Adjusting to life away from the hospital

One week ago today, Shirley was released from UW Medical Center and the adjustment to life in our temporary home with her brother's family is going well.  The first few days reminded me of brand new parents coming home with a new baby, where every little thing results in a call to the doctor.  Shirley's apprehension about a recurring incident of infection was completely understandable, but did result result in a false alarm return trip to the ER on Thursday to validate that her wounds were healing properly and that there was no sign of infection.

Friday brought another scheduled trip to the hospital.  This time, for what was supposed to be a dressing change for her wound vac.  But when they removed the bandaging, it was determined that the vac had done as much as it could and that it was time to move on to the next phase of wound dressing.  The wound nurse used some special gauze that was impregnated with silver. The silver has powerful antibiotic properties.  She also gave us supplies to continue daily dressing changes with this gauze at home.

For those keeping score at home, with the wound vac removed, Shirley has only one more tube to be removed.  She has an appointment on Friday with the general surgeon and if there are no issues prior to that related to her gall bladder, they will remove the drain tube and she'll be tubeless for the first time since March 9!

Although Shirley's strength and energy level are building, she still is in recovery mode and is needing plenty of rest each day.  We spent a relatively quiet weekend mostly at Pete's house, but we did get her out of the house on Sunday (Mother's Day) for a trip to a Salon for a pedicure. This was a gift to her from her daughter, Jessie and was enjoyed very much.

Monday Shirley went back to the hospital for a check-in with the thoracic surgery team to inspect her wound.  There is one spot that is still pretty deep that they are now talking about possibly doing a skin graft to cover it up.  Timing for this will depend on if they need to do anything with her gall bladder, as they would like to do both procedures at the the same time if both are required.  So Friday's session with the general surgeon will help clarify if there is a need for any abdominal work.

This week, Shirley has had to fend a little more for herself as I have been out of town on business. Her brother provided transportation to and from the doctor on Monday and one way on Tuesday.  As Shirley cannot drive for several more months, she took a cab home for that appointment.  She said the driver was most helpful in getting her back into the house.

Today, Pete took her out for lunch--her first trip to a restaurant in over three months. The photo was taken during their meal out.

I'll plan to post again on Friday or Saturday after her next appointment.