Bits and Bites

The doctors and nurses have begun doling out bits of information about Ernie's surgery and recovery.  After all these years, we are familiar with this routine.  At first we found it maddening.  Why not just tell us everything at once?  But now we have come to appreciate the fact that it is easier to handle scary things if you have time to digest them a little at a time.  Here is what we know so far...

The surgery is tentatively scheduled for 7 AM on Tuesday.  There will be three doctors: Ernie's laryngologist (this is an otolaryngologist with an extra year of training) and two general surgeons.  The laryngologist has the hardest jobs of sedating and inserting the trach tube.  The other surgeons assist and then insert the feeding tube. 

Depending on how he does, Ernie may spend the first night in the ICU.  After that he will return to his room in the cancer center.  He will not be able to speak for the first few days--until the doctors change the trach tube.  Then he will be able to talk to his hearts content.  Knowing Ernie, this period of enforced silence will be difficult.  I'm trying to decide how many pens and tablets of paper I might need to supply! 

The feeding tube people will use the recovery time to get Ernie adjusted to the canned food.  They will start with a minimal amount and try to work up to a full portion before he is discharged.  Since this is a permanent tube, it is different than the one he had previously so we will also get instruction on how to use it.  There are many feeding options.  He can eat at regular intervals or he can eat while he sleeps.  We are told that there is even a backpack you can wear that holds this food so you can eat on the go if you want to.  This will be a huge improvement for Ernie.  Instead of spending 5 hours a day eating as he currently does, it will only take minutes per day of active time.

Once he is home, it will take another three weeks or so to get his strength back and for his throat to get over the trauma of the surgery and to adjust to the trach tube.  Luckily the weather forecast does not favor golfing, so he picked an excellent time to be out of commission.