I've spent the past week in the hospital. I never, ever expected this to happen. I went in Wednesday morning, September 8 for a simple procedure. Dr. Stelmack was going to put the port-a-cath in, which is required before chemo for easier access of veins. The procedure was going to take around three hours, outpatient. He did mention there was a 5% chance of a collapsed lung but I didn't think that was really possible.
The surgery went well. Before I went back the nurses that assisted from my last surgery came back to say hi and see how I was doing. The surgery staff was amazing. I was under light sedation so I could breathe on my own. I woke up when they were finishing up, the blanket was over my face... that freaked me out a little. They took me out and did a chest xray. Dr. Stelmack cleared me to go home a little while later, I felt fine.
We got home and I wanted to go straight to bed. I went to the bathroom to change and get ready. When I sat on the toilet I got a chest pain that went from the bottom of my ribs to my neck down my arm... I started feeling queasy and broke out in a sweat. Mom was with me, I couldn't tell if I was going to be sick or pass out. A few minutes later I woke up with her and dad holding me. I couldn't breathe and my shirt was soaked with sweat. Mom called the doctor and they said to come back. We rushed back to the ER.
After finally getting into the ER, they had trouble getting a vein for an IV. My blood pressure was around 80/40 and I had to argue with the nurse not to put the IV into my arm that had the lymph nodes removed (to prevent lymphedema). They finally took a chest xray and discovered a small, slow leak in my lung. They thought it might heal on its own but they admitted me overnight.
I was moved into a room with a roommate. I had an awful headache and the woman's husband and son were watching monster truck racing. That was rough.
Thursday, 9/9/10 - They got me up the next morning for another chest xray and it was harder to breathe and move around. That had me a little worried. Dr. Stelmack came in and said my lung had partially collapsed. He had used the smallest needle possible during the port-a-cath surgery, and the needle could have nicked the lung sac causing the pneumothorax. He immediately put in a chest tube there in my bedside. He numbed my side, cut me and inserted the tube. When they turned on the suction it felt like I couldn't breathe and made me panic. The pain was unbearable. Once I started taking a few deep breaths it got better. They put me on morphine every three hours and two doses of Loritab every four hours.
Friday, 9/10/10 - Dr. Stelmack said my lung was starting to reinflate but it had a ways to go so I would be there a couple more days.
Saturday, 9/11/10 - There was lots of bubbling in the tube, meaning more air was coming out. Dr. Bissell was filling in for Dr. Stelmack this weekend. He wanted to make sure the air was coming out of my lung and not from the tube being loose, so he redressed the chest tube. After he finished, there was still a lot of bubbling and air coming out. That means it was the lung and not the tube. My roommate today is a young girl, a RU student with a chest tube. I got to hear Dr. Bissell remove her chest tube. It sounded rough. I'm looking forward to getting it out, but geeze...
Usually going a day without washing my hair makes it look like a grease slick. We are going on four days with no bath or no clean hair. I had mom bring a little shampoo from home. Now that my hair is short, I had the plan that if we took the curved bedpan and hold it up to my neck, pour water over my head (one section at a time), lather and rinse, we could wash my hair. And it worked!!! Having clean hair is a small but worthwhile victory. :)
Sunday, 9/12/10 - Dr. Bissell said my lung looked like it had re inflated well. But I would probably still be there until Tuesday. That gives it time to fill out then have a day off suction, then take the tube out.
Have I mentioned that being on a chest tube means literally being chained to the bed?! The tube is a couple feet long attached to the little bubble box (I don't know the real terms, obviously!) which is attached to the wall suction. So the other painful part of this is being stuck in the bed. To go to the bathroom there is a portable bucket potty they can put beside the bed for me. Which is super-fun with a roommate just behind a curtain and nurses assisting you. I also started getting sore places on my heels and my butt from being in the bed so long. I feel like an old woman!
Monday, 9/13/10 - After my early morning chest xray, Dr. Stelmack said my lung had re inflated so I could be took off suction and by tomorrow the tube could come out! I couldn't tell a difference when they took me off suction. They got me up and walked me to the end of the hall and I got to use the "real" bathroom. It felt great to move around some.
Then... mid-afternoon I started getting sharp, stabbing chest pains. I thought they were spasms. It was when I moved and I couldn't even breathe. Throughout the afternoon, there were more and more pains. By around 9pm, the stabbing pains were going through the center of my chest through to the center of my back and around that side, constant, so bad I could breathe! When I could I was gasping, groaning, and screaming for help. I pressed the call button and the nurses wouldn't come. After mom went to get a nurse, she said it wasn't time for my pain meds. I was screaming in pain and couldn't breath by that point. It was excruciating. I thought I might die, not exaggerating, the pain was unbearable. What the heck is wrong with this nurse??? Mom got her to call the doctor. He ordered another chest xray, EKG and a wonderful drug that numbed the pain. Mom called Dad in. I could hear mom sobbing and see dad standing there. It was the scariest night of my life. They kept me drugged for the next 12 hours, sedated really, until it was the next morning...
Tuesday, 9/14/10 - They did another chest xray this morning, later than usual. Dr. Stelmack came in to remove the chest tube. After last night's pain, taking the massive amount of tape off was painful, was doable. It took a few layers of skin with it. He had me bear down and quickly jerked the tube out. As dad said, kinda like starting a lawnmower. That part actually didn't hurt. After he patched me up and I got another round of drugs, it was quite a relief to have the chest tube out. I could move and breathe easier. They immediately did another chest xray, then got me up for a walk and later did another xray. Then I got the all clear to come home.
Home feels amazing!!! It's true you can rest and eat and just HEAL better at home. I can't shower or change the bandage until Friday or Saturday, but after a week in the hospital you don't realize how much you miss all the little things.
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