Re: Doing a little better....

[Guest guest]

Hurray! One thing you do want to do is get your Dad up and moving. It will

help his digestion, circulation, and breathing.

Keep things indoors though. I don't know where you live but we have 9 degree

weather and lake effect snow here.

It sounds like things may be slow but they're moving in the right direction.

SOOO get some much deserved rest it looks like your Dad is finally getting a

break!

Narice

[Guest guest]

I bet that your dad is very weak from all the time he spent laying

down. My opinion is that he should just try and move around as much

as he feels up to. Sometimes just having a conversation is a lot of

work for someone who has been through a lot. I don't know where to

draw the line because you don't want him overdoing it. OTOH, the

more he does, the sooner he'll be able to do more and he'll probably

work up bit of an appetite. Getting up and moving around may help

his insides work better too. You may want to call the doctor's

office and see if they can give you some ideas. The nurses in my

oncologists office are very good about returning calls and I'd expect

the same from your dad's.

I can only imagine how hard it is for him. I was only in the

hospital for 5 days max, and it just knocked me down big time. It

has taken me a long time to get back to where I was prior to surgery.

Personally, I would also ask them for examples of what to eat. When

I got out of the hospital, they had a handout sheet of what a low

residue diet consisted of. They should be able to refer you to a

website or something else with what you need to know for the diet he

should follow. Also, you may want to find out when he can go from

liquids to solids and what signs will tell that he's ready.

I'm glad things seem to be getting better overall. Here's hoping

he's made it through the worst of it!

Cliff H.

> Thank you for your replies, , Laurie, Narice, and everyone

else.

> My parents went to see the doctor yesterday, who said that they

> should make a complaint to the hospital for sending them home

> twice with no discharge instructions.

>

> The good news is that they did an x-ray and things are still moving-

-

> although very, very slowly. There is also quite a bit of sounds in

> the stomach (probably working hard at trying to digest all that

roast

> beef, turkey, and hamburger they gave him! (Although he didn't eat

> much of it).

>

> The really good news is that last night he had his first BM (with

the

> help of a suppository) that wasn't liquid. We're all very relieved

> about that. But he is still so weak and tired. And he doesn't

feel

> like eating at all. The doctor said he should stick to a soft

diet.

> My mom also got him some Ensure.

>

> Does anyone have any suggestions for getting your strength back

> after two surgeries (one right after the other) and after being in

the

> hospital for so long (a week the first time and almost a month the

> second time?

>

> Thanks for all of the support and the valuable information.

>

> Karin (Toby's daughter)

>

> P.S. I hope your mom is doing better, .

>

[Guest guest]

Karin- glad to hear that your dad still has some intestinal movement.

>

I had no appetite for week or two after my two surgeries. Slowly

eating very small amounts of food frequently was the only solution.

Things like yogurt, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, cooked cereal,

small meatballs of ground chicken or beef and little seasoning, tuna

salad, noodles,bananas, squash, potatoes, canned fruit in light syrup

or juice, apple sauce, light homemade soups with little seasoning,

pudding, pumpkin pie are all things that work fairly well. Taking

in adequate quantities of protien is important for healing.

High fat foods by nature are not emptied from the stomach quickly so

I would avoid those for a while.

I tried to drink in between eating so I would not feel so full when I

tried to eat more solid stuff.

I could not trust myself to take in an adequate quantity of food,

because of my lack of appetite, so I wrote EVERYTHING that I ate

down, as well as the quantity and the calories. You should ask the

nutritionist how many calories your dad requires to maintain his

weight, so that he has something to shoot for. They should know

this, because they would have had to calculate this to determine the

quantity of TPN he was given.

I had problems vomiting Ensure when I started eating. A nurse told

me that the high concentration of stuff in these supplements can be a

problems sometimes. I found I liked chocolate flavored Boost much

better than Ensure, but even with that, I would mix it half and half

or even one-third Boost to two thirds milk to add some calories and

vitamins but to make it easier to take in.

Walking is really good to get back in shape, even if it is just

around one room in the house every few hours at first . Your dad has

been in bed for a long time. That, together with all that he has

been through makes back muscles weak. Even sitting up in a chair

provides more exercise for the back muscles than laying in bed. It

may be useful to keep a log of activity as well, so that your dad

has something to work at increasing a bit each day.

Best wishes,

Kris

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much, Cliff, Kris, and everyone else for sharing your

experiences and giving such good suggestions to help my dad.

I'm going to show him your messages so he knows that it is normal

to be so weak and to not have an appetite after his two surgeries

and long hospital stay.

And he's much older (74), so that has to be considered as well. I

think he will feel much less worried when he sees that others much

younger than himself also took a long time to get back to their

pre-surgery energy and well being.

My heartfelt thanks to all of you.

Karin (Toby's daughter)