Surf is UP !!!! @@

Hi to all 💖 !!!
SO SORRY for being MIA - one would not believe it, but Silicon Valley top hospital had trouble with Wi-Fi connection, or at least I had trouble making a connection yesterday :/ and the day before I hardly had connection with "this realm" due to events that ensued.
Surgery was postponed for about 1:30 hours (did not start at noon) and than lasted "forever" :(. I was getting text notifications and he was "in recovery" room at 5:30 but I could not go to him until he was in regular room and that happened at 7:30 pm ...
When we came to him he was VERY groggy and managed to awake somewhat around 11 pm but than insisted of getting up (*sigh ) and when he stood up he got rally dizzy since his BP fell to like 73 over 59 ( was 90 over 65 before he got up). He was promptly put back to bed and I was than having all kind of "thoughts " in my overactive brain (from internal bleeding possibility to his nervous system malfunction due to such long anesthesia period) - ANYHOW - at the end it turned out that he lost quite amount of blood during surgery, but of course, nobody volunteered that info : /. (??) His RBC fell from 4,600 to 3,400 and hematocrit also.
Visitation hours were over by 10 PM but nurses let us stay since we were tending to him and they could take care of other patients. Since he was sound asleep after midnight we went to a hotel room. I, of course, could not sleep and was staring at the ceiling while listening to crazy sounds of "night life" in the center of a major city, with police and ambulances passing every 30 min and gangsta 100 decibel music crawling slowly and purposefully down the street every 20 min with room windows vibrating dangerously close to braking. Around 3:30 am I heard tiny chime sound emitting from my phone and I jumped to see what is going on, fearing that there is an emergency of some kind but it was my dear groggy hubby proudly announcing that he passed the gas and was congratulated by nurses LMAO and that he took a walk down to nurse's station and is now safely back in bed and will have a "nap". I finally relaxed and fell in deep slumber for about 3 hours when garbage trucks awoke me with clanking and banging down the street, but it was time to get up anyway and run to the hospital again to make sure poor dear creature eats something 🥰.

Morning situation : BP still little bit low, about 95/70, shoulder was hurting BAD but no other pain at all. He said "zero pain"(according to him) around belly incisions and everything else felt fine. After breakfast we helped him get up (help was consisting of helping to tie his gown in the back and putting a robe on and making sure he does not get dizzy ) and he took a decent walk down corridors. That repeated after a lunch with much longer walk and visiting open terrace in hospital where he enjoyed fresh OCEAN breeze ; ) and that was the best therapy that he could have - I saw sparkle in his eyes and his whole body relaxed in an instant. BUT, shoulder pain was really bad still : ((. Gas in his belly was pushing his lungs up and he could not take very deep breaths so his oxygen was not optimal : (, and since his RBC was low and hemoglobin also low he was little bit shaky still, would not admit it, of course. Around 4 pm it was decided that he is OK to go home. We got bunch of "goodies" from nurses to bring home (5 extra bags, disposable hygiene wipes, extra bag-trays, bed pads, butt cushion, etc etc), so I do not know if they were so generous because my DD and me were so helpful lol or they were just happy to get rid of us and my super vigilance ( I would not blame them !) 😜 ? lol
We came home around 7 pm, he had a dinner and tea and dozed off in his favorite armchair watching nature documentaries.
This morning - BP normal, 123/ 72, oxygen 94, shoulder pain gone completely. He had oatmeal for breakfast, lots of herbal tea and is at the moment napping listening to jazz music : )))). His shoulder pain was literary gone by morning so he is not taking Tylenol and Ibuprofen any more. In the hospital he was given one Oxy before the trip home so he would be more comfortable in the car for 2 hours during rush hour.
Me- I am not going to talk about "my state of being" 😂 - you know what - "per aspera ad astra" , so be it ; ))) !!! I am happy at the moment and moment is a loooonnnnggg thing , depending of how you perceive it.
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THANK YOU ALL for supporting and for all your good vibes, prayers, comforting words and caring 🤗 !!! 💖 HUGSSSSSSSSS !!!!

Anybody who plans to have a surgery please ask whatever you wish to know about it in more detail !!! I am sure I forgot to mention many details that might interest you.

Thanks all for stopping by this afternoon : ))) and for continued support ! 💖 You guys make my day : ))) ! I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying those last weeks of summer :). I am very tiered but am slowly recovering from all the excitement and worry.

