Trystan update

Trystan is at Children's. We took him in at 11 this morning for "bowel prep". His surgery is tomorrow (Friday). Bowel Prep is their way of saying "make him miserable and make a huge mess". He had a feeding tube in place, which is bugging the heck out of him, and an IV.

Through the feeding tube has gone 40oz of a fluid designed to clean out his digestive tract. BTW, 40oz is probably more fluid than he drinks on a normal day, and they fed it through in a matter of hours. Since what goes in must come out, he's been flooding his little ostomy bags. Those things are meant to hold poop, not liquid (and what's coming out quickly started looking just like what went in--clear liquid).

I think my husband and I have put on like 8 or more ostomy bags over the course of today, because they just won't stay. I was tempted to just leave them off and wrap him in towels. My husband kept trying to engineer solutions that included Foley bags. When I left tonight around 8, we had yet another bag, of a different brand that the hospital had that looked easier to apply, but possibly easier for him to wiggle out of.

Luckily, the geiser had slowed to an occaisional trickle, and I'm hoping my my husband's sake that he makes it relatively well through the night. I'm home for the night, and he's staying at the hospital. Trystan's on clear fluids through midnight, and then nothing (or maybe just water) until the surgery tomorrow, so my breasts weren't required at the front. Therefore, I get to sleep in the big comfy bed at home for at least a night or two, while my husband gets the daybed mattress thing in the hospital room. Yes, I feel sorry for him, but then I stayed every single night for the last surgery. This way too, Charlotte will get to see both of us over the course of the week-long stay, as I'll be back on duty when Trystan gets to actually eat again.

I really really hope that we never have to do this again. If I never see an ostomy bag again, it will be too soon. And I'm looking forward to actual poopy diapers. I'm sure the reality of that will wear on us quickly enough, but for now, it's a wonderful thought.

I'm off to bed. I may post again tomorrow, and possibly sporadically over the next week if I make it down to one of the family lounges that have internet access. Or, I might not get on again until we're all home next week. Man I'm tired.