Stay safe, ND and Pix!

I'm off to a book festival for the day, and then to see Rachel Bloom from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend perform today. ltc is spending the entire day with my in-laws, which has never happened before. Should be interesting.

Watching the fires is stressful, even from afar.

{Sheryl} I'm sorry the grandparents are more stressful than supportive.

Sounds like a great day, sj. Enjoy!

Just got back from doing hospital stuff with my sister. More tests, meds, and restrictions in her future. Step-dad is expecting to be released tomorrow. I figure to head north again on Wednesday.

Sheryl, it's kind of proof of concept that your Dad's attempts at discipline don't work on Mr. S, because it's not that you're not dealing with the poor kid "appropriately" because it's a situation where punishment won't work at all well, and in fact may exacerbate the disobedience and destructiveness.

Timelies all!

Yeah, Theo, that's true. As an example, we decided to go to the Maryland Zoo today, and Mr. S started complaining that he was hungry part way there. When food wasn't forthcoming, he started spitting at me and my dad, and hitting me. The rest of the trip wasn't great.

I am so fucking sore. lower back, hamstrings, glutes, right quad, right shoulder and tricep.

I was feeling better Wed and Thursday, then Friday had massage and yesterday was rough, but today is a disaster. I think my right quad has been compensating so much for the sore lower back and hammy, that now it is done for. just crampy whenever I need it to stand or sit.

stupid weakass core. Once I get through this, we are spending every other gym time on core.

getting comfortable in bed and sleeping is the absolute worst. any movement requires pushing up my body weight with my arms and legs and they are not having it.

I'm sorry, msbelle. That sounds just miserable.

Sore muscles means they're getting stronger, right?

My left eyelid is twitching. That hasn't happened in months. I blame my former employer.

Yes, that nice gentle soreness that means you are making progress. Sorry about the twitching; I hate that. My eyelids do that crap too from time to time.

Those on Twitter will have seen most of this.

So son had his Crohn's surgery on Tuesday, 10/8. Surgeon did an impressive job, removed part of the ascending colon, ileum, and 60cm of small intestine, but he didn't need a stoma/temporary colostomy.

I've been going to the hospital every day. Thursday, when I showed up, his gastro fellow and the gastro's attending were there and were shocked at how great he was doing. You wouldn't have even though he had had a cold, never mind major gut surgery. He showered. He had his first solid food in two months. We took walks. He spent most of the day out of bed. He refused all opiods (had 2 doses of morphine in recovery room, but was making due with Tylenol, gabapentin, and some ibuprofen).

Friday morning, when I called to see what time he wanted me to come in, he was very sick. He had almost passed out in the bathroom. I told him I was hopping in shower and would be right there. By the time I was out the surgeon was on the phone.

When you have major surgery, they have to put you on a maintenance dose of blood thinners after, to prevent clots. The surgeon said whoever wrote the order for the anticoagulant (Teppy, if you happen by, it was Lovenox) wrote it for the dosage you would get if you were treating a clot (so much higher).

He should have been getting a lower dose, once every 24 hours. He was getting a higher dose, every 12 hours.

On both Wednesday and Thursday, he got two high doses, each day (so 4 total in 48 hours, rather than 2 total lower ones)

He lost a ton of blood. His blood labs were the pits. They transfused him with 2 bags of blood on Friday and two more on Saturday. He was back to clear fluids only. They had to stop the ibuprofen (which also increases bleeding risk). To make matters worse, someone had decided to taper his steroids, which they weren't supposed to do. He's been on steroids since February, so his taper is a long term affair being managed by the gastro and an endocrinologist.

They wouldn't let him out of bed. He used a commode and jug to relieve himself. All that progress was lost.

They could have killed him.

Today, he's doing a little better (although I didn't like his color when I was there; dh and i usually don't go together, so he has at least one of us there for most of the time he's awake).

They took him off clears today. He had Ensure Plus and scrambled eggs while I was there. Dh said he had chicken noodle soup, tonight.

Tomorrow, my cousin (an RN) is coming in with me.

I'm furious, but I'm more concerned we see him through this crisis. From her ire, I don't believe his surgeon wrote order for the wrong Lovenox dosage. Her anger was palpable.

The nurse he's had over the weekend has been excellent, but my faith in the hospital is still in the abyss.

So that's where we are.

Timelies all!

{{{Cindy and son}}}