Upright and Somewhat Mobile
You know how I am. The first thing I wanted to do was get online and fix the oversized pictures Mark had posted on his blog entries.
So, here I am. I’m still on oxygen, but at least I don’t have the dreaded nasogastric tube this time.
My blood pressure has been REALLY low (last night it was 78 over 40-something) so they’ve reduced my “baseline” pain killing drugs. Bummer.
I’m having significantly more pain with this surgery than I have with previous ones. So… that sucks.
Also, for whatever reason, my body refuses to produce pee — so they’re pumping me full of IV fluids like crazy to try to “shock” my kidneys into doing their job.
Posted by RebeccaHartong on July 20, 2011 under Health
WTF! They didn’t think to check the damn equipment to be sure it was working properly before laying her open like a fish fillet?!
The filleting part of the procedure was still very productive. It was just one of those freak things — I’m not sure how the machine wasn’t working (if there would have been a way to check it in advance). I’ll get the HIPEC part of the procedure in maybe 4 to 6 months.
I’m with you, Jodie. I am not at ALL happy about the “gosh, the equipment isn’t working.” At best it is unprofessional At worst it is malpractice. Hey Becky, make sure you mention that your sister is a very protective, very unhappy LAWYER.
Very frustrating that you couldn’t get it all done at once. There should have been a check of the machine function prior to surgery, or a back-up machine available. It’s just a circulating pump with a heating element, and it really shouldn’t be difficult to run some perfusate through and check the function. Not rocket science and an important part of the protocol, so being annoyed is justifiable. (In fact, it may help raise your BP ):
Also sorry to hear about the shorting of pain meds. It is important to get the BP up so you will pee; when the kidneys are not perfused well the pee stops. The BP drop is a pretty natural reaction to shock (or the Spanish Inquisition.) Hang in there; we are all thinking about you.