The latest

We met with both surgeons today. Although they had slightly different opinions on the proper method to ensure adequate functioning of the lower GI tract (I really need to spare ya'all the details...trust me!),they concurred that Caren looks good and is healing nicely. Her progress has been nothing short of miraculous.

We have walked twice today, she actually ate jello (something incomprehensible in a pre-surgery world) and stayed awake for more than an hour. She is admittedly "stoned out of her mind" on pain killers, but she's functioning. She even commented that, a week ago, even eating a bowl of jello would have sent her racing to the bathroom. So far, so good.

They will be evaluating the drains currently in place in her abdomen tomorrow; hopefully they'll remove them which will both increase her mobility and give her organs a chance to "reanimate" somewhat. She says it feels like everything inside is "sleeping". They've had a continuous lavage of saline running through her abdominal cavity since the surgery that has everything chilled out. With some food going in (is jello considered food?) and the drains removed, maybe we'll get to the momentous first test of the new plumbing tomorrow or Monday. My guess is that the surgeons aren't going to let her go until they know the lines are clear and the drains are running smooth, to keep with the plumbing metaphor (this offers me the opportunity to report without using descriptive medical terms for the distal portions of Caren's digestive tract, if you know what I mean).

Our patient is sleeping soundly now. It's a Dilaudid and Benadryl induced coma, but it's sleep. She'll wake up to fresh flowers and a dinner tray with more jello. We did orange jello twice already and scored some yellow jello (that is so cool to say out loud: yellow jello, yellow jello, yellow jello), maybe tonight she'll hit the motherload and get some red, or maybe even something exotic like blue jello. When your world is reduced to a ten square foot, curtain-clad hospital room, it's the little things that make all the difference.

Caren is reading the blog now that she's more awake. Please send your comments and well-wishes, it'll give her something else to smile about besides my potty jokes regarding her newly renovated GI tract.