Day 2 - Swelling

At some point during the night I was switched from a normal bag of fluids to one with Potassium Chloride. I am not sure if this was something particular to me or if this is common but this stuff was painful at the IV site and by the next morning I noticed some odd swelling. I was only swollen on my left side. Only my left side. It was explained to me that as the fluids came in my body was processing them and taking a little bit to normalize but with a constant supply entering my left blood stream it couldn't process it fast enough and was swollen a bit. It was really weird but it didn't seem to effect much.


The doctors came and went. Bowel sounds?  Not much. Using the Incentive Spirometer? A lot. Incisions? Looking good. Any questions? Just the swelling. Alright, you're doing great.

I had forgotten to mention it in my previous posts, but during surgery they also shut down your lungs and put a tube down your throat to breathe for you. Pneumonia is a main concern afterwards so they give you a device that you inhale through trying to keep a little button in the smiley face as long as possible. They recommended 6-10 times an hour when awake. If this doesn't work well enough they want you to cough. I'm not sure how often I used it but it was a lot. A cough felt like someone poured hot acid on my diaphragm where the muscles had been cut. That little smiley face was my best friend for a few days.

Right after they left the nurse came in and said since I wasn't using my pain pump so they were going to take it away. I could just request a shot if I needed it. I guess it's a use it or lose it type of thing and they keep a pretty close watch on it. Although, I was happy to see it go. Besides the other side effects I was having, the narcotics slow down digestion so it really wasn't worth me using.

So the day basically passed the same as before; pee, walk, sleep, repeat.

In the afternoon, my hand had become really red in addition to the swelling. They had wanted to move the IV to the other hand but I had accidentally gotten that hand caught on the bed and ripped it out the night before. They were going to put a new one in and put me on oxygen and had me watch the TV to avoid what happened last time but she said it wasn't quite working and gave me a break from the IV instead and clamped it off. It was really weird to walk the halls without the IV pole to lean on. You get so used it and it becomes a comfort almost. A few hours later though and I was back on the IV.

It had also been decided at some point that my lack of bowel sounds needed to be addressed. My sister on the other side of the hall had a bunch! Curse her. It was quick, unpleasant, and it worked. I don't think any other details really need to be given than that... I could also eat real food now too.

So back to the normal routine.

Sometime in the middle of the night one of the nurses had come in to check my vital signs and saw my IV hand and called in the other nurse. She also suggested moving the IV to the other hand but this time I was hooked up to the vitals machine. At the mention of another needle my pulse shot up and set off the alarm on the machine. The nurse pleaded with me to calm down. She said there was an order put in to disconnect my IV once this one finished and I would be done. So I opted to leave my other hand alone and just wait it out. My hand was killing me at this point but I was still terrified of the not breathing episode and wasn't keen on trying it again. The other nurse said he would record my pulse from before the IV was mentioned :)

I tried to sleep the rest of the night to pass the time quickly and it was removed about 4 hours later. Oh happy freaking day! It's crazy how they can cut through muscles and tissue and the pain is bearable but my hand has a reaction to something and it's horrible.

She also let me know that I would most likely be discharged the next day!

My niece loved playing with the hospital beds. 

My Parents, brother, sisters, 2 nieces, and me.