The Wait....

[FamilyGal]

Well, Dave is in surgery right now. It is supposed to take five hours. Ugh, I hate the wait. I'm trying not to worry and haven't up until now, but it makes me really nervous having him under for that long.

[eaglesprings]

That must be difficult. I've only been on the other side of the surgery, blissfully unaware, so I can only imagine how you must be feeling.

Hang in there! Do you have anyone waiting with you? Anyone that can bring you food and drink, or give you a break?

[Wilson]

Are you getting updates from the doctors? You guys are in my thoughts today.

Well, Dave is in surgery right now. It is supposed to take five hours. Ugh, I hate the wait. I'm trying not to worry and haven't up until now, but it makes me really nervous having him under for that long.

[FamilyGal]

No update yets. Unfortunately, I have plenty of food. I have blown my points for today. :)


I actually came home to check on the kids. They have my phone numbers and we will go back up there in a bit. I kinda feel bad leaving, but what can I do in a waiting room, right? The nurses said that it was fine and they would call me if something came up. (Please tell me I'm not a bad wife coming home for a bit.)

[Wilson]

Of course not! I think it's probably good to get out of there for a bit and see the kids. Are they handing the wait okay, themselves?

[eaglesprings]

No, you were right to leave. There really isn't much you can do sitting in the waiting room, except, well, wait.

We had to beg my MIL to leave the waiting area when FIL had surgery. She felt so much better when she did get away for a while, which was more beneficial to my FIL in the long run.

Where is he having the surgery? How long will he be in the hospital?

[baby duck]

You were absolutely right to leave. You need to take the time to do things for yourself while you can, so that you can concentrate on taking care of him when he's out.

Keep us posted and let us know if you need anything.

[FamilyGal]

He's out now and in really bad pain. :( He has a HIGH pain tolerance too, so I know it really hurts him. The doctor said that it was more complicated than they thought when they got in there, but that everything went well. They don't expect him to regain hearing in that ear (perhaps slightly), but the main objective was to remove the tumor and to stop recurring infections. They accomplished that. I have to take him back first thing in the morning for a check-up. This is definitely something that a few years back they would have kept him in overnight, but I guess insurance made sure those days are long gone. Oh, and I loved writing the $1,500 check for our 20% today. :(

I'm just glad he is okay and home resting. He is zonked on pain killers right now and I am going to take the kids out so to eat so they don't wake him up.

[Wilson]

{{{{{{{{D}}}}}} Pain really sucks... especially in your head or face/throat areas, imo. Poor guy :(.

[rusti]

Hi FG! I hope all is well with dh!

[TripleA]

Glad to hear that everything was successful. Hopefully he can stayed medicated enough to sleep off the pain!

[cgwoolf]

I was wondering when I read your first post what the heck he was having surgery on that was going to take that long...now I know - tumor in his ear? That sounds awful. Hope he is not in pain too long. Seems like they don't keep you overnite for very much these days but I have actually had surgeons who fought the HMO and won nights for me to stay. Just seems to me that post op - the patient needs professional care for awhile.

You hang in there. I know how tiring this will be for you in his recovery. Men are the very worst patients especially when they hurt!

[herself]

I'm glad to hear he is doing ok and it sounds like the surgery accomplished what you hoped it would.

It is better to be shipped home from the hospital early. The less time you spend there the less of a chance you 'll catch something.

[11Linda11]

Hoping for his quick recovery.

[msucowboy97]

Hey do you want me to bring over the Jager and red bull tonight?

[schnauzermom]

I hope he feels better real soon!

[FamilyGal]

Hey do you want me to bring over the Jager and red bull tonight?

If the Vicodin doesn't start working for him, he has threatened to start drinking the Jaeger. He told the dr. this morning that this pain was worse than his kidney stones, but the dr. said the Vicodin should help. For whatever reason, it isn't.

His balance is REALLY off and it was like walking a drunk up to the dr's office this morning. I told him if he starts to fall over, he's going down because there is no way I can keep him up. (He's 6'3", 250 lbs) Poor guy.

