November 24, 2021
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Today was rough. Melody didn't get a lot of sleep
last night. She was given dilaudid during the night for pain, and told me
this morning that, for a few hours, she felt "marvelous" - the best she has
felt in a long time - but she didn't sleep.
She was able to eat a little breakfast, but later this morning, pain and
nausea kicked in. I will spare you the details of how that went. It was
excruciating to see her in such distress.
As the day wore on, the nausea would not leave and pain increased, so she
was given another dose of dilaudid and is currently floating on Cloud 9. We
listened to a healing meditation on our Insight Timer app, she slept a
while, and now has a jones for a baked potato, which the nurse says he
doesn't recommend (he advises something softer and lighter). He's now trying
to find something gluten- and dairy-free for her.
Navigating her nutrition with SIBO issues, along with her inability to
swallow pills has been extremely challenging, and a nasty cycle - she has
little tolerance for the liquid meds they make her drink, which make her
nauseous, and the hospital food is... well, I probably don't have to tell
you. So far, the only effective treatment for her nausea has been the
dilaudid, and that is worrisome and annoying - I inquired about getting her
some THC for it, and they are saying no, it can cause additional nausea,
which is something I've never heard (not that I am the world's foremost
expert on this subject or anything...). What's annoying about this is that
when she was nauseous during prep on Sunday, I gave her a little toke from a
vape and that took the nausea away almost instantaneously, and for a few
hours. I'm not sure she would have made it through taking those ground-up
antibiotics in grape jello without our pal THC! I find it maddening that
they won't allow that, and plan to discuss this with her doctor at her
earliest convenience.
Thankfully, Melody's feeling ok now, but only
because of the dilaudid. Today has been a setback on her release from the
hospital - it'll take at least another day now, because she was unable to
get up and walk and get her digestive system working properly.
Also, I wanted to correct the record on a couple of things: her surgery was just under 7 hours, not 7.5 hrs as previously reported. As Melody would tell you (even if unasked), my sense of time is somewhat lacking (I like to say that it's just not my forté), so please forgive me. Additionally, it was part of the large intestine that was removed, not part of the small intestine during surgery.
I'm hoping tomorrow is a better day, and there is reason for giving thanks
beyond all the other blessings in our lives, including YOU. Wishing you all
a wonderful Thanksgiving, with love to you and your families. I will be here
with Mel, thankful that she is getting excellent care (except for the THC
thing!), and hopeful that she will recover quickly.
 Glen |