Three Days in!

Well! it was my intention to update the blog today. To bring you all up to speed etc. I was going to tell you that Rog was doing very well, considering! That he is not being given blood transfusions anymore and that he is not being given oxygen anymore, and the big step of removing the epidural pain relief was done last night, and that things were progressing nicely.

Can you feel a BUT! coming on? Unfortunately, at 6.15am I got the dreaded phone call from the Royal Berks Hospital to say that Roger was in considerable pain, had been x-rayed, they didn't know what was the matter yet, but the doctors had been called in, the decision to operate was taken. Please could I make my way in at once!!

As a scary moment it was right up there with originally hearing that he had bladder cancer in Jan.2003 and certainly up there with the "3 agressive tumours" announcement in mid Sept.2009.

Rob and I were in the ward before 7.00am. Roger had gone to theatre at 6.30am.
Nurses were lovely as usual and offered us toast & tea. The tea we accepted. Our appetites had escaped us.
We sat in that awful day room for what seemed like an eternity, but was about 3 hours.

Eventually Mr. Shah, the consultant appeared and said "Let's go to another room!" I could not move. I was rooted to the spot. I grabbed the surgeon's arm and searched his face for clues. I did not move until I heard him utter the magic words "He's going to be alright!"

Mr. Shah took us into sister's office, sat us down & explained what had happened. Apparently, with this type of operation, there is a 1 in 200 chance of a hole appearing in the bowel. A tiny hole had appeared in Roger's bowel, and his system was being infected by leakage. It was tiny and didn't show on the x-ray, but the registrar noticed that the urine was dark and suspected what was going on and acted quickly. Mr. Shah said that if it had gone on for a couple of days before being discovered, then it would've been very serious indeed! Let's hear it for the registrar!!

OK! what they've done; They have washed the whole system through, and plumbed him up for a colostomy bag.

My darling husband seems to have got into the habit of collecting bags, and he's always telling me off for doing that!

Anyway! this time it won't be a bag for life, but just for 6 weeks, until the section of injured bowel repairs itself. They will then do a reversal.

He's in recovery as I write this and he won't be back on the ward just yet. This has put him back about 7 days, and obviously you won't be able to visit him yet a while, but I know you will understand.

Trust Rog! 1 in 200 and it had to be him! Apart from that the morning went quite well!