I am not going to lie and say that I was 100% comfortable with everything when I left the hospital. I don't think that I ever would have been, no matter how long I stayed. At some point though, you have to leave the proverbial nest and survive on your own. It is a big change to go from having a nurse available 24/7 to attend to any problem you may have with a pharmacy of medications at their disposal to taking care of yourself with limited support. With this in mind, I settled into my Middleton hotel room which would serve as home for the next few days. My biggest concern by far was the fact that I hadn't made it 24 hours in the hospital without having to put a new appliance (ostomy bag) on. I held out little hope that anything would be different once I left.
The next few days passed with little excitement. My appliance never leaked (thank goodness) and I had a couple of visits from Home Health Care nurses. The first nurse weighed me, which hadn't been done since before I checked into the hospital. Apparently I had lost about 13 pounds over my hospital stay. It may have been more because I hadn't weighed myself after my gorging episodes several days before the surgery, but I guess that this question is lost to history. The second nurse and I changed my appliance, which I am becoming uncomfortably comfortable with. When the day arrives that the sight of my intestines sticking out of my abdomen doesn't phase me, it will truly be a disturbing day. Other than that, not too much else happened. I busied myself with various daytime television programs, but one can only watch so much syndicated programming, and I am afraid that I simply cannot stomach much of what network television has to offer before 3:00 PM.
On Wednesday, I begrudgingly headed up to the Twin Cities. Although I firmly held to the idea that I could take care of myself in La Crosse, the overwhelming tide of conflicting views that came from everyone I knew eventually wore me down. So for at least the next week or so, I will be staying in The Cities and then going to my follow-up appointment in Madison on June 19th. After that, I plan on staying on my own in La Crosse. One can convalesce for only so long. Until then, I will continue to recuperate (and improve) and hopefully receive some visits from those few individuals who could not make the trek to Madison.
About Me
- Rich
- I'm just your typical Mid-western teacher who was forced to flee his homeland in search of employment. Was this a good decision? Where will I end up? What will happen along the way? These are the questions I hope to repeatedly ask and sometimes hint at an answer to.
1 comment:
Hey Rich,
Wow.
Hell of an education.
Your candor and sense of humor have undoubtably made this ordeal a little easier for both you and your loved ones. (Or perhaps not). But your comments, from a journalist's perspective, are raw and relevant to a world in which your experience might not be unique.
I often hated blogs as self-indulgent and pretentious, but they seem relevant in this situation.
Keep reporting.
Best of luck and pound on the floor if you need anything.
Keith
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