Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig Day 4 . . . NOT! ! ! ! !

He's Back ! ! ! ! !

This is what came out of his back drain about 11:30 this morning. I had already emptied it twice (8:30 and 9:30) that had about the same amount only it was normal colored.

I debated with myself whether to call Dr Kukar. (He had given me his cell number in case something happened that I thought he needed to know.) Gene didn't think so it looked that bad but he didn't realize what it really looked like. Plus, there was a clot of blood, almost the size of a quarter, in the drain. Now how it ever got through a tube about the size of a steel crochet hook is a mystery to me.

He said he would check and see if their was a bed available for him to be admitted and would get back with me.

About 10 - 15 minutes later I get a call from Maureen, his Physicians Assistant, asking me all kinds of questions. She wanted to see us in the GI Clinic and said we were to stop by phlebotomy before seeing them.

So 45 minutes after I had talked to her we were waiting for Gene to get his blood work done. Next we were in the GI clinic so between my phone call from Maureen to waiting to get into the clinic was 1 hour (+/-).

We Saw Jackie, one of the nurses, who got all of his vitals

Next Maureen, the PA showed up. She said she had been in surgery with Dr Kukar when she called us. She asked all kinds of questions and, of course, I had left his drainage log at home (taking it in tomorrow) so I tried to remember what I could. I got out the container with what I had drained out earlier and she drained what had accumulated in the "hand grenade" at the end of the drainage tube. It was VERY DARK RED and the clot came out in pieces.

When she left Dr Kukar came in. I apologized for calling him and he said I had done exactly what he wanted me to do. I had caught him with the  phone call right as he was prepping for surgery . . then I felt REALLY bad.

I showed him the container, the contents had gotten darker by now, and explained about the "clot" that had been in the "grenade" which had come out in the other container next to the one I brought in.

He sent Gene down for another catscan, fourth one since he had surgery.

When we got back to the GI clinic after the scan he explained the "worse case scenario" for this color of drainage. I can not remember the name he said but I know when he said it (either a vein or artery) that it was a major one. During the surgery he had to clamp it off and stitch it up. If  there was fluid pooling under it and touching the clamp it could erode( not his word, but a similar meaning) which would cause a major leak and if not caught son enough the patient could bleed out. If caught in time, the patient would need to be rushed into surgery and get it cauterized and h ope it was caught in time.

HOLY SHIT ! ! ! ! !Now I am SO THRILLED that I called him when I did.

He told us that when the radiologist read the catscan he saw no leaking arteries or veins but he would keep going over the scans just in case it was a minor vein that didn't show up well.

After explaining all of this he said he wanted to readmit Gene for 24 - 48 hours to see what that back drain produces. That made me breathe a sigh of relief. Not that we are out of the woods but that he is back where he can be watched closely and not have a wife who is freaking out that something major may be happening. And I know if Gene came home tonight  he wouldn't have slept. And probably wouldn't sleep until he saw Dr Kukar at his appointment on Friday.

So, back to daily drives to Roswell to see what's happening now. But, before I go tomorrow I MUST stop by City Hall to turn n some paperwork and then to the post office to mail some of his bills to American Fidelity, similar to AFLAC. Thank God I took out this insurance when I did. I had never used it and have paid premiums for more years than I can remember. But, if they can help us out at all it will be more than worth it.