enna Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 We are walking right with you dear fae. Prayers are still being said and I so want you to be out of that hospital. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feralfae Posted December 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Thank you Anne, thank you everyone. It is a terribly vulnerable feeling to be here alone, without Doug to watch over me. Darcy has been in twice, K. was here two days, and I am really okay, but just feeling alone and vulnerable. I hope I get to go home soon. Much Love and *<twinkles>* fae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wifflesnook Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Dear Fae Typical of you to be concerned about me from a hospital bed. I am concerned about you! I hope we hear better news soon. As for me, well yes, I suppose i am suffering a low level of health. Anne suggested I may need vitamins and to be honest I think my diet may not be as good as it used to be. Pete and I used to take various tablets (his idea) and he was always assiduous about eating oily fish twice weekly. Of course my conclusion since he had the stroke is it didn't help at all and I have stopped. But maybe I will start and take the multivitamins which are still here. I don't like this constant tiredness which is so unlike me, but I am 72 and so no spring chicken. I've always been very active but it's deep winter (foggy this morning) and I am in very low spirits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Jan, I have IBS too and certain foods trigger it, but mostly stress. My antianxiety medicine has lessed the frequency of episodes, but really, there's no cure like avoiding stress (I know, easier said than done). Avoid the offending foods, spices, coffee, fat, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Oh fae, I hate that you are alone! Aren't the doctors giving you nourishment? What about Ensure? I know everyone hates that, but if you can't eat, well you can't just let yourself get weaker and weaker! Can't they put you on a liquid diet that will help you? Chicken broth is fine for a while, but it's not a well balanced diet! I am so worried about you! What are the doctors doing for you? What is their plan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feralfae Posted December 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Kay, I cannot eat until things begin to move through my system, and it appears I have adhesions that are twisting my small intestines and preventing things from moving, so no food until things begin to move. At least the NG tube is out, thank goodness. Now I just need to work up to being able to eat some food and then they will send me home on this remarkable eating plan. But I cannot eat until I can process the foods. It just takes a while, and I am trying to be really patient so that I can avoid surgery. Broth is better than water and tea. More later, here comes a nurse with a computer and lots of measuring devices. *<twinkles>* fae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enna Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Thinking of you, dear fae, and praying that you are able to go home very soon. You are doing what you need to do and I for one admire your patience. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 But WILL it untwist w/o surgery? I am just so worried about you and will be so happy once this is behind you. Heck of a way to lose weight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feralfae Posted December 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Okay, they are provisionally letting me go home on a liquid diet, keeping tabs, must go see the surgeon in two weeks or sooner if I have any problems. More as things progress. I am still in my hospital gown, and have one more test before the discharge papers get processed. *<twinkles>* fae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyT Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Oh dear Fae, this still sounds so uncertain ~ I'm so sorry. Still, I hope that by being back in your own home, you'll get more of the rest you need ~ as long as you force yourself to relax. Can you do that? We're all concerned for you . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enna Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Just as Marty says, fae, "still sounds so uncertain" - I for one am glad you will be released from the hospital. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfh Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 My dear fae, Have they given you a precise diagnosis? I am concerned about you. I hope you really take it easy at home...really easy. Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wifflesnook Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Fae will there be someone at home to look after you? Do hope so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 fae, While I know it'll be more comfortable at home, I am NOT liking this, not one bit! I am so worried about you! I know you thought about having your friend come, will she be able to come look after you? I don't like you being alone through this. And how long can you exist on a liquid diet? I know the doctor took me completely off food for two weeks once and I felt great, so I know it can happen, but not indefinitely. (He thought I needed to starve a parasite out because every time I ate, huge pain/problems. Tried doing it for a few days beforehand but that wasn't enough.) Do keep us posted if you are able. I will be praying for you continually, dear fae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feralfae Posted December 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Dear Beloved Tribe, I am going to try to sort this out for all of us, while answering the caring questions sent to me by one of our Tribe (she may tell you who she is if she wishes) : Is it my understanding that your doctors are going to have you on a liquid diet for two weeks? Yes, but is is a good liquid diet, not your wimpish liquid diet: I can have cream of rice cereal. I can have custards made with eggs. I can have cream of chicken soup made by blending chicken and chicken broth in my VitaMix. It is very tasty. I can blend rice with almond milk , add some maple syrup and have a remarkable treat, sprinkled with cinnamon. I am sure that they will restrict which liquid they will allow you. Yes, non-carb drinks, no alcohol of course, cream of chicken soup, blended for no lumps. Custards. Jello, if I ate it. Ice Cream, if I ate it. Puddings, which I am morphing into custards. Cream of veggie soup, so long as it