Here is a short update for future patients, others please just skip reading boring stuff 😉 LOL :

Afternoon was spent resting, napping, watching some movies. There is no pain, just some soreness in pelvic floor area he says "like when you have very long bike ride". Belly muscles do not hurt at all, he can move normally, sit up, lay down, get up etc with no pain. The only time he felt some "poky pain" was when I made him laugh hard, I guess a different set of muscle strands activate for that belly movement.
He did not have any bowel movement since surgery and although it is just the second day he was panicking a little and asked for Miralax. I know that Miralax is considered a "mild laxative" BUT since we are very regular and go several times a day it is a strong laxative for people like us. I decided to give him just half of a dose and boy was I right *sigh. Poor darling went to bathroom 3 times in a span of an hour but now one more milestone is reached - yeay ; ). BP is OK , little bit "lowish", but he had that diarrhea thing happen and probably lost a lot of electrolytes. I will go in the morning to buy him some Pedialite or something similar.
He does not have any bladder spasms (thanks God, they must be really painful ), and is a trooper with catheter, takes care of the bag and all with no problems. He is keeping big bag all day, it is more convenient for now.
All in all, he is doing really well (knock the wood) and I guess every following day will be even better : ))). Cheers to that !

Thanks all for stopping by this afternoon : ))) and for continued support ! 💖 You guys make my day : ))) ! I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying those last weeks of summer :). I am very tiered but am slowly recovering from all the excitement and worry.

Here is a short update for future patients, others please just skip reading boring stuff 😉 LOL :

Afternoon was spent resting, napping, watching some movies. There is no pain, just some soreness in pelvic floor area he says "like when you have very long bike ride". Belly muscles do not hurt at all, he can move normally, sit up, lay down, get up etc with no pain. The only time he felt some "poky pain" was when I made him laugh hard, I guess a different set of muscle strands activate for that belly movement.
He did not have any bowel movement since surgery and although it is just the second day he was panicking a little and asked for Miralax. I know that Miralax is considered a "mild laxative" BUT since we are very regular and go several times a day it is a strong laxative for people like us. I decided to give him just half of a dose and boy was I right *sigh. Poor darling went to bathroom 3 times in a span of an hour but now one more milestone is reached - yeay ; ). BP is OK , little bit "lowish", but he had that diarrhea thing happen and probably lost a lot of electrolytes. I will go in the morning to buy him some Pedialite or something similar.
He does not have any bladder spasms (thanks God, they must be really painful ), and is a trooper with catheter, takes care of the bag and all with no problems. He is keeping big bag all day, it is more convenient for now.
All in all, he is doing really well (knock the wood) and I guess every following day will be even better : ))). Cheers to that !

The whole thing about passing wind after surgery and having the first bowel movement makes for great jokes (which I willingly participate in), but it's actually critical, so good on him!

When your intestines don't wake up again from the anaesthesia after surgery, it's called an "ileus", and it's very nasty. Mine lasted two weeks, and I ended up with a suction tube through my nose down into my stomach and IV feeding. It was another 6 weeks or so after that before I could hold down much food even once my intestines did start working again (reaching the bare 800 cal/day minimum to avoid starvation was a real struggle).

So, folks, that post-surgical wind passing and bowel movement are the most important of your life, and well worthy of celebration!

The whole thing about passing wind after surgery and having the first bowel movement makes for great jokes (which I willingly participate in), but it's actually critical, so good on him!

When your intestines don't wake up again from the anaesthesia after surgery, it's called an "ileus", and it's very nasty. Mine lasted two weeks, and I ended up with a suction tube through my nose down into my stomach and IV feeding. It was another 6 weeks or so after that before I could hold down much food even once my intestines did start working again (reaching the bare 800 cal/day minimum to avoid starvation was a real struggle).

So, folks, that post-surgical wind passing and bowel movement are the most important of your life, and well worthy of celebration!

He's doing great.
I kept the big bag on, too, and didn't bother with the leg bag. I didn't go outside much anyway - except to sit on the porch for some sun.
Surprised that he had to use Miralax.
Usually there's some kind of laxative in the Bag 'O Drugs that you walk out of hospital with.
Must be different up there.

Lots of rest, a bit of walking & lots of Gatorade or similar.
He'll be fine. He's got a great nurse.

I love your detailed reporting of the day of and day after.
Now comes recovery which can really take some time ( with lots of variance)

great news so far!!

thinking of you two,

Ed