and again....

We had another trip to the ER today for a bleeding stoma.  Once again we were told there is nothing they can do to fix it. I know that sounds frustrating, but it is true.  With the amount he has been bleeding it is too dangerous to do any surgery because they would expect a massive bleed.  The good news is that the bleeding stopped on its own today. They did not need to stitch it at all.  The other good news is that is bloodwork was great today – the transfusion worked well. I am sure the bleeding today took care of some of it, but at least he had good levels today before the bleed. He will have it checked again on Monday, unless we have more problems before then.

We were able to return home, and told that when it bleeds again to put pressure on it for 1 hour, and if it is still bleeding to then go to the hospital.  He was taken off the tinzaperin – the blood thinner – and the surgeon says that will make a big difference. It is a hard thing to make that decision, but he is in more danger of problems from bleeding than with problems from clotting. Just the best of 2 bad choices.

We are now working on getting him caught up on pain meds. He missed some because he couldn’t take anything until we knew for sure he wouldn’t go to the OR.   So he has been sleeping quite a bit from the extra meds.  We also are watching for dehydration as he is sleeping and not eating or drinking very much.

We meet with the Palliative Care nurses, (and I think doctor) Friday morning to see where we go from here. I hope after that we have a better understanding of what this all means in the big picture.

"Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying,"I will try again tomorrow." - Mary Anne Radmacher

TTFN
Lorna