My dad had his op on Tue , it was a very very long and stressful day.
My dad went down at 8am and returned to HDU at 7pm. Apparently the op went well and straight forward and they advised the chemo had done its job.
My dad was sipping water straight away and was cracking jokes.
My dad remains on HDU as his bp keeps dropping when they sat him in the chair and are unable to send him to the "normal ward " untill that has stabilised. Hes on some sort of medication for this. However dad takes bp lowering meds anyhow and has had low bp for quite sometime.
My dad has had no sleep for 4 days 2 days prior to the op he could not sleep with worry and now its over the hard plastic tubes /drains that he lays on in bed are sticking / rubbing on in his back which is a shame as he is pain free but the tubes and wires are distressing to say the least. ...he keeps getting tangled up in them all. ...but they just keep telling him to press his pca ....and now hes so drowsy he cant even speak ha ha.
Im hoping he had a little sleep last night and im hoping some of those hard plastic tubes come out , however i know these are very essential. He has 2 drains in his back 1 in his stomach and wires everywere aswell as an annoying tube in his nose which he hates. Lol.
Im so relieved he is ok though and feel he is dying to make progress and wants to be up but his low bp said no. ❤
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Hope1972
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Hi I am so pleased to hear your dads operation has went so well . It's very encouraging as my husbands journey is just beginning with 6 rounds of chemo and hopefully the operation . Hope your dad continues to improve . Take care . Jane .
I hope your dad is coping ok with the chemo ? Its worth having as dad was told it had worked alot yesterday and said they said it made the op easier and they didnt think it was a bad as they thought.
I felt a bit worried yesterday as my dad was very irritable yesterday and looked poorly.
Today he is in his chair and and has been walking with the physio 3 x daily horray....however he remains in HDU as his bp is too low to go to a normal ward. We are delighted to say the least.
Im going out tonight with friends tonight and freel im not as anxious about him today.. i know we have a long rd ....onwards and upwards
That's great that your Dad is doing so well 🙂 The nose tube got on my Dad's nerves too but they will take it out soon so he won't have to put up with it much longer. I think most of my Dad's tubes came out on about day 4 or 5? X
I take it the nose tube you are both talking about is the feeding tube ? My husband has had a feeding tube for the last 4 weeks as he is nil by mouth . Jane .
I know that my reaction when I was aware that the surgery was over was of relief that it was over and that it was out, Like your dad I had low blood pressure, the pain just after the surgery was incredibly extreme so I was glad to have strong pain relief. I hated the tube in my nose and took it out so many times that they kept i there with a stitch when I needed it, it still looks like I had a nose ring I was in ICU for 3 weeks as I had complications afterwards but my surgery was over 10.5 years ago at this stage (I had chemo first)
Congratulations on your 10.5yrs of beating this awful disease, its stories like yours that offer me hope and comfort.
Ive been into see my dad today he was sitting in his chair and has been walking around with the physio.
His Bp is still a little low but they have stopped the medication now and are looking to send him to a normal ward tomorrow.
They were a little concerned that they may of been a leak so perfomed an xray which didnt indicate a leak and it was from that particular feed he has had as there was too much fat in it or something so they changed the feed.
We seen the surgeon who helped carry out the op and said the operation went well and they took everything out that looked suspious and advised the op was an success as far as he was concerned.
My dad is so tired with the lack of sleep due to being uncomfortable on the bed and lying on the tubes. Im hoping he has some of them tubes out tomorrow. My dad has had 6 hrs sleep since his op on wed he is just so uncomfortable.
Hi I had the op 17mths ago. I was in critical care 5 days. I didn't have anything removed before leaving critical care. On day 6 i was moved they took out my central line which went into my neck for meds etc. i continued with chest drain, stomach drain , epidural and nose bag for a lot longer and catheter. I also had a jej tube for feeding. As you start to drink and it goes down ok then they will take out the nose bag. Mine used to fill up all the time and after 2 1/2 weeks i had to have a stretch. Make sure he is getting enough pain relief I was relieved when i had the chest drain out. Yes you can get sleep deprived. I used to sleep in afternoon when there was a break from visiting. It is a massive op and it takes time to heal etc but doing everything your told and physio etc It shouldn't be long before he is out.
I had a beanie cushion like a bolster that i used to put behind me to take pressure off of some of the tubes. (From Tiger)
All the replies and tips i get are very much apprciated and give me lots of hope and comfort that people can beat this awful cancer.
I took your advice about the beanie cushion and my dad has used it for his arm to rest on his chair as the wood from the chair is marking his skin. The nurse also gave him a heat pack as he suffers from backache which he loved. ❤❤
Keep your spirits up there, sounds to me like Dad is doing just fine for this stage, I am almost two years post op Ivor Lewis two part oesophagectomy and I can relate completely to everything you are saying about Dad and I just really wanted to wish him the best of luck.
Just one thing that does puzzle me is the drink of water so soon after the operation.
I had my op in London at St Marys with Professor George Hanna who is truly brilliant and he would not allow me to even take a small sip of water for the entire seven days I spent in ICU.
I was only allowed to have a sort of sponge on a stick moistened and rolled around inside my mouth under strict instructions to spit out and not swallow. My lips and mouth got so dry that the skin on my lips peeled off and I looked truly awful! (No change there)
Now almost two years down a very bumpy road with all manner of frustrations to face with diet, I am still three stone lighter than I started out (and was always slim), I am happy to be here as we all know the alternative.
It is frustrating for Dad at the moment with all the tubes and drains, but it will soon pass and if he's doing the walks with the physio he must be on the mend so give him my best and good luck with the future
Thanks so much for your post and your kind words about my dad. I love to hear stories from people like you . It does seem to be like a bumpy rd with diet ect and ive read a lot of stories regarding the up & downs of food dumping ect and i truly wish you all the best.
Im so grateful that my dad was given the opportunity to have this op as i know others who arnt so lucky. I know my dad will have good and bad days but will take each day as it is.
Ive read lots of posts about not being able to have sips of water and i was suprised my dad was allowed 25mls of water every hr for the 1st 2 days & then 50mls per hr for the next 2-3 days and today he has had a coffee and had a jug of water which he was sipping away as much as he liked. Not sure if this is a new thing i can only trust the team who is looking after him. My dad is under Proffesser Griffin from Newcastle RVI who has an excellent reputation and apparently the unit is the best in Europe so im told. ( life in there hands huh ) ❤❤
My dads nose tube , catherter , central line has all been taken out today and his drain x 1 will be removed tomorrow. They said ny dad can try a yoghurt later. He also has the jeg insitu to give him nutrition.
He has walked the coridoor x 3 times today and they said hes doing extremely well. ... he is pain free at the moment the only discomfort he feels is from the drains.
I still cant believe my dad has had this surgery he now looks so well..... im not complaining ....long may it continue.
Im delighted my dad is doing so well he may be discharged on thursday as long as he is still doing good. I was in longer for removal of my tonsills. Fingers crossed ❤❤
Well done to your dad and your family. Get used to about a nine month recovery period . Had my op march 9th and am now really on the road to recovery. Still get bad days but so fewer now. Swim once a week . Play 9 holes of golf twice a week ( badly by the way ) . Started yoga and very slowly painted the spare bedroom. Everything done at a nice slow pace. There is life after Ivor Lewis and it does take time and it takes a lot of determination and massive support from your loved ones. Best wishes to your dad.
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