I could pee but only in dribbles. Too much urine retention and too much blood drainage to be released so a second night (Thursday) in the hospital. 

Friday morning the surgeon's nurse practitioner told me she thought I would be staying a third night (Friday). The hospital case worker came to my room and said my status had been changed from observation to in-patient. I had to read my patient's rights as in-patient and sign a form.

 I was given several meds to increase urine output. Finally, the surgeon's office and the Orthopedic Hospital hospitalist (doctor) came to an agreement that I would leave Friday but with a catheter. 

I will wear the catheter until June 15th when I see a urologist who will use a sonogram to measure what is in the bladder, and if an acceptable amount the catheter will be removed. The urologist is in Fort Wayne near Parkview Randalia hospital. This is close to downtown. We have never used any facilities there. He comes to Warsaw sometimes, but he had no openings in Warsaw that would fit my need. That means another drive to Fort Wayne in about a week. Fortunately, my follow-up with the ortho surgeon is in Warsaw on the 27th. 

When we arrived home about 5:30 p.m. Friday, I took some things into my bedroom. When I came back to the living room, I saw the beautiful bouquet pictured at the top of this post. My husband had ordered it for our anniversary. When the discharge schedule got rearranged, he called the florist to ask that they leave it with our next-door neighbor. When the neighbor saw us arrive home, he carried it to our front door. It smells really nice, too. The butterfly is from another neighbor who enjoys gifting people with cards.

I feel very tired which is to be expected. My poor husband is also exhausted from the back and forth and the stress. It has been a nice quiet Saturday snoozing, reading newspapers and books. Tomorrow we will get take-out from Grace Village or Ruby Tuesday for our anniversary dinner. We are living the "for better or for worse" of our wedding vows. It will take me about 6 weeks to feel normal, just in  time for a family reunion here in Winona Lake. Our nieces and nephews are in charge of the event.