Surgery was 6/11, 5 weeks ago and recovery is very slow. After my surgeries in 2002, 2008, I was back to 100% 6 weeks after surgery and playing hockey. The 2012 surgeries had 10 week recoveries and, after the second 2012 surgery, I went on a big ski trip, again running at 100% with no obvious problems.
This one is not like the others. We are 6 weeks post surgery and I have successfully made a half mile walk but it was at my limit. I still take (often twice) daily naps due to fatigue of recovery and think I have finally gotten through the water retention and associated swelling.
My weight currently is now about 143 which is 20 pounds less than I was 6 months ago. I am eating as much as I can but my stomach has shrunk and volume is difficult so I am having to eat lots of small meals, kind of continual eating. Regaining the weight and muscle mass is something I have to work at now.
How long will recovery be? I have heard a rule of thumb that one should expect one week of recovery time for every hour of surgery. This means I should be expecting about 14 weeks of recovery which puts me right at the start of September for a return to more normal behavior. I think that that is probable but am thinking it may be a graduated return, starting at half time and working my way up to full time over a matter of weeks.
Today was a pretty good day and makes me think it is possible but I have bad days as well. My arm is slowly strengthening but has a ways to go and the numbness and tingling is still there. My walks are slowly lengthening and the speed is increasing.
First week of September is 12 weeks post surgery but I think it is doable. This is indeed quite prolonged but, 6 weeks out, it looks possible.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Saturday, July 4, 2015
5 weeks gone, one week home
We went to NOLA this year in late May, expecting to be home around June 10th but those plans got destroyed when I got to the clinic on May 26th. I am going to try to give a recap of the past 6 weeks but Stephanie has alot of more accurate info at her caring bridge journal.
5/26 Clinic. Dr Boudreaux was about 2hrs late (probably due to surgeries the day before) but we did not think about it because I was getting his full attention the next day. As we sat with him, he said no surgery tomorrow but possibly on 6/3. We did not know what to do with this information, got a sandostatin LAR shot and went back to the Hope lodge before my hospital admission the next day.
5/27 Enter hospital on though ER onto the 5th floor. Begin daily 5 sub-q shots as we try to rebuild my strength, reduce anemia and provide some growth hormone for the future surgery.
6/1 surgery again delayed due to my weakness but is now planned for 6/8. Stephanie is going out of her mind coming to and from the hospital
~6/1 NG tube inserted and will be my 'friend' for the next couple of weeks.
6/9 I 'wake up' in ICU intubated and start my path into insanity. I don't know how many days I was intubated but had various visions of small girls playing under my bed, my arrival in SE Asia, my room changing with straps behind me and a door in front of me and all sorts of loss of reality. I lost my mind and it is one of the things I most value about myself
~6/11 intubation comes out and I pull out my NG tube. I don't remember the new NG tube going in but it did and would not come out again for almost two more weeks.
6/17 Stephanie and I both wonder how long we are going to be in ICU and are finally released to the 5th floor on 6/18
6/18, released to 5th floor in the morning but don't get there until almost 8:30 in the evening and start liquid diet and don't know how you ruin Jello but, somehow, oschner, kenner ruined it. I get tired of cranberry juice and continue the liquid diet for days but continue to keep food down in spite of the NG tube, only having to empty occasionally.
6/20, start full liquid diet and, again, am amazed at the horrid state of the hospital food. Penrose hospital here in the Springs has provided some good food but Kenner is horrid.
6/23 start real food and have some of the worst 'meatloaf' I have ever experienced.
6/27, Dr. Boudreaux asks if I want to leave the hospital today or tomorrow and we are adamant that today is the day. Stephanie makes plane reservations home out of Baton Rouge airport for Sunday and we leave the hospital. My first time really outside in about 5 weeks.
Stephanie had gotten the whole family at our house for a 'skype' meeting because I need some support and her best friend Steph Schwenke picked us up at the airport and brought us home at about 5:30. Walking in the house and surprising everyone was the most joyous moments in the previous 5 weeks.
When can I get back to work? I have a target of 8/1 and will see if that is full or part time. When do I play hockey again? I don't know but would like to try skating before the end of July and perhaps split a game with someone else in mid August.
These last few months have really ravaged my body and I need to work to get better again. I will get there and my mind is starting to clear. I have been watching American Ninja Warrior and there are so many inspirational stories that help me work through my own efforts.
