A huge thank you to all our new friends on the 6th floor (GH 6) at the Health Science Centre Hospital. Everyone there went above and beyond to help us through a very difficult and emotional time!!! Thanks so much for all your kindnesses, care and professionalism. We felt like welcomed guests to a 5* hotel... Special thanks to our Dr. Janice...You are ALL the best!!!!Rick went into the hospital with an "inny" and came out with an "inny and an outie!" I have told him he was always so special!!! lol The feeding tube was placed about 6" above his navel. It allows him to eat both by his mouth and have supplement feedings through the tube. He won't be so tired having to chew all his food now. We are hoping that he will be able to gain some weight now!
We were in for 5 days. A huge thank you also to our families for their visits, phone calls, support, flowers, cards and special drawings by our grandchildren! Thanks Val for spending a night standing guard over Rick while I had a long needed sleep in a real bed! My sis and husband arranged for a wonderful massage for me also. It felt so great after having slept in a lazy boy for 4 nights by Rick's bed. We came home today packed with some homemade soup and food mom put together for us also.
The "Peg" tube (Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy) that was installed allows Rick to get his nutrition by liquid supplement while he can still eat only the foods that he really wants to eat!!! ie...meat!!! NO more salads if he doesn't want to eat it!!! lol
Yes, for those of you who are wondering....once again....I did the traditional kick the feeding pole thingy...wishing we would never have to need such a thing....but then proceeded to get it set up to do Rick's supplement feeding for the first time at home! ( as noted in our previous blogs... A traditional thing I have done since the very beginning was...to kick the new piece of equipement but then embracing it's ability to make Rick's life easier!"
I spent time in the hospital learning to do the "peg feedings" and I got taught in cough assist techniques. The rest of the time I spent just taking care of my man. They talk about some women being "high maintenance women" but yikes...I am married to a "high maintenance man!!!" As I type this he is being fed for the first time here by the "peg".
