[USAFwife]

Well yesterday was the type of day that spent its better part in a blender. Alot of confusion, frustration and " are you seriously that stupid?" moments. Shar was supposed to simply go in for a GI series to see if the fistula had actually burst during the procedure on the 3rd. Well for the somewhat good news first; the diverticuli looks the same as pre-op. There are no signs of it bursting, so we are left to assume that the tissue was just thin and so pourus that the air was able to bleed through the tissue into her abdomen. She continues to have alot of pain and discomfort but it eases each day; just very slowly. To recount all the ignorance of the day would be both tedious and pointless at this point. The highlights were that her Dr's head nurse (wife) ordered a lab series along with the GI series. Not a big deal, except for the ignorant cow didn't get the labs pre-authorized so we were held up in registration for a half hour waiting for the hospital to do someone elses job. So then we pass that insanity and wait over an hour in lab for the them to find a RN to draw blood from Shar's hicman catheter. It got to the point where i had the # 6 (Head nurese slash hosp administrator) paged and she could offer no better reason for the wait than that with vacations and work load, every department was busy. I basically called her a lying, patronizing, non-empathetic .... um... lets say person.... she kindly thanked us for our patronage and wisely left the room. We encountered stupidity at every stop, EXCEPT the X-Ray department. For a change the receptionist was warm and kind. Had a bit of a wait for the Dr to get out of surgery, but we took the good with the bad. Shar goes back tomorrow for a CT Scan to see if there is any fluid in the abdomen which could be causing the pain and discomfort. It is unknown at this time, when and if we will sit down and lay out a rough game plan. I suspect he may want to leave her alone for a few weeks to see if things resolve themselves, this is a path we have gone down before, so i intend to convey to him tomorrow that the path needs to be short and decisive. But he did let her go back to clear liguids so that was a good step.

Love ya

Bye bye.

[hubs]

Oh my goodness. I can just hear the frustration dripping off your words. Shar is so lucky to have you along with her. I've ALWAYS believed that anyone who goes into any medical situation needs to have a good strong advocate with them. That is clearly a role you are well filling. I absolutely support your position that this needs to be a very decisive period with clear limits and boundaries. All founded in respect for what Shar's human tolerance is.

Please remind her once again that all of us check in here every single day looking for updates. I personally start and finish each day checking here. She's in our hearts and on our minds and will stay there till she's through this. Thank goodness for your willingness to bring this to us and for just being the good man you are.

[Leenie]

Wholey crud, thats just aweful. I just can't imagine how much more the both of you can go through *shaking head*

Thank you so much for the update and tell Shar she continues to be in my prayers.... as well as you sweetie Your a great person and Shar is luck to have you.

Leenie

[jiffypop]

ay yi yi! what head-banging frustration!!!! that hospital had better straighten up! and frankly, i'm amazed that the nurse was able to order ANY tests whatsoever!

hang in there, you two. we're praying for you

[sportmom]

I was just watching a procedure where the last step before suturing was to pour water into the new pouch to test it and all the new connections for leaks. I thought to myself, if this is standard, why didn't they do this with Shar? It would have caught so much before it got bad... Does anyone know if they did this with her? Or can leaks develop after surgery that aren't apparent at the time? Just so frustrating!

[Chickadee]

Keep hanging in there. I can't believe what you two are going through. Stay strong!

Chickadee