It is wonderful to be home. It is hot but not humid. I love my mountains, the clear sky and my wife's beautiful gardens in the back and front yards. I don't have an IV continually connected to me and can just get up and walk. I got my hair cut yesterday for the first time in 3 months and trimmed my beard for the first time in a month and almost look normal again.
I am alive. I have a wonderful family and my parents took wonderful care of my kids. Life is good.
Pre surgery:
5/25, arrive NOLA5/26 Clinic. Dr Boudreaux was about 2hrs late (probably due to surgeries the day before) but we did not think about it because I was getting his full attention the next day. As we sat with him, he said no surgery tomorrow but possibly on 6/3. We did not know what to do with this information, got a sandostatin LAR shot and went back to the Hope lodge before my hospital admission the next day.
5/27 Enter hospital on though ER onto the 5th floor. Begin daily 5 sub-q shots as we try to rebuild my strength, reduce anemia and provide some growth hormone for the future surgery.
6/1 surgery again delayed due to my weakness but is now planned for 6/8. Stephanie is going out of her mind coming to and from the hospital
~6/1 NG tube inserted and will be my 'friend' for the next couple of weeks.
Surgery. Finally.
6/8 finally arrives and I go down for surgery about 8:00. Surgery starts at about 9am and runs for 13.5 straight hours with 67 tumors removed and my intestines back to a healthy pink color. My ureters are not touched nor my colostomy but 14 hrs of surgery is pretty extreme.6/9 I 'wake up' in ICU intubated and start my path into insanity. I don't know how many days I was intubated but had various visions of small girls playing under my bed, my arrival in SE Asia, my room changing with straps behind me and a door in front of me and all sorts of loss of reality. I lost my mind and it is one of the things I most value about myself
~6/11 intubation comes out and I pull out my NG tube. I don't remember the new NG tube going in but it did and would not come out again for almost two more weeks.
6/17 Stephanie and I both wonder how long we are going to be in ICU and are finally released to the 5th floor on 6/18
Out of ICU
6/18, released to 5th floor in the morning but don't get there until almost 8:30 in the evening and start liquid diet and don't know how you ruin Jello but, somehow, oschner, kenner ruined it. I get tired of cranberry juice and continue the liquid diet for days but continue to keep food down in spite of the NG tube, only having to empty occasionally.
6/20, start full liquid diet and, again, am amazed at the horrid state of the hospital food. Penrose hospital here in the Springs has provided some good food but Kenner is horrid.
6/23 start real food and have some of the worst 'meatloaf' I have ever experienced.
6/27, Dr. Boudreaux asks if I want to leave the hospital today or tomorrow and we are adamant that today is the day. Stephanie makes plane reservations home out of Baton Rouge airport for Sunday and we leave the hospital. My first time really outside in about 5 weeks.
Home:
6/28 starts with Ihop for breakfast, two pancakes and 4 pieces of bacon. It was wonderful. We then start driving to Baton Rouge (about an hour) and get there about 10am. Catch our flight around noon and transfer in Houston. Delayed in Houston for an hour and leave about 3:20. Finally arrive in Colorado Springs just before 5:00.Stephanie had gotten the whole family at our house for a 'skype' meeting because I need some support and her best friend Steph Schwenke picked us up at the airport and brought us home at about 5:30. Walking in the house and surprising everyone was the most joyous moments in the previous 5 weeks.
Recovery:
This last week has been rough. My left bicep has atrophied considerably in the hospital and I can barely hold my arm up with anything. I have been around the block twice and it has almost taken everything I have to make it back home. My water retention has been improving with my losing about 12 pounds in the last week of water weight. I sit at about 162 pounds right now and have a great deal of strength to recover before returning to work and fun.When can I get back to work? I have a target of 8/1 and will see if that is full or part time. When do I play hockey again? I don't know but would like to try skating before the end of July and perhaps split a game with someone else in mid August.
These last few months have really ravaged my body and I need to work to get better again. I will get there and my mind is starting to clear. I have been watching American Ninja Warrior and there are so many inspirational stories that help me work through my own efforts.
It is wonderful to be home. It is hot but not humid. I love my mountains, the clear sky and my wife's beautiful gardens in the back and front yards. I don't have an IV continually connected to me and can just get up and walk. I got my hair cut yesterday for the first time in 3 months and trimmed my beard for the first time in a month and almost look normal again.
I am alive. I have a wonderful family and my parents took wonderful care of my kids. Life is good.
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