Continued - The Next Challenge

John's nurse came out and told me I could go back to see him in a few minutes.  They were getting him settled in the room and cleaning him up from surgery.

In about 15 minutes, she came to get me.  Of course, I was apprehensive about going in, I had no idea what I would find.  As she led me back to his room, she told me he had a breathing tube and was still sedated so he would probably not wake up when went in.

The rooms are spacious, beautiful and soothing in the Heart Institute.  There are large windows, ceiling to floor, down one side of the room, a bank of cabinets and a sink for the nurses' stuff, floors that look like hardwood, two flat screen tvs, one for the patient and one for family, two large comfy chairs, one that reclines and one that will convert into a single bed.  The bathroom is large enough for an entire family bath time and there is art on the walls.

Of course, all the monitors, machines, tubes, and people working on John quickly diverted my attention.  John looked so peaceful lying in the bed.  He had struggled so hard to breathe and now, there he was, resting comfortably.  I looked at all the monitors.  His heart rate was good, oxygen level good, blood pressure good, everything seemed to be okay.  The nurse had cautioned me that he had the breathing tube.  They are a necessary but terrible thing to endure.  A tube was forced down John's throat into his bronchial tubes. The tube is held in place around his mouth by massive amounts of tape, allowing little movement of his head, mouth or tongue.  Though he was breathing on his own, the breathing tube allows a machine to force the lungs to expand and fill with life saving oxygen.  With the tube taped in place, you can't talk, swallow, drink, or do anything else while it is in.  The body's gag reflex is so strong, you must be strongly medicated while the tube is in place so everything works and the patient isn't fighting the process.  John's hands were tied to the bed also.  It is necessary they said, when he starts to awake, his first reaction will be to get that tube out of his mouth, and that can't happen until his blood oxygen numbers are consistent.   Once they are consistent, the tube will be removed, but until then, he will not be a happy boy.  I knew all of this, my dad had surgery many years ago and he had the same thing.  Just looking at John brought all those memories back to me.  My dad was miserable the whole time and I knew John would be too.

I leaned over, touched his hand, kissed him and said, "Hey Baby."  His eyes opened slightly and with that, instant distress.  His face turned red and he chest heaved and he started trying to cough, but you can't cough with the breathing tube in.  It is like coughing through a straw the nurse said.  As his body struggled, the monitors started beeping and alarms were going off.  In a few minutes, he settled back down and I just stood and looked at him.  He still had lots of blood in and around his nose.  I wanted to wash it off but the nurse was working on him and trying to get all the tubes and machines adjusted.  I asked about his nose.  "We tried to put a tube down his nose to get any food from his stomach.  Since it was emergency surgery, there may have been undigested food and with the sedation any food left may cause an ulcer.  We couldn't get it down his nose so it is beside the breathing tube," she said.

I stayed with him for awhile.  "Are you going to spend the night?" the nurse asked.  "No," I said, "I'll be going home and come back first thing tomorrow.  What's the best time to be here in the morning?"

The receptionist had already told us they don't allow visitors to 'come and go' on shift changes.  Nurses have to go over charts and it is best to either be in or out, but no coming or going during that time.  And, my friend George had told me, "John will be looked after tonight, you go home and get some rest so you'll be fresh tomorrow."  He was right, it was Thursday night and I hadn't had any sleep since Tuesday night.  I was tired.

After a bit, I left.  It was a lonely walk to my car.  I was so tired I didn't think I could drive home, but the adrenaline lift from seeing John was okay, must have given me enough strength to make it home.  Coming into an empty house and crawling into an empty bed was hard.  So much had happened since I left.  But, John was going to be okay.  With that, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

To be continued....
PCQ