Occam's Razor and Foley's catheter walk into a hospital...

I had posted earlier about some increased abdominal discomfort Caren had been experiencing this afternoon. There's no way to tell for sure that this was the issue, but we suddenly came to the realization that her foley bag, the collection point for her urinary catheter, hadn't been emptied all day. They drained a full liter out of the bag, immediately releasing another 100 mL or so from her bladder.

It is a perfect example of Occam's Razor, a philosophical principle devised by the Franciscan friar William of Ockham in the 14th century, that loosely translates to: the simplest solution is often the correct one. We discussed the possibility of the irrigation drain being stuck to the side wall of the abdomen, pouch distention, the reawakening of her GI tract, all the while ignoring the fact that urine was slowly backing up the collection bag and filling her bladder: she had to pee REALLY bad!

A doctor, two nurses (Caren included), and a paramedic all searching for the worst case scenario and all it took was a patient care tech with a smile and a urinal to relieve the pressure and send us on our merry way. She's had some spasming since he emptied the bag, but that'll happen to the best of us if you've essentially been "holding it" for 7 hours! Hopefully once her bladder stops holding a grudge we'll be back to normal and the pain/pressure will subside.