Shane's surgery and post-op status

Hi, everybody.  This is Kaye subbing in for Shane.  Shane wanted me to update the blog and to tell everyone how he's doing.   Thanks for all the best wishes, prayers and good thoughts!  Shane & I are lucky to have such a great support network.  We could feel all of the positive energy directed at us!

On the morning of the surgery, he was calm and full of the equanimity that I should have been practising.  Shane even drove to the hospital in Hamilton.  He was still feeling the "Quan"  in the pre-op room (most aptly called the "Kiss and Cry") before he was wheeled out. 

Shane's surgery started at 8 am on Wednesday and lasted about 5 hours (from 8am to 1pm).  His surgeon came out to see me after the surgery. He was pleased with how the operation went and told me Shane was waiting in the recovery room.  I wasn't able to see Shane until he was moved into the Step Down Unit around 5 pm.  He was very groggy from the after effects of the general anaesthetic.  It was difficult to carry a conversation with him, because he kept on dozing off mid-sentence.  But, his condition was stable and he was able to start doing his deep breathing and coughing exercises and his foot and leg exercises (to prevent post surgical complications).  He was in a lot of pain despite having his epidural and a morphine "pain pump". 

I went to see Shane again the next day around 11:30 am. His bed is right next to the nurses' station.  I was glad about that, because, at my first glance of all the tubes and drains attached to him, I knew that he was going to require a lot of care and monitoring for the next 48 hours.  Shane was conscious and lucid.  He was able to talk to me, but tired very easily.  His condition was stable and his skin colour was pink and warm to the touch.  He looked very good post op, considering that it was 24 hours since his surgery.  Shane still felt a lot of pain, especially on his incision in his right side.  But he was able to tolerate the pain due to his epidural and use of his pain pump.  His nurse said that he won't have any increase of dosage for the pain meds.   Otherwise he'll become too disoriented to sit or stand and they want Shane to be as ambulatory as soon as possible.  He complained of difficulty in focusing his eyes and total disorientation re: the passing of time.  Sometimes he would feel that 5 mins felt like an half hour and vice versa.  These are probably side effects from all of the pain medication. He was able to sit in the chair for about 5 mins, while they changed his bedsheets.  Overall, I'm really happy about Shane's condition after the surgery.  My only concerns are post op infection and his kidneys.  But the nurses are pumping him full of IV antibiotics to prevent infection and IV fluids to encourage his urine output.  He has about 3 tubes draining secretions from various incisions on his body, so I'm not surprised about Shane requiring more fluid intake than usual.  He has all of the tubes that we talked about 2 blogs ago.  He has a 5-6 inch incision at the front of his abdomen.  He has another 4-5 inch incision on his upper right side.  He has another 2-3 inch incision on the left side of his neck.  Having all of those tubes and drains is kind of messy, so if you're squeamish about body secretions and fluids, it might be better to visit later. 

Shane wants me to tell everybody that he feels positive about the outcome of the surgery.   I'm just so happy to see him alive and kicking around still.

The Step Down Unit is very strict about visitors and visiting hours.  I almost got kicked out, even though I'm his wife! And they don't allow children under 12, so our kids won't be able to see Shane right now.  So apart from Shane's family, please refrain from visiting Shane until he's transferred out of Step Down and into the Chest unit.  Both units are at St. Joseph Health Care Centre, Juravinski Tower, 4th floor.  Visiting hours are from 2pm - 8pm and restricted to 1 visitor at a time (Step Down Unit);  2 visitors at a time (Chest Unit).

Again, thanks to everyone for being so supportive and helping out with child care.  Esp. thanks to Charlene for her generosity in letting me stay at her home - so I could be near Shane during his hospitalization.