The High Price of Gas

And I'm not talking about the kind you import from the middle east...

Poor Mom did not pass zee gas last night, which means she still cannot eat, however she has been able to start on clear liquids today. She's enjoyed water, some cranberry juice, and chicken broth, but is hesitant to overdue it because her stomach is a bit queasy at times.

When we spoke first thing this morning, she was complaining of not being able to take a deep breath, which in turn made her even more anxious and less able to calm down and steady her breathing. Her surgical team assessed her, sent her for a chest x-ray, and assured her that this would go away within 24 hours. Again, this is a product of the air they inflated her abdomen with, and the manipulation of abdominal organs. This makes you uncomfortable and can even press against your diaphragm, inhibiting total lung expansion.

My main concern was that she had an infection, which can brew inside the lung, take up valuable surface area in which air exchange occurs, and therefor cause ineffective breathing. Or that she has a collapsed or partially collapsed lung, which can happen a number of way after or during surgery. I don't really care what anyone thinks of me, so I marched my booty in there with my orange monogrammed stethoscope (thank you, Tommy), and assessed her myself. Her lung sound were good, but faint (meaning no collapsed anything), and her chest x-ray was negative (meaning no infection). Her vital signs are good, her blood pressure is back to where it was pre-op, her color is better, and once she was up in the chair having some juice, she was feeling so much better.

Her PCA has been discontinued, and she is now on pain meds as needed. It is a lot harder to reduce existing pain than it is to prevent it to begin with, so I made her a chart to remind her to ask for pain meds every four hours no matter what. So the narcotics make her a little loopy- so what? She kept falling asleep while talking to my dad, and would start mumbling about how Chevas Road takes you to the dump...very amusing stuff. It's so hard not to laugh at my mom/Jimmy Hendrix, but I try! The dizziness and loopiness should subside as the IV narcotics wear off.

She's asked that people not call still, because she needs to conserve her energy and takes cat naps as often as she can.

Over all, she's doing well. No transfusion today, the left kidney seems to be working well, and aside from the pain, loopiness, and shortness of breath, things seem right on course.