is not high-fiber. Hard candies, even, so I can have the occasional Christmas peppermint. Do you have someone to shop for you? Yes, Darcy got a Costco roast chicken (for making cream of chicken soup), organic chicken broth, organic eggs, and some feta cheese for when I am allowed to have it. I have lots of basmati rice here, and I can always get one of the grand-G*dchildren to shop for me as well. Are they allowing you to drive? I am under no activity restrictions. But I am to take it easy and rest more than I think I need to rest. DIAGNOSIS: Right now, the diagnosis is still torsion of the small intestine due to adhesions probably caused from the spine surgery. Multiple adhesions. My surgeon tells me that surgery may be the only cure, but I am going to initiate both enzyme therapy and a massage therapy technique that actually breaks up the adhesion fibers through external manipulation. No one thinks it is cancer or anything more than a mechanical problem. But it is a significant one. Doug had multiple adhesions from his surgeries, so I already know a fair amount on how to deal with them. I must stay well hydrated. I am going to be making charts for water intake and food intake. I am to slowly begin to introduce low-fiber foods, such as rice and bananas, in a few days as tolerated, giving each new food several days to manifest any arguments with my body. I am to eat 6 small meals per day, each about a fist-sized amount of food, and not more. During these two weeks, I am to be very mindful of what and how much I eat. Protein from eggs and blenderized meats is highly encourages. I guess I can have pate. But no crackers. I must watch my fiber very closely. I am on a low-residue, which protein eating plan. I must take vitamins. SSK called a while ago and we are playing it day by day right now. She can come on the first available flight if needed. I am working to arrange to have someone here part of each day, and a variety of people. Friends and g*d daughters and grands. I am arranging for a lot of things to get done, although I am allowed to do mild physical activity such as sweeping snow and vacuuming. And now it is time to go have a cup of my delicious cream of chicken soup. On alternate hours, I will have a large cup of tea or decaf, although they are encouraging caffeine in the morning to stimulate my digestive exercises. Please keep up the prayers. This is still a rather unstable situation. I wish I could bring better and more definitive news to everyone, and hope to soon. Blessings, Much Love and *<twinkles>* fae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enna Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Oh fae, thank you for answering all questions. I am so glad you are home and it sounds like you have things under control. My wish for you for these next days is that you REST and follow your diet to the letter. I guess "sweeping snow" is different than shoveling snow! Vacuuming can be quite strenuous! Your diet sounds manageable and don't forget those vitamins. It is good that you are home. Sending you a dragonfly to watch over you. Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 I don't think of sweeping snow and vacuuming as mild physical activity! I do hope you'll take it easy and let others do for you. Besides, floors can wait! I learned that when I broke my right elbow. It sounds like you know what you are doing, I would have no clue how to deal with this! I just hope it all works and you can get well w/o surgery. I will keep praying for you! Anne, you always find just the right pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feralfae Posted December 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Dear Anne, The dragonfly now hangs on my refrigerator. Well, Kay, I guess it is all relative. I am not allowed to run, toss firewood, cut or split firewood, or climb trees or a few other things. I am a girl, and I am a jock. What can I say? Sweeping dry snow is just walking with a broom and waving it at the walk or deck, really. Not much push. I am not going to vacuum this week: I am going to let the insides relax back into smoothness before I pick up anything heavier than a broom. Or a cup of seeds for the birds. I have a friend who will come out and clean and vac for me, and I am calling him to help out. He was our great helper when Doug was ill. He is a good guy and trustworthy. The g*dsons are handling the wood, and I am under Orders not to haul or stack or toss wood. Period. I have promised. The eldest was on his way back to college, and stopped in to lecture me at the hospital. And to tell me they already had a plan for getting the rest of the wood up and stacked. . . . And I could turn on the heat. I am entirely too practical and like the fires, anyway. Doug had so many bouts of adhesions that I am fairly savvy and well-read on the subject from a practical standpoint. Just never thought to have them myself. I think there is a correlation between length of surgery and adhesions, and also, a correlation between the "drying off" of the human tissue during surgery and the response of adhesion formation. I am advancing this theory to a physician friend of mine, I am just a simple anthropologist\artist, not a medical scientist, but I can observe and be curious. But they could do a controlled study with misting tissue during surgery, whenever the surgeon's hands are not in the incision cavity, while refraining from misting with half the surgeries, random number generation and all, you know. Now I am going to need to read up more on this question. Anyway, I have Doug's adhesion enzyme tablets, I will be drinking my chicken soup with turmeric to reduce inflammation, and lots of other things. Now at least we know what is going on, and I can begin to mitigate the problems. It is just good to know as much as I can about it. I will learn more. (Ah, I had to go see. Yep, there is a correlation between length of surgery and adhesion formation. Okay, I will read more later.) Thank you all for your loving concern and your presence in my life. We are all getting through this, sort of stumbling forward even on days when we cannot see our path. We heal in ways we don't suspect: I had a lot of quiet time in the hospital, and not much to do. I think I have cleared the emotional connections to the criminals, and now see them as an incident of skunks wandering in. Now they are gone. I now there will be some after smells behind the cushions and places, but I think the skunks have left the forest. At least the forest of my being. Anne, I played "Morning Has Broken" for a young nurse having a bad day yesterday. She left smiling, and came back that evening to tell me I had shifted her whole day. The little things we share, and usually have no idea. Thank you. Namaste. So, this has been a good visit to the hospital in many ways: definitive things to do to heal; awareness of my condition; better understanding of the mechanics of my body; getting to encourage some peaceful and loving cultural paradigms. How lovely. Thank you all for your loving prayers and wishes, for your thoughts and concerns. One more time, we got through the rough patch on the pitch, and make another step on this journey, on this Path. Namaste *<twinkles>* fae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wifflesnook Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Phew Fae. Your positive attitude amazes me. I like your intellectual approach to your problems. Typical? If determination can do it you can. But don't be afraid to express weakness here. There must be times .... Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feralfae Posted December 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Oh, Jan, I broke down at night in the hospital. I had to be on my toes during the days when things were going on so that I could not only observe, but sometimes advise. But late at night (like this early morning hour) I would whimper and cry and feel so alone and weak and unable to cope. When I was strong enough to walk that far (the third day, I think) I started going to the chapel. And while I was listening to G*D (Yes, you can hear HerG*dHim anywhere, but it is quieter in the chapel that elsewhere in the hospital) I had a lot of peace with a lot of things. But I also sat there and let the tears fall, leaning against my IV pole and wondering what was going on with me. Scared of so many possibilities. But I felt a loving presence, and then I felt Doug's arms around me as I sat there, and I began to breathe more slowly, and to calm down and not be so afraid. Meditation made into prayer, perhaps. Tonight I am not whimpering or crying, but just carefully monitoring my body as these shifts and symptoms come and go. We will see how things are in the morning. It is now a new day. Blessings, *<twinkles>* fae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wifflesnook Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Fae I think you know that we are with you with loving arms. It amazes me how we have formed such a community here and you are a crucial part of it. I am SO PLEASED that you were able to feel your beloved Doug near you. Of course you are worried as we are about you buit sounds as though your medical people are attentive. I send love from England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayc Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 fae, You are so incredibly amazing! I just feel priviledged to know you! Who but you would turn a medical situation into an educational experience! And yes, it does sound plausible. I hope they do their controlled study in an effort to learn. And your crying later...that is to be understood. We all feel vulnerable at times and medical situations qualify as one of those times. It was so different when we had our spouse with us, they bolstered us, took care of us when we were sick, encouraged us when we were down, and were in every sense of the word, our helpmates. It is not only women who can nurture, my George was great at it! It's no wonder we miss them. I'm glad you have so much support and help, and glad you know what to do for your body and will do it. I will keep praying for you. This is an especially hard time to be laid up. I forget if you have tv or not, but if you do, maybe you can watch some of the sappy Christmas movies while you drink your liquid diet. Or listen to some music. It feels good to be home, doesn't it! I am doing this...living alone, making it, and for the most part I'm doing well, but there are times... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfh Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Good morning, fae It sounds like you are home and I hope you slept well and are resting. The main reason I have someone help me with housework is because vacuuming twists the body so and I have a lower disk issue that can put me on all fours if I am not careful....probably a wise move to have someone else vacuum for you for a long while. Take care of yourself. I know it is difficult to not feel well when our beloved soulmates are not physically present. I am so sorry all of this is going on for you. Please do rest. Peace to your heart and health to your body, Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feralfae Posted December 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Thank you for all the loving messages and words. I am taking Kay's advice for now and not even dusting much less vacuuming. Today will be my first day up and around and moving a bit more. I have already made an appointment with an acupuncturist/acupressure fellow who will work on releasing the adhesions. I am taking Doug's enzyme therapy, and have ordered more. I had cream of chicken soup (my blenderized version made with chicken, rice and broth) for breakfast, and that made me tired, just getting breakfast ready and then cleaning the kitchen. Whew! Oh, to feel healthy again! I am declaring a holiday from the holiday this year. I do not have the energy to decorate, so I will pretend I am in Bermuda and that no one is home for the holidays. If I feel better next week, I will hang wreaths and put out some lights, but if I do not get it done, I am going to not let it bother me this year. I would rather be careful and stay as healthy as possible. And I am still not allowed on ladders. So, here I am, home and healing, hoping to be much better by this time in a couple of months, and to recover and get stronger without surgery. Much Love and *<twinkles>* fae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enna Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 This is a story that can warm your hearts that I want to share with all of you again! It’s not a new story but the message will always have a place in our world, I think. And Fae, since you are resting, I think you will enjoy hearing it again or for the first time if you haven’t already heard it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZCP6OqRlE Some have different opinions about the story. I just like it for its simplicity and its message. I think we are all gifts to one another. Now I’m off to PT and shall try to think pleasant thoughts as I’m being tortured! Anne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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