Mets Day 26 (cont'd) - Discharged

Today has been an exhausting but good day.  The pain-filled overnight did not lend itself to a restful night.  But the doctors were intent on being rid of me today. 

This morning a member of Dr. Steinberg's team removed my abdominal drain tube by snipping a suture and pulling out more than two feet of tubing that had been snaked around my abdomen.  It really wasn't painful, just weird to feel something bumping by everything in my gut. 

The pain was reserved for the next step:  removing the two stents from my kidneys.  During surgery last Wednesday, Dr. Steinberg snaked very small plastic stents enclosed in tubes and connected with a wire through my newly-created neobladder, into my ureters, and up to my kidneys, where he stitched the stents to the kidneys with dissoluble sutures.  Each stent line was more than three feet long.  In theory, the sutures had dissolved, so to remove them, one just had to pull on the connecting wire and withdraw the tubing.  In fact, it took quite a few yanks to persuade the sutures to release from the kidneys.  With each yank, my kidney was being internally pulled down -- an incredibly painful experience.  Once the stent released from the kidney, it dragged along the ureter, then through the neobladder, through zigs and zags.  Picture pulling a garden hose that is wound around a number of trees and bushes.  The stent is the garden hose; each tree and bush is a curve in part of my kidney, ureter, or newly-created neobladder, each with nerves on full alert.  It was quite painful.  After the first stent was out and several unsuccessful yanks on the second one, I explained to the doctor that, without morphine, I was not going to let him have any more fun.  That made the rest of the procedure more bearable, but also wiped me out for several hours.  I did manage to thank the doctor, and told him that Guantanamo Bay needed his skills. 

The nurse who was assisting - a mother in her 50's - compared having those stents removed to childbirth.  I certainly was using the Lamaze breathing that I had coached Jennifer with so many years ago.  Jennifer, fortunately, did not have to witness my giving birth to a pair of wiry twins, as all this was done before she came over to the hospital. 

After several hours of recovery, we met with the LPN, who made the follow-up appointment for next Tuesday at 11:15 am, where I hopefully will have the foley catheter removed.  She also gave us written  discharge instructions and learned all about neobladders.  I hope Jennifer remembers what was said.  I don't, and have not read the discharge instructions.  We did receive prescriptions for pain-killers, which will be essential for the next few weeks. 

The nurses then bundled us up with all our stuff, and we were out of there.  Two hours later, we were back.  My foley catheter has already become clogged, and was not draining.  The resident on staff, along with the LPN and nurse, fiddled with it, tried to flush it, then said to not worry about it - the SPT was working, and that's what really mattered.  I was neither comforted or convinced, but they said that it likely would resolve itself soon. 

So now we are ensconced at St. Augustine's Friary Guest House.  The monks and students are so very gentle and genuine.  They repeatedly have asked us to stay for the duration, as they have no other guests scheduled or need for the rooms.  We've decided to do so, and Jennifer just finished unpacking all my stuff.  We actually have adjoining rooms, which will let me sleep at whatever times I can, and not requiring Jennifer to tip-toe around the room.  I am most grateful for this unexpected blessing.  God works in mysterious ways, and most often through the better angels of human nature.