Sending good wishes to Epofriend

[aharris2]

Thanks yet again guys. Sluff, ya know, that's not the word they use to describe me here at the hospital. I think the word starts with a "b" and they add colorful modifiers.

Wednesday night, 4/20/2011, and nothing goes easy. Rolando's minor pleural effusion easily drained by a syringe as of his hospitalization with the hand issue has become a much larger effusion post blood thinners and post surgery that can only be drained via chest tube. It seems something is bleeding into it but we don't know what and cause/effect is not obvious.

Chest tubes are a very nasty, very painful thing and they continue to hurt a lot until they are removed. We've had a setback in the fluid drainage and we are hoping against hope that the chest tube will be sufficient to drain it.

I feel so bad for Rolando but he has been extraordinary through this whole thing.

[okarol]

  I hope you get out soon Ro.
Thanks for keeping us updated Alene, I think sainthood is perfect for you! 

[phyl1215]

 

[aharris2]

 

Surgery in the morning to clear the pleural cavity and reexpand the lung.

  that all goes well and this fixes the problem.

[AguynamedKim]

Sending more good wishes your and Rolando's way.

[okarol]

Oh man, I am sending a prayer and a bunch of love your way Rolando!   

[Chris]

I hope everything goes well

[boswife]

Just checking 

[okarol]

 

[Bajanne]

My caring thoughts and prayers are with you all the way

[Sax-O-Trix]

 

[aharris2]

Sorry for the wait and thank you everyone (okarol,  )

Rolando came through the surgery just fine. It was the "small" surgery where they cut small holes and go in with minilights, minivideos, and minigadgets to cleanup and peel away (causes me pain just to write that!) He is hurting, the nurses say that any chest wall surgery is immensely painful so he spent 24hrs in intensive care for monitoring vitals AND for hourly administration of fentanyl.

We're in a regular room now. Thank God. That particular ICU had a strange rule - one could visit overnight, but the visitor cannot sleep. If the visitor (caregiver, family member, whatever) falls asleep they are escorted out. I was pretty tired by Saturday morning. Dialysis for Rolando meant a trip home and naptime for me.

He still has a chest tube in but he's breathing easier. We are waiting for the chest doctors. to give us the game plan for going home.

Rolando did go 5 for 5. Grandchild #2, arrived on Good Friday, 4/22/2011, at night.
  Welcome to Little Violeta

Happy Easter everyone!

[Zach]

Now get some rest.
 

[boswife]

good news    and agreed..now YOU go get some rest!!   

[okarol]

  It's so good to hear from you! Thank God Ro is ok!
Wishing you and your family a very blessed Easter! 

[aharris2]

Day 25 and still no game plan for going home. Such is the nature of the chest tube. Rolando is feeling pretty good and is looking quite svelte.

One day during the week both daughters (the twins) visited with the granddaughters - 8 month old Sophia and the newly arrived, days old Violeta. Very nice and Rolando's first opportunity to meet the newbie. Sophia and mommy came by again last night.

We were able to get out of the room (in a wheelchair) for the first time yesterday. We stayed on the floor but will venture far and wide next time to stave off stircraziness... in both of us!

[jbeany]

 

[Chris]

I was hopping to hear good news, but atleast there was some in your post .
 
Wish they could get Rolando out of there and healthy.

[okarol]

  That's a long time. It must be so tough for you both.
Are you able to watch any basketball?
Take care. xoxoxox 

[Sluff]

Sounds like Ro is on the right path.  Hope he gets out of there soon. 

[aharris2]

Shortly after I posted, the doc came by. There is a game plan for going home! They will be placing something called a pleurx catheter in the effusion which will allow us to drain fluid periodically at home until it stabilizes. That should happen after dialysis tomorrow with discharge from the hospital Tuesday or Wednesday.
 
We are both desperate to get out of here.

Okarol, I have been trying to watch the b-ball but have only been marginally sucessful. They are masters of sleep deprivation torture here at the hospital so whenever there is a lull in the action Rolando and I both take a siesta. I tune in the game and, 30 seconds later, I am asleep. That's how things went for March Madness as well.

We did make it outside today, twice. It was a beautiful breezy warm sunshiny afternoon and a very nice evening. A little taste of freedom was nice.

Thanks for your kind words.

[Darthvadar]

Thank God the door to home seems to be opening, even if just a little...

Great news...

Hope he gets home VER soon...

Love...

Darth...

[okarol]

  Hoping and praying you're both home soon. 

[aharris2]

Day 27 - They f***ed up yesterday and didn't order up the anesthesiologist for the procedure. So, after 3 hrs down in interventonal radiology Rolando was returned to the room - hurting, hungry (NPO since the morning, NPO = anesthesia so how come no anesthesiologist?) and desperate for a bathroom break. The inefficiency here is incredible.

Amazingly, we did get a good night's sleep here last night. They will try again early this afternoon to get the chest tube out and the pleurx cath in. Hope the ducks are nicely...

UNBELIEVABLE!!! The dialysis techs just walked in here to take him for dialysis! NO!!! He dialyzed yesterday. But, a quick phone call to the neph and that snafu is worked out.

...in a row 

OMG!

[okarol]

  crazy!