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So my 90 year old Grandmother was taken to the ER yesterday. She had a bowel obstruction, but more than that, it was because she had a severe abdominal hernia and her bowels pushed out. The poor thing has advanced COPD, asthma, type 2 diabetes and she's almost blind...but of course the trooper that she is, if it weren't for her oxygen tank, she would never let on that anything was wrong with her and you'd never know. Most are surprised to find out she's 90.
So her options yesterday were surgery...obviously risky for someone her age, not to mention that they didn't know if there was any damage to her bowels and if they would need to be resected or if she would end up with a bag...or she would have to wear some sort of "binder" around her for the rest of her life to keep her insides...inside..but there is the risk of it moving and things popping back out and if it happened at home (she lives alone) when she was alone, she would have to push everything back in herself and call an ambulance...and that's IF she would be able to cause herself that much pain and get it all back in. And if something popped out and got pinched...well unfortunately...that's all she wrote.
Anyway, she opted for the surgery and the doctor agreed with her.
Good news. No damage to her bowels and she did very well under anesthesia.
She's in a lot of pain right now (understandably) and is very weak and tired (again...captain obvious over here...) but surgery wise, it really is the best outcome we could have hoped for.
She has peed (by herself), and as of about 2 hours ago, still are waiting for her to poop, but we're hopeful that things will start moving. She's on a limited diet at the moment and had been vomiting for several days prior so I don't know how much is even in there to come out. So far what she has consumed post surgery (broth, jell-o and black tea) has stayed down so that's good too.
Grammy is a feisty little thing, with a great sense of humor. My Mom was there when they wheeled her out this morning, and she said that as she came out of anesthesia, she looked around all confused and said "Well, what do you know! I made it thru!"...Everybody (docs and nurses too) had a good laugh.
And the humor doesn't stop there. Before my Mom left this afternoon, Grammy was getting a sponge bath. And my Mom said that when the nurse was washing her chest area, Grammy said "Yup, this is what you have to look forward to when your 90!". The nurse was shocked and said "You're 90?!...I'll consider myself lucky if I've got what you're working!"
So anyway, she's currently in recovery, and we're not sure how long she'll have to stay...
They did say that her potassium was little higher than it should be, so they will be monitoring that, but hopefully it's something that will regulate when her bowels start to function again.
Then of course there is always the risk of infection. She is diabetic, so we are concerned about that...
Anyway, I hope you will think of my Grammy, and send some good thoughts/vibes/prayers our way that she recovers without indecent. We don't want her to go thru more than what she has, all alone (my Mom's the only one who can visit her at the hospital). We want her home and not forced into having to live at the hospital or a long term care facility...especially right now, due to the pandemic.
Thanks for reading....
So her options yesterday were surgery...obviously risky for someone her age, not to mention that they didn't know if there was any damage to her bowels and if they would need to be resected or if she would end up with a bag...or she would have to wear some sort of "binder" around her for the rest of her life to keep her insides...inside..but there is the risk of it moving and things popping back out and if it happened at home (she lives alone) when she was alone, she would have to push everything back in herself and call an ambulance...and that's IF she would be able to cause herself that much pain and get it all back in. And if something popped out and got pinched...well unfortunately...that's all she wrote.
Anyway, she opted for the surgery and the doctor agreed with her.
Good news. No damage to her bowels and she did very well under anesthesia.
She's in a lot of pain right now (understandably) and is very weak and tired (again...captain obvious over here...) but surgery wise, it really is the best outcome we could have hoped for.
She has peed (by herself), and as of about 2 hours ago, still are waiting for her to poop, but we're hopeful that things will start moving. She's on a limited diet at the moment and had been vomiting for several days prior so I don't know how much is even in there to come out. So far what she has consumed post surgery (broth, jell-o and black tea) has stayed down so that's good too.
Grammy is a feisty little thing, with a great sense of humor. My Mom was there when they wheeled her out this morning, and she said that as she came out of anesthesia, she looked around all confused and said "Well, what do you know! I made it thru!"...Everybody (docs and nurses too) had a good laugh.
And the humor doesn't stop there. Before my Mom left this afternoon, Grammy was getting a sponge bath. And my Mom said that when the nurse was washing her chest area, Grammy said "Yup, this is what you have to look forward to when your 90!". The nurse was shocked and said "You're 90?!...I'll consider myself lucky if I've got what you're working!"
So anyway, she's currently in recovery, and we're not sure how long she'll have to stay...
They did say that her potassium was little higher than it should be, so they will be monitoring that, but hopefully it's something that will regulate when her bowels start to function again.
Then of course there is always the risk of infection. She is diabetic, so we are concerned about that...
Anyway, I hope you will think of my Grammy, and send some good thoughts/vibes/prayers our way that she recovers without indecent. We don't want her to go thru more than what she has, all alone (my Mom's the only one who can visit her at the hospital). We want her home and not forced into having to live at the hospital or a long term care facility...especially right now, due to the pandemic.
Thanks for reading....
....
. She sounds like a tough, funny lady. I hope she can be with you for awhile longer. 
