PEG TUBE SURGERY

Had the PEG tube surgery yesterday.  My neighbor Evelyn took me to the Outpatient Pavilion.  I was taken in right away.  Put a hospital gown on but could keep my pants and socks on.  IV started and then waited my turn.  I was the second one in line for the procedure.  About 30 minutes later I was taken into the operating room.  The anesthesiologist administered the wonderful sleeping drug and I was out.  Woke up feeling great and relieved that it was over.  

My brother came by and talked to us about the procedure.  Then I had a nice surprise.  An old friend - Ann - that I had not seen in years came into the room.   She is a nurse and working at this hospital.  We chatted for awhile and I was so happy to see her.

Then it was time to get dressed and I was wheeled out to Evelyn's truck and taken home.  Evelyn went to get my pain meds at the pharmacy and another friend Sylvia came over to spend the afternoon and the night with me.  I was in a good bit of pain and was glad to have all of the help I was getting.  Took the pain meds which helped for about 4 hours but was not supposed to take them but every 6 hours.  Drank some beef broth and later had a popsicle.  Drank a lot of coke.

That night I went upstairs to sleep in my bed and had a really hard time getting into a position that didn't hurt.  Took pain meds during the night and then slept a few hours before the pain woke me up again.

This morning I woke and looked at my tube which had some brown liquid in it.  This really upset me and I called the clinic.  They said that this was nothing to worry about and to flush it.  I am to let them know if it continues or worsens.  

I called my friend Evelyn to come over and help me with the flushing.  I couldn't remember what they had told me to do for this procedure.  Evelyn was my second set of ears and reminded me of how to pinch the tube, open the large cap, then push the plunger of water into the tube.  It was hard for me to do this with only two hands but hope I will get better at it as time goes by.

Then I took a nap without eating any breakfast.  Woke up around lunch time and ate some potatoes and a small piece of meat.

Spent some time online learning how to clean the area.  I am to wait 3 days before bathing and am not to get the area under water.  I will wash it, rinse, then pat dry and put some antibiotic ointment on it and place a gauze pad over the area.  I will be doing this tomorrow.   Also ordered a band that fits around my body that will hold the tubing in place.  It should be here in a few days.  I'll also need some more gauze pads.  

This is a little freaky.  Having to do this myself and alone is not going to be easy for me.