Hello everyone. I'm happy to report that I have returned home from 42 days spent in the hospital. I spent the first 11 days at St. John Hospital here in
Vanderhoof after Milton rushed me in to emergency on June 25. At that time I was having more and more trouble keeping the tube food down and finally on the Friday AM Martha phoned Dolores who was working and told her how worried she was about my current situation. Dolores promptly told her to have Milton drive me in.
Over the course of the next ii days I was sent by ambulance to Prince George for various tests including a CT Scan, Ultra Sound and one other test which I cannot remember. On Monday July 5th I was admitted to Prince George Regional Hospital (or as it is now called University Hospital Of Northern B.C., UHNBC) and was there until I was transferred back to Vanderhoof on July 27th.
Both CT Scans showed I have developed another Tracheoesophageal Fistula as well as a Plumonary embolism to the left lower lobe. The Ultra sound was of my legs to see if this was where the embolism originated.
On July 9th I had an upper endoscopy of the esophagus and the upper endoscopy was used to extend the the PEG tube into a J-tube. This procedure seemed to provide some temporary relief to the nausea and vomiting but, it did not resolve those issues. On July 17th there was an attempt to transfer me back to Vanderhoof but, Dolores put her foot down and refused the transfer as my symptoms were progressively getting worse. On July 23rd the PEG Tube was replaced with an actual jejunostomy ( a J-tube). After insertion of the J-tube, I developed Serratia Marcescens and was treated with anti-biotics. So far this procedure has worked better than anything before although I still suffer from bouts of nausea and infrequent vomiting.
In the meantime on July 15th I underwent a colonoscopy that revealed a polyp on the anorectal junction. Biopsies of the large colon were taken and the results are still pending. Because of the Pulmonary embolism I am on Warafin a blood thinner) for the next 6 months and after that has been resolved we will have to deal with the polyp.
On Monday the 26th of July I was transferred back to St. John Hospital where I was n recovery until my discharge last Friday July 6th. I'm really happy to be home. While the hospitals are good places for short periods of time 42 days was a real long stay. I am holding my weight at 148 to 149 lbs. but so far since I have been home there has been no weight gain. This has Dolores concerned and we are working to add calories and fluids to the 5 tins of tube feed I take each day. Starting while I was in my last stay at St. John Hospital I have been taking multiple cans of tube feed while I am sleeping at night. We are currently at 3 cans which run from circa 11:00 PM to 8:00 AM. For the most part this has worked out well and I take to tins during the day. We have slowed down the rate of consumption from 160 mls per hour to 75 mls per hour during the night and 90 mls per hour during the day. I am taking a new tube feed which provides 2 calories for every ml. With 5 tins per day I should gain weight.
Well, there you have it. I am beginning to feel better ad am trying to regain some of the strength that I lost during the last stay in the hospitals. It will be a long battle but one I am up for. Dolores is like the Rock of Gibraltar behind me and we are both confident of getting me back into the shape I need to be in to under go the rigors of the Hyperbarrick Chamber at the Cancer Clinic in Vancouver.
So for now, so long and I will keep you all up to date with further postings, especially as my health improves.
Love and hugs to everyone,
Rick
