Day 2

It's amazing what some strong pain killers and a good night's sleep will do for a girl. You read right - a good sleep.

I was very worried about sleeping last night. Even when I crawled into bed and tried to get into my favourite position, I cringed in pain from the port. I usually sleep on my left side, which is why the doc put the pigtail there; to let gravity help with the drainage. But there was no way on earth the pain would let me assume my normal position.

So instead, with the help of my dear husband, who arranged the pillows and tubing, put cream on my feet and covered me up, I was able to lay on my right side. And I didn't move from that position until I woke at 5:30 this morning. I dreamt of full drainage bags and ascities, trying to dress for work with the bag and revealing accidents. Obviously that's on my mind.

I've deteremined, there's no conceivable way I could wear this drainage bag out in public. Even when it's empty and I strap it to my leg, the end of it falls just above my knee. It also slides down my leg very easily. When it starts to fill and gets heavier and heavier, the gravity/sliding problem gets even worse. And no one wants to see the contents of the bag. Instead, I'll get the nurse to show me how take the bag on and off so I can leave Wilbur at home when I go out. Since I'm only supposed to take about 2 L off a day, I can do that as I watch TV in the evenings, on my comfy couch, in the privacy of my own home and away from public eyes.

Besides being extremely thirsty this morning, I feel pretty good. (Yes, I'm drinking lots of water to replace the fluid.) I only needed a couple extra strength Tylenol to take the edge off. I've managed to wash my hair in the kitchen sink and give myself a sponge bath. I have to converse with the nurse about how to take a shower. I can't get my dressings wet because then they'll be breeding grounds for bacteria.

I've even enjoyed had a cuppa joe and some breakfast.

My big concern is the colour of the fluid flowing into my bag. When I turned on the spigot this morning, the ascities that flowed out was awfully red. So, there's quite a bit of blood in it. I don't know if that's normal or if I've got something terribly wrong going on in my abdomen.

A home care nurse is supposed to visit today so she can show me how to flush my port and check my wound. I'll be able to ask her if this is red fluid is normal after a pigtail procedure or whether I need to visit the emergency room. God, I hope everything is okay so I can heal and carry on.

So, I'm house bound today, trying to figure this whole thing out. I have my work computer here so I'm going to try to be useful too. That was the whole point of this pigtail port; to be able to function and live as normally as possible. It may just take a few days for me to determine my new normal.

Tina