Today we are reminded that sometimes information is given on a need to know basis only. This tends to happens when the outcomes are not particularly pleasant.
Yesterday after the feeding tube surgery, the nurse inquired if we had pain killers at home. This should have been our first clue that this surgery was not quite the walk in the park that had been implied by the omission of certain gory details. As soon as Ernie could take liquids by mouth, the Oxycontin was pressed into action. It dulls the pain enough to make it tolerable.
The tube itself is very small but there is some kind of a disc that it fits into that we weren't aware of. It is about two inches in diameter, requiring a quite a good size hole in his abdomen. No wonder it hurts!
We are always surprised when we are blindsided by things like this. Generally, we ask tons of questions. We decided that sometimes our defense mechanisms kick in and we subconsciously fail to probe so we don't have to face the bad things right away. I think the good people at Johns Hopkins have learned not to tell you more than you want to know.
Tomorrow we non-medical types get to change the dressing and give the tube a test run. Wish us luck.
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