They removed a tumor from his ear, drained the infection, repaired a hole in his eardrum, hollowed out the Tympanic bone in his ear and reconstructed his ear canal. All from behind his ear. They do not expect him to regain hearing, but hopefully it will keep him from having recurring infections and of course, removing the tumor kept it from eating through the bone of the skull and letting the infection into his brain. That was their main concern. The tumor was secreting an enzyme that was eating through the bones in his ear.

(I'm typing more about this now because my internet connection at home is acting up and it takes FOREVER to load pages right now. Almost like I am back on dial-up. Ugh)

Edited to add: Thanks for all of the well wishes!

[Wilson]

Did the doc say anything about trying another painkiller? Maybe switching to another might help? I can't imagine the pain he's having :(.

[FamilyGal]

Did the doc say anything about trying another painkiller? Maybe switching to another might help? I can't imagine the pain he's having :(.

No, Dave specifically asked for another one to try and the dr. wouldn't give him a new one. He obviously doesn't know Dave (and we wouldn't expect him too), but Dave has a high pain tolerance and rarely even takes aspirin when needed. He wouldn't ask for something else unless he was really hurting. :( But, I understand doctors being leery to hand out scripts. (Although mine would hand them out like candy if asked.)

[Wilson]

Stupid doc! :mad:

[baby duck]

:mad::mad:

Arrggghh. Vicodin does nothing for me. I'd rather take Tylenol. Stupid doctors.

Hope he is feeling better soon.

[FamilyGal]

Dave's still in a lot of pain. His dressing is saturated (and we aren't allowed to change it because it is packed way into his ear) and bleeding. He is absolutely miserable. I'm hoping he can get an appt today to go back so I can talk to the dr. Dave obviously didn't say the right things. :D

Poor guy says that this is worse than any kidney stone he has ever had. He is constantly nauseous from the pain and is just miserable. :(

MSU, time to bring in the Jaeger.

[Wilson]

I didn't realize that you didn't go in with him... definitely try and talk to the doctor! I can't believe that he's still suffering through this :(.

[FamilyGal]

I drove him there, but I wasn't with him when he told the dr. the first time he was hurting. I started to go back in to talk to him, but Dave said not to. He figured that the pain would subside.

[11Linda11]

It's still bleeding?

If you don't trust his doctor, take him to the ER!!!

[Sysgoddess]

Dave's still in a lot of pain. His dressing is saturated (and we aren't allowed to change it because it is packed way into his ear) and bleeding. He is absolutely miserable. I'm hoping he can get an appt today to go back so I can talk to the dr. Dave obviously didn't say the right things. :D

Poor guy says that this is worse than any kidney stone he has ever had. He is constantly nauseous from the pain and is just miserable. :(

MSU, time to bring in the Jaeger.
For better or worse, I've found that doubling the Vicodin and adding Vitamin V (Vodka) as needed works for me when nothing else does. I figure if I'm going to die I'm not going to die in agonizing pain.

I hope he feels better soon!

[FamilyGal]

The dr. FINALLY agreed to give dh another prescription. He was doing better, then he had a really bad night last night and was up until 5:30 this morning in so much pain. I called the doctor's office and insisted on something else. I told them I would bring his Vicodin to the office, they could count them and dump them knowing he wasn't abusing them. Ugh. They finally relented and gave us a prescription for Demerol (sp?). (They said I didn't have to bring the Vicodin pills to prove he wasn't abusing them...lol)

I surely hope the Demerol helps him. On top of the pain, he isn't getting any rest now. :(

[FamilyGal]

I say that and now he calls me to say he is taking the kids to see Harry Potter! Either he is feeling better or high on Demerol!

[TripleA]

Yikes! Should he be driving??

[IndianSpringsGuy]

I am trying to catch up on this. My network is not cooperating! HOw is Dave now? I had no idea he was in this situation! I hope he is better now.