Update on My Niece (Do Not Read if You Have A Weak Stomach)
Posted on August 5, 2007 - Filed Under Nieces and Nephews
Well, she was in the ICU all day yesterday but today was placed in a room with a phone so I did get to talk to her. I offered to go and spend the night in the hospital with her so that her husband could go home and get some sleep but she wants him there with her one more night. After her scare yesterday I can’t blame her.
We almost lost her. But because he was with her, he was able to scream for help to get someone to come to her room when nobody responded to the call button right away. She had seemed fine and was released from the recovery area. But then she ended up getting sick as an after-effect of the anesthesia. He then noticed her surgery drain quickly filling with blood and her neck swelling up, putting pressure on her throat so she couldn’t breathe, and blood spurting across the room through her stitches. She lost a lot of blood and they had to bring her back into the operating room for another six hours to fix that.
I’m sorry if this is too much information for some of you but I think it shows you should always have a friend or family member with you after any kind of surgery in case you can’t speak for yourself. Also, always ask for an anti-emetic (anti-nausea medication) even if you don’t think you’ll need it - if it saves you from straining yourself or busting stitches, it is well worth it. You would think you shouldn’t have to ask, but all hospitals operate differently.
Anyway, if all continues to go well she may be able to come home tomorrow or the next day. Okay - now I need another post to keep me positive for her sake. So that will be next.
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6 Responses to “Update on My Niece (Do Not Read if You Have A Weak Stomach)”
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OMG Teeni!!! How awful!! This must have been so scary for your neice and her husband … but thank God she is okay. Another 6 hours of surgery - far out!! I hope things go smoothly from now on and that she’ll be able to come home on time.
I’m a medical writer and I thought that everybody was given antiemetics as a precaution … I didn’t realise that you sometimes have to ask for them. I know when Tyler had his surgery they gave it to him and it was just part of the whole procedure. I agree with you, definitely make sure you are going to get antiemetics either before, during or immediately after surgery as they make a huge difference.
You know Hannah, they may have actually had some anti nausea medication already in her IV (they didn’t tell me whether she did or not) but regardless it obviously wasn’t enough in this case.
Teeni- Wow thank God for your niece’s husband! That’s good advice, having a loved one there to help monitor. I hope she can come home soon to rest and heal.
I have a weak stomach but that was not too much information. It is real.
Thank you for your kind words ladies. It just upsets me mostly because the most important thing to her is her 2 little kids and this setback means she is away from them for longer than she anticipated.
Ugh, how awful. And supposed to be not a big-deal surgery! Well. Not big-deal like open heart. I guess it’s a big deal when it’s happening to you or someon you love.
You said it, Snapdragons. But I guess any surgery is risky because of the anesthesia - that is what they say. That is why she was terrified in the first place. Thank you for your empathy and kind words.
I left comments for you about this at the zoi! Hugs!
Thank you, Harmonia!
Goodness…GOODNESS!!!
I saw your recent post about your niece’s homecoming, and wondered what had happened…
[speed in healing]
Thank you, BB!
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