Tracheobronchoplasty #2
- Shonna L. Tropf
- Dec 2, 2017
- 7 min read
Hello blog readers. I apologize that it's taken some time to get another post ready. As most of you know I went back to work and may have, perhaps, overdone things just a little. OK, just between you and me, I admit I totally over did it. I just don't know another gear except for high to work in! But, believe me, I got lectured from just about everyone under the sun - friends, colleagues, family members, my surgeon and his assistant, even from my boss.
My doctor told me he knew I was ready to get back at it 100%, but I wasn't there yet. He reminded me of what a major procedure I had just endured and to, "put my overachiever on hold for a little longer." I have promised to take things a little more easy over the coming weeks in order to let my body continue to heal. He assured me that I'd get there - but that it seriously takes 6-12 months for full recovery to take place.
Another thing that has impeded progress a little is a sinus infection that I got just before returning to work. It eventually dropped into my chest and it was NOT good. I felt just like I did prior to my tracheobronchoplasty. One night in particular the coughing/breathing situation was such that I was about to reach my body's panic mode. I called the surgeon on call and he told me that he doubted that anything had been damaged as far as my trachea was concerned, but that getting a cold or anything that may effect my lungs and breathing could be a pretty serious situation for someone with TBM - especially someone in the beginning phases of recovery from the remodeling I went through. He said the cough could linger for several weeks (I'm snarling right now as I write this!). He nailed that one right on the head. I still have a horrible cough that now seems to be getting deeper and harder. They are pretty painful, hurting all the way up my airways, jarring to the area that was cut on, and causes dizziness and lightheadedness. We are working on trying to figure our ways to alleviate it.
I was advised that over the next 6-9 months I would have to be extremely careful with type of virus that may have the potential to drop into my chest as it'll be bad news. So, I have now added immune booster gummies to my diet as well as regularly drink Ester-C, and have been eating a lot of oranges. I am determined that I will do whatever I can to stave off another cold or sinus infection, but have to admit that working with the public may make that a little more challenging than I want it to be!
Let's move back into the past! The rest of this blog will focus on my seven day hospital stay in an overall capacity. I will go ahead and post a queazy tummy advisory for the next post, though. I have promised candor and to hold nothing back as far as what happened to my body, is still happening, and how the healing is progressing. For now, let's look at my visit with UC Health Denver!
7 Days in the Hospital:
To some this may sound like a grand vacation; it's not. Do not get me wrong, the staff on the pulmonology floor at UC Health Denver could not have taken better care of me. Everyone who entered my room was very pleasant, courteous, and professional. The problem was there were SO many people entering my room at ALL hours of the day. You do not get to rest the way you should - especially during the night. Every two to three hours someone was coming in to check vitals, dispense meds, give me a breathing treatment, take an X-ray (did you know they have portable X-ray machines now? Kinda handy for sure!), to clean my room, and so on and so on. It was a never-ending constant cycle of revolving care givers in and out.
This revolving door of care givers got even faster beginning about 5 am and lasted until about 9 am. About every 20-30 minutes there was a new person or group of doctors stopping in to look things over and ask a ton of questions about how I was doing or if I needed anything. Around 7 or 8 a group of fresh-faced residents and their attending would pop in to give each other reports on my condition and healing. Typically not too long after they left Dr. Meguid, my surgeon, would stop in and check my walking progress - he drew a chart on the whiteboard that I had to mark every time I walked my rounds around the 9th floor. On the 5th or 6th morning of this revolving door of good-meaning people, I even rolled away from the door and pretended to be asleep so that the revolvers would go away and leave me to rest. Yeah . . . that didn't happen. That morning the very determined respiratory therapist on duty that morning barged right in and proceeded to check my oxygen levels, hook me up to the oxygen portal and shoved the mouthpiece at my limp hand.
My oxygen levels were very low the entire time I was in the hospital, as well as several weeks after I got home, meaning I was on a constant flow of oxygen for weeks. For several days after my surgery I was on 4-6 liters of oxygen, with 6 being the highest level for the oxygen dispenser. Since my oxygen was so low, the doctors added a different, stronger medication to my breathing treatment. I do not remember the name of the medicine, but I do remember the smell. Holy moly! Not only did it reek of rotten eggs, it tasted tastes pretty darn bad as well. The smell and taste lingered in the room and in the back of my throat for quite a while after the respiratory therapist left the room. They did always apologize for having to administer the "stinky stuff" as they were handing me the mouthpiece.The only good thing I can say about the stinky stuff is that it did seem to ease my breathing a bit, which allowed me to sleep better whenever I got the chance.
As you can tell, or if you've ever stayed in the hospital you know first-hand, very little actual sleeping is done during your visit at a hospital. I did spend most of my days
dozing off and being more than a little incoherent. I was in a lot of pain and on a lot of pain meds - a lot. However, evidently my pain tolerance, or my sheer determination to take as little pain medication as possible, was way greater than I imagined. The nurses and doctors alike were worried that I was not taking the full 10mg of Oxy that I was allowed every four hours. I would take 5mg and then I also had that handy dandy little button that I pushed quite often - pretty much every nine minutes; especially the first few days. The doctors kept reminding me that I could have more. The nurses, being the pesky drug pushers they are 😉, kept double and triple checking with me to make sure that I didn't want the full dosage. They truly could not believe that I didn't take all
of the Oxy when it was readily available to me.
Most of you know I've never done drugs of any kind other than the few times I had to have pain med and if I have more than three or four drinks a month then it's been a wild one for sure! I don't have much of a tolerance for pain meds and do not like how they make me feel or what they do to my body (we'll get to that in the next post). Do not get me wrong, I was still plenty uncomfortable and in pain, but I truly do not believe adding more Oxy into the mix that I was already taking, which included a rotation of Tylenol and Ibuprophen every four hours as well - I took that every two hours after the Oxy, would help or I would have taken it every time it was offered. However, if I felt like I could get through the four hours until the next round of drugs were available, then that's what I did. There's nothing extraordinary about that, but the medical staff sure thought there was and could not believe after the procedure I'd just gone through that I didn't need more! By the way, there were a few times I did need the full 10mg and took it and prayed for it to kick in quick.
My seven day stay was not all that exciting. I don't remember most of those seven days. I spent my days in a pain and drug induced haze, being poked and prodded, dozing off even when I was trying valiantly to stay awake and being awake when I valiantly wanted to be asleep, making my laps around the 9th floor, and going to the bathroom. I also spent time scouring the Internet for rescue Goldens. (BTW, I found a few, but Lani will have to wait until next spring to get a brother or sister!) I had a few visitors. My mom came everyday, but
didn't stay too long because I honestly didn't feel like having anyone around. Andrew, my nephew, made it over from North Dakota and visited several times. A few friends also came by, but again didn't stay too long because I just couldn't take much stimulation of any kind.
I do want to take the time here to thank all of the amazing staff and care providers at UC Health Denver. As awful as I felt during my stay, I could not have been in any better hands. The doctors, the nurses, and the entire staff were amazing, caring, and empathetic. They were respectful and professional. I cannot say enough about all of them and the great care they took of me. There's a reason they are the second ranked respiratory facility, just behind National Jewish where my TBM journey began, in the country. I highly recommend either place if you are having respiratory issues that have not been figured out. They will take care of you and get you back on easy breathing street for sure!
I think this is enough for this post. Next one, which I will have for you in a day or two will get to the good, gory stuff! You know you can't wait for it!! :)
Comments