More Adventures in Recuperation, #2

Today was not my best day. I started the day getting a sponge bath and change of IV site. While sitting in a chair and having a couple of sites unsuccessfully tried, I got a bit nauseous, then light-headed. I got back in bed and they hooked me up to O2, which helped. Something I haven’t mentioned so far is that while everything else is going on, I’m also having my first reaction to poison oak. Diane and I had gone hiking last Wednesday and run into some poison oak. I took a shower when i got home, but that apparently was not enough. I have the worst rash on the inside of my forarms, and some rash on my abdomen and thighs. This complicated IV siting, too.

I’m getting topical cortisone cream for the rash, which has meant that I’ve often put my cream-covered arms up and grabbed the lift bar over my bed. Around lunchtime, I nodded off and my right arm dropped onto my abdomen, which did not help things.

We’ve been clamping off the NG tube, then retrying later to see if things are moving. This afternoon, things had not. I’m trying again this evening. If things do get moving, I can have the NG tube removed.

The Foley catheter came out today. Other output seems to be indicating normal progression on healing.