good to know your grandma is doing better bless bless xoxox grace
Wow! What a week. Haven't been able to get on here because I had to go down to Sussex at short notice and there's no internet at my grandparents house (well, there is now coz I got it connected yesterday, but I'm home now for a few days).
On Wednesday I got a call from Mum while I was at work to say that they'd found a twist in my grandma's gut and it had caused gangreen in her bowel. The doctors said she wouldn't survive the weekend. They said they could operate to remove the gangreen but the outcome would be the same. My grandparents opted to have the operation and they took her down that evening. They found that she had ruptured her rectum and so all the poo was leaking into her abdomen. It was full of poo and puss and they had to completely remove her bowel.
I drove down there on Thursday and went straight to ITU where my mum and grandad were already at her bedside. She was on life support, although she was concious. She looked terrible and didn't recognise me for ages. When she did realise it was me and not a nurse holding her hand she squeezed it so tight I thought my knuckles would break!
The doctors had said that if she didn't breath on her own that day they would turn the machine off and let nature take it's course. When Mum had got there in the morning, she was taking 4 breaths a minute on her own. By the time I got there, she was taking between 20 and 30 on her own. By the time we left in the evening, she was off the venitlator and breathing on her own, although with an oxygen mask.
We left that evening with a slight glimmer of hope. Friday morning, we got a call from the hospital to say that she was sitting up in her chair having a cup of tea! My uncle went in to see her and later that morning called to say she was being moved off ITU and onto the surgical ward. We got there with my grandad at 3pm and she was hooked up to a monitoring machine and the oxygen mask had been replaced by tubes up her nose.
I stayed at the house yesterday while the others visited her as the BT man was coming to sort out the internet connection, but they said she was doing well. When we got there today, the machine was gone, the oxygen was gone, all that remains are the lines in her neck that they need to push the antibiotics through. But she was very distressed and said the doctor had been to see her and said that if she didn't have an operation, she was going to die. I went with Mum to speak to the nurse who said that wasn't the case at all. The doctor had been through with her exactly what had happened so far. It's obviously all been a bit much for her and she's very confused.
But they're actually talking about her coming home and have already contacted social services to help make arrangements for that to happen. The colostomy bag that we were told she would always have may be able to be removed in three or four months.
So, in the space of a few days, we've gone from being told she'll be bed bound for 6 weeks, to being told that she's going to die within a couple of days whether or not they operate, to being told that we can start making arrangements for her to come home!
She's very depressed today and was upset about the soldiers that died during the Battle of the Somme, but I think that was probably the morphine talking. It's taking it's toll on Mum though who doesn't get a minute to herself between looking after my grandad and trips to the hospital. I had to point out the giant steps that my grandma has made since coming out of theatre on Wednesday night from an operation we were told she wouldn't survive, to where we are now.
It's far from over and I guess things can still go wrong. It's exhausting for all of us, but if there's even just a tiny bit of my grandma in me, I'm the luckiest woman in the world! She's truly amazing!
Wow! What a fighter your gran is Nefra!!! My goodness she has been through SO much in such a short time. No wonder you are all reeling from this roller-coaster of a journey. Sending you all lots of love and a BIG group Reiki hug plus lots of admiration and Reiki healing energy to gran.
Love and light
reikiangel
xxx
Wow, what a strong lady she must be. I hope she continues to go from strength to strength. And yes, lucky you if you are anything like her!;)