Friday night, CJ woke up once during the night, but was able to sleep through the rest of the night. Shortly before 8:00AM, our surgeon's Fellow came by and looked at CJ's incisions. He thought they looked good; he was happy with the draining and said there was no problem with going home.
A little later, Dr. Dassinger, our surgeon came by to check on us. He reassured us that we had done everything right; there just isn't a way to know how or why we fell into the "lucky" 1% of Nuss Procedures that gets an infection. He commented on how well CJ look. We will keep our previously scheduled post-operative appointment next month. Then, assuming everything is going well, we will see him at regular intervals that most pectus bar recipients do: in 6 months, then in a year, then another...until the bar comes out.
Our ID doctor will oversee the continued staph treatments. We should see him later this week.
As is usually the case with hospital discharges, it was a matter of "hurry up and wait." We finally got home around 11:00AM. After getting CJ settled with some pain medication, I had to focus on a very busy day...my brother was getting married at 5:00PM! (Yikes!) And with the last 5 days spent in the hospital, nothing on my to do list got checked off!
At 12:30PM, the nurse for home health care came to go over all the paperwork and to show us how the IV medication will work. It's actually a really neat set-up. The PICC uses what's called an "elastomeric pump." All I have to do is hook up the antibiotic, and it does the rest. It pumps itself using positive pressure, so there's no equipment, electricity or batteries needed to work it, and it's really small and ambulatory. Each pump, or AccuFlo Ball, is a single-use pre-measured dose of the medication. It uses a one-way injection valve that just screws on, so there are no needles, and I don't have to worry about back-flow. The injection rate is pre-determined, so I also don't have to deal with that. It takes about 30 minutes for CJ's dose to infuse.
It's a simple 5-step process:
1) Sanitize the PICC injection valve with alcohol pad
2) Push 5CCs of saline solution
3) Attach AccuFlo Ball & start infusion
4) Push 5CCs of saline solution
5) Push 3CCs of heparin (a blood-thinner)
To make sure the correct order is remembered, the nurse told us to think of the acronym SASH: Saline, AccuFlo, Saline, Heparin. I forgot to mention the saline & heparin were in premeasured syringes that just connect to the injection valve, continuing to make this a very easy procedure.
About 1:30PM, CJ threw up. At that point, he decided that he wouldn't be going to the wedding. We were all sad about it, but we certainly understood. The nurse helped us through CJ's first at-home dose of Ancef (the antibiotic). Her visit was about two hours, which I didn't count on, so I was even more frantic when she left.
A dear friend came and stayed with CJ while the rest of us went to my brother's wedding. I FaceTimed him when the ceremony started, so he was able to attend electronically...I love technology!
While I was at the reception, CJ called and asked that I come home. He was hurting and just needing me. When I got home, I gave CJ some pain medication.
Around midnight, CJ let the pent-up frustrations of the last week out to me. He was hurting and agitated. "Why is this happening to me?" The emotional release & agitation lasted an hour, until he fell asleep. I assured him that while we don't know why it happened, we can trust that everything happens for a reason. I reminded him of my favorite passage in the Bible, my life verse: "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, New Living Translation) I told him that sometimes the only person that can truly connect with, reach, and comfort someone who's going through a bad situation is someone who's actually gone through it themselves. Their experience lends credibility to what they're saying. Instead of someone who just sympathizes, his experience will allow him to empathize with others.
After his emotional release, CJ had a great night's sleep. Sunday was up and down with pain and nausea, but there were no major issues. He didn't throw up again, so that's good. By mid-afternoon, the past week caught up with me, and I had to lay down for a nap. My nap lasted two-and-a-half hours!
Our first full day of IV antibiotics at home went well. The process is so easy that CJ was able to do the infusion himself! The IV antibiotic is given 3 times a day. He's also taking an oral antibiotic for at least a couple of weeks that he takes twice a day. He'll be on the IV for 4-6 weeks.
Monday, CJ was feeling really well. He had a great attitude, he was joking around, and he was begging to get out of the house. A nurse came by to draw blood for lab work and to change the dressings & injection valve. This will be done each week.
He felt well enough to go to a going away party in the evening and then later to the grocery store. Personally, I think he just wanted to ride one of those scooters at the store! LOL
The night started well, but at midnight, he needed some pain medication. At 2:00, he needed more. I had been sleeping in my bed, but at that point, he asked me to stay with him. He was really hurting in the lower rib area on his left side; the same pain he had complained about in the hospital. He was agitated about the pain and lack of sleep. He moaned a lot during the night, but never really woke up again.
Overall, it appears we're on the mend and that things are looking up.
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