The worst part of every hospital stay I have had is the bed! They always have just the sheet over the waterproof mattress. This is as comfortable as lying on a plastic bag. When I finally was able to get up, I had Colin take two of the blankets and spread them out on the sheet to help with this. I got up, mainly because they said if I got up and walked, I could get the boots off.
I eventually got something to eat, and felt well enough that Colin got his computer out and we watched the pilot episode of Bones. We have Bones in our Netflix queue. I had gotten hooked, but at least two seasons after it started, so since Colin had never seen it, we decided to see if we could understand some things by going back to the beginning. That was my limit, and it was off to bed. They brought a recliner in for Colin to sleep on, and it was nice to have him there so I wouldn't have to call the nurse for every little drink or trip to the bathroom.
The worst part of the hospital is that they want to wake you up for this and that. I had to have one more dose of IV antibiotic at 4 a.m. When she came back to remove the IV, she said: "Well, I'll be back in an hour to check your drains." Colin said: "No, check them now." She said: "I can come back. Its not a problem." Colin said: "I think you need to check them now, that way, she might get some sleep." Long silence and then "Oh..... ok." They are definitely on THEIR schedule in the hospital, not on a patient centered schedule.* But it goes to show that speaking up helps.
Thankfully, the day nurse bent the rules and left us alone until after we were awake at 0800. We got up, had breakfast, and Ruth Ann got dressed. The Doctor came by to give me a prescription and instructions, and we were on the way home.
* Colin's note: I need to write a posting about this, too. I have a suspicion that too much disturbance is bad for the patient. For example, in RA's case, her vitals had been perfect from the get-go. Why check them so often?
And the three IV doses of prophylactic antibiotic that she was given...did it REALLY have to be given on a precise 8-hr schedule? And did all the doses have to be IV? Post-game Googling finds that a single dose prior to surgery seems to be all that was indicated (reference Postoperative Prophylactic Antibiotics and Surgical Site Infection Rates in Breast Surgery Patients which shows a single preoperative dose is standard, and that postoperative application has no benefit). Ruth Ann could have had the IV out of her hand before bedtime, and would have had more sleep that night. Oh, well, no harm this time that we know of....hopefully there are no Clindamycin resistant bacteria floating around in her system.
* Colin's note: I need to write a posting about this, too. I have a suspicion that too much disturbance is bad for the patient. For example, in RA's case, her vitals had been perfect from the get-go. Why check them so often?
And the three IV doses of prophylactic antibiotic that she was given...did it REALLY have to be given on a precise 8-hr schedule? And did all the doses have to be IV? Post-game Googling finds that a single dose prior to surgery seems to be all that was indicated (reference Postoperative Prophylactic Antibiotics and Surgical Site Infection Rates in Breast Surgery Patients which shows a single preoperative dose is standard, and that postoperative application has no benefit). Ruth Ann could have had the IV out of her hand before bedtime, and would have had more sleep that night. Oh, well, no harm this time that we know of....hopefully there are no Clindamycin resistant bacteria floating around in her system.