Round 3: Here we go again!

 Good morning! A wee update…boy, did we sleep for the last couple of days! Lin is finally over the chaos of ‘are there ANY heavy duty pain meds that she’s not allergic to’ phase. We’re moving on to T3’s which are doing the job. And she’s been diligent about doing the prescribed exercises. No pneumonia is going to flourish in this house! Today, a shower and dressing change are on the agenda. Then, after a rest, a walk to the mailbox. It is sooooooo good to be home👏🏻

 And we’re home. Lin is on the couch watching y&r. We’ve had some questions about the relatively short hospital stay. We’re thinking it’s because of the different surgical procedure, laparoscopic. No huge incisions to heal. Plus, the surgery involved just her lung, not the whole abdominal cavity like previous PMP surgeries. The surgeon said the excised wedge was large but there is still lots of lower right lung remaining. And we’ll hear exactly what that beast was in a couple of weeks. For now, healing time and exercises!

 👣👣👣👣 And we’re going home TODAY!! Lots to do before we exit, tubes to pull, drugs to get, truck to find (hahaha, I know it’s in the KGH parking lot).

 Good morning. Lin has had her chest X-ray, now waiting for results. Still hoping to whisk her away from here! Our cheers about the dilaudid/Benadryl combo were for naught. Once the Benadryl wore off, the allergic symptoms reared up. She’s okay but it was a tough night. Whatever pain meds that they’ve given her are working. She’s snoozing right now.

End of Day 2 which can be harder than surgery day, but Lin is doing great. We are almost impressed with KGH. This morning, the hospital pharmacist came to chat with Lin. The pain meds were not doing their job and the pharmacist decided to try Lin on a drug that we thought she was allergic to, but add a Benadryl to the mix. And that worked…stronger pain meds means more walks and the Benadryl means no pesky itching. Right now, she’s comfortable and snoozing. We’re still unsure if tomorrow is release day, probably won’t know until tomorrow morning after the X-ray of her lung. But if it’s another day here, so be it! This is still the shortest hospital visit for Lin since we started this journey. I went for a walk this aft to Pandosy Village and wasn’t that a lovely surprise! We will definitely come back there to explore more.

See our new dog!! Hahaha, NO, this is Aslan, the b&b pooch!

 Just got a message from the miracle girl. Surgeon has visited this am, pleased with her progress, and suggested that Lin might be escaping TOMORROW! Not holding my breath and we’ll see how today goes, but what a relief to know escape could be close! And the imminent release means there could be a bit of fun for me today, learning about drain and wound care for home! Really wanted to show you this gorgeous, gentle, massive dog who lives at the b&b, but uploading the photo is beyond my ken this morning.

 Last one for today. The Nexium and Percocet worked! Just back from my final visit for today and Lin was looking and sounding much perkier than earlier. We got her favourite plaid flannel pjs on her and we had a wee walk to the bathroom. Her eyelids were slumping as I chattered on and she was almost snoozing when I left.🤩 An aside: I’ve seen some remarkably beautiful tattoos today on nurses. It’s always intriguing to hear the stories/meaning behind tats and I heard some heartfelt ones today. 

 And we’ve moved on to the next stage in Lin’s recovery, extreme nausea. Her stomach which is quite small and fragile, inevitably reacts to any surgery with fury. And that nausea must be controlled/lessened before the needed pain killers can be administered. Tonight, the goal is ➡️ after the Nexium, get some crackers down her gullet so the Percocet won’t cause more nausea! She’s got a complicated body!!!!

 And she’s in bed in front of me! A bit wonky, but awake, coherent!! And, unfortunately, sore. Hopefully she’ll drift off soon to slumber land.

 And she’s done and in recovery! The Doc said it went smoothly, wedged out the affected area, did not take any lymph nodes, deemed not close enough to aberration. But we won’t know the biopsy results for a few weeks. The surgeon did say they think it is related to Lin’s PMP history. I just googled PMP and lungs and, sure enough, it’s rare but can happen. And we all know Lin is a rare bird! More after I see the ‘perfect patient’ (yes, she’s been called that AGAIN).

 And she’s out of surgery and in recovery. Surgery went well; the offending anomaly was wedged out and it will be a couple of weeks before we get results from the biopsies. No lymph nodes taken, none close to the aberration. But get this: the docs are thinking it could be PMP which is surprising to me. Some common characteristics but…How did it get that deep in the lung? Was there any mucin? I’m thinking I need to do more investigating . But feeling very relieved that she’s done and I will see her soon.

 And she’s off to the OR. Dr. juggnaught (sp?) will call when they are done. Just checked out where I’m staying tonight, VERY close!

 Coil inserted. Wouldn’t let me watch, but showed me a video of the insertion. A little bit of nausea post insertion. I’m told that’s normal.

 In the preop room, tons of questions, bloodwork. And we found out surgery is scheduled for 12:30 with the coil insertion to be done at 9:00. Just letting you know this cause I probably won’t be posting much before later this afternoon. 

 And we have arrived at the hospital. Surprised at the number of people awaiting surgery! Easy drive into Kelowna, some stretches of the highway had that beet juice spray. Hmmm…what is expected, weatherwise? Quite nippy this am. Thanks for all your good wishes! Sure appreciate the support and kindness we are shown daily. We are fortunate old broads😘🤗👯‍♀️

 Tomorrow’s the day, 7am. I will keep you posted as I learn how things are going/went. I am very curious about this camera to be inserted into her body. I’m staying in Kelowna for at least 2 nights at a b&b very close to the hospital.  We talked/video chatted with Chris, Kiyo and 🤩June yesterday. She’s now calling us the ‘Ba-nanas’, hahahaha, she’s so smart🫶👯‍♀️

 A new part of the body to explore. Lungs are fascinating. Three years ago, one of Lin’s CT scans that ventured up to her chest area revealed an anomaly (hate that word) in her lower right lobe of her lung. Whatever they saw brought us to thoracic surgeons in Kelowna who promised to follow this anomaly and keep us posted on its progress. Nothing much occurred for a couple of years and then there was growth. And that is why we’ll be in Kelowna bright and early on Thursday morning to deal with this. Unlike Lin’s previous surgeries, it’s not one of those…open her up and see what’s in there. Instead, this is a laparoscopic surgery, meaning a camera (!) will be inserted into her body to help guide the surgeons to what must be excised. Of course, we’ve read everything available on this kind of surgery, but that doesn’t mean we completely understand or can answer questions about what’s going to occur. Please be patient as we negotiate this new anomaly in Lin’s body. I will be updating her...