Home from Pittsburgh

Hi to all and thanks for everyone's well-wishes and prayers, it helped me get thru a difficult few days.  Right now I am home and well, feeling just a bit better than the day before, but can definitely feel that they poked around in my panky.  (I just added panky to my dictionary, its short for pancreas and the name of a friend from the  Milford Fire Co.)  I slept for 12 hrs. last night, I definitely needed it.  I also just erased a whole paragraph and lost it, it saves drafts as you go along, but couldn't retrieve it-damn..
So, we started the journey at 5:30am Thurs. Oct. 14th with my parents picking me up in Schwenksville and I was actually awake and ready.  We arrived in downtown Pittsburgh by 11am and was plenty early for my noon appointment to have the PICC line placed.  Instead of the PICC I thought I was getting they placed a simple IV line in my upper arm, just for IV access.  My veins are just very small to begin with, and have been used too much in the last 6 years.  Next I went thru pre-op testing, hoping that its in the window of time before a surgery, I'm not scheduled yet and really don't know when it will be.  But they did everything-blood test, chest x-ray, heart monitoring, and a general exam.  Got a CT scan a little later than scheduled, and had to drink my yummy radioactive drink for an hour before, 1 cup every 15 min.  Then when the CT tech attached my IV for the test, she was worried about me leaving the hosp. with the IV site, said they weren't supposed to release people with one.  So it took almost an hour to get the head CT woman to write a release, that I was indeed ordered to keep the line for my procedure in the am.  My parents were in the waiting room most of the day, they came prepared for that tho, and took a break for lunch.  I have a new little electronic solitaire game, I used to play it on my iPod constantly, esp. waiting for appts. but it broke recently :(   Was difficult to get thru all of this without one, and will really need a new MP3 player of some kind before surgery.  I am working with a wonderful hypno-therapist who made an MP3 to listen to just for hospital stuff-IVs, procedures, hospital stays, etc.
My parents went out to dinner alone, I wasn't feeling well from the CT scan drink and not eating all day, plus was fed up and cranky from everything taking too long.  I stayed in with the TV and had crackers and ginger ale.
Fri. am at 6:30 my mom and I arrived at UPMC's Presby building by taxi. My procedure was scheduled at 8:00 and I needed to arrive then for pre-procedure stuff.  Glad I had the IV site already, they were about to give the job to an EMT student, don't wanna mistrust the kid, but I really doubt he could have found a vein.  I was quite nervous at that point, but everyone was nice, and I'd had a Xanax with my morning meds.  In the procedure room I was out in a minute or two, thanks to what ever the nurse gave me, "for the ride" from the pre-op area down the hall.  Next thing I know (about 2 hrs. later I think) I kind of woke up, was in great pain and feeling sick enough to move my body towards the trash can on the side of the room, with the bars up on the bed.  A nurse came over, gave me the tiny kidney-shaped thingy to puke in and got me shots of Dilaudid and Zofran (for pain and nausea, respectively).  The Dr. who preformed my surgery, Dr. Sanders, talked to my folks, and I was taken to a room.  They figured I was in too much pain and nauseous to go home.  My parents told me what went on when I was in the room and mostly awake.  Dr. Sanders intended to get a wire thru the length of my pancreatic duct, he tried from one end with the wire and discovered how clogged it was in the middle, tried to go in from the other end with a needle. He was not successful in getting thru either way, and could not get the wire in.  He put a tiny stent in, designed to fall out as soon as I ate.  He told them, and me, that the surgery Dr. Moser previously talked about doing was definitely the only option left.  They tried the last possible procedure that could help. The surgery is not yet scheduled, Dr. Moser is in China currently and I'll need to coordinate times that I can get there and get back home, with being in hospital for at least 2 weeks after surgery.
As much as I hate to stay in hospital (and I like to write it like that now, as if I'm British), I was glad to be  still and medicated.  They kept on IV fluids thru the night.  I had the wonderful resident doctor, Dr. Daniella Damian who was from Romania, very sweet and attentive, she stopped to check in on me 3 times Fri. afternoon and evening.  Dr. Sanders and his resident came back to see me around 8pm, which impressed me, that's a long day for them, I was probably the first procedure at 8am but that's a longer than 12 hour day.  My parents had gone back to the hotel and to dinner after I got in a room, I slept off and on most of the afternoon, was so tired from the procedure.  I had some ginger ale and ice water in the evening and that went OK.
I was in lots more pain in the morning, I slept a few hours in the middle of the night, and being in one position and still too long hurts worse, and all of the anesthesia had worn off.  I got a yummy tray of clear liquids for breakfast-decaf tea, broth and jell-o.   Had half the tea and jell-o, just can't do broth for breakfast.  Dr. Damian came in around 9, asked if I wanted to try oral meds and go home later, said definitely yes.  It was worth some extra pain to not have to stay in hospital.  My parents came in around 11, and sometime after noon, they let me go.  The discharge insructions were to just take it easy, go back to my normal diet and get an x-ray and see my local doc in two weeks.
We went back to the hotel, I had a fabulous shower and cup of coffee.  (I know panky people, I shouldn't drink coffee, its the one vice I can't completely give up)  My mother had read about an orchid show on Sat., at a building of the Phipps conservatory, not in the actual botanical gardens, but another old building nearby.  I felt well enough for a short visit to the orchid show, in the small building and bonus of orchids for sale.  Talked to almost every grower there, got some good tips and information.  My folks bought me a lovely dark purple lady slipper ordhid.  Went back to the hotel to lay down, that's really the only way I feel any more comfortable, sitting isn't great.  I feel best laying on my left side with a pillow under me.  I had broth, jell-o and crackers while my parents went out to dinner at the Hofbrau house, which sounded intresting but I was too interested in laying down and sleeping a bit.  I also took in as much cable TV as I could, since I now have an antenna and converter box set-up at home.  I slept off and on thru the night, we got up for free breakfast, with lots of Steeler fans around, there was a game at noon downtown.  Left around 9am and was home before 3, not too bad really,  but was hurting by the end of the trip.  The kitty miss Babycakes was very happy to see me and even let my parents say hello.  I also came home to a nice surprise, a new espresso maker!  From Paul, who came over to feed Miss Cakes while I was gone.  (again, I know with the coffee, hehe)
As I began with, I now feel a bit better each day, sleeping a lot and just hanging in there.  Hopefully will schedule the surgery soon so I know when to expect and plan for things.  I didn't follow my own tip this last visit and get all my records, but UPMC is much better than Grand View or Jefferson with returning phone calls and getting things done and I asked for records to be sent to me today.  And my new tip is to read your written prescription before you hand it to the pharmacist.  I was given a script for 5 mg. of Oxycodone, to be taken in addition to my usual 10 mg. a few times a day, and was written as such.  The bottle came out with "take one tablet by mouth every 6 hr. as needed for pain up to 7 days".   I knew what the Dr. was giving me, but if someone didn't understand, or the Dr. didn't explain exactly how to take it, it could be misconstrued and they'd take only 5 mg. and feel worse than usual.  I doubt it, but hey, basically just a good reason to read exactly how to take things and/or ask your Dr. how to take it correctly.

Wow, when I previewed this I realized its really long!  If you read this far, thanks.  I just keep writing, its good to get it all out.. so there's another tip, if you write it all out things really do feel better, more finished.

 my new orchid

sunset view of Pittsburgh, Allegeny river to left, tallest building is UPMC's main building