Mexicali Day 5 - Going Home!
Feb 22, 2009
Ernesto picked us up at 7 a.m. and we ran for the border! It only took us about 15 minutes to get through the line; our car didn't get stopped, so we just showed our passports and got right through. We drove back to San Diego; Ernesto pointed out several interesting rock formations and sights along the way. He dropped us off at the airport and I tipped him $20. Mark was tired but felt okay overall. We got him an apple juice and rested until our flight boarded. We were able to preboard, and we had purchased an extra seat, so we were able to get fairly comfortable on the plane. The flight was uneventful and we were so thankful to get home!
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Mexicali Day 4 - Second Postop Day
Feb 22, 2009
We slept great overnight! Without the IV fluids, Mark got some good uninterrupted rest, so I did, too! He did get up once - the blue dye is giving him diarrhea. We got him cleaned up and went back to bed. This morning was Mark's final leak test. Dr. Campos took him to the fluoroscope room and made him drink some God-awful contrast fluid that made him retch - poor thing!! He passed his test with flying colors and was given some apple juice to clear the taste out of his mouth. It looked like an awful procedure. We returned to his room, and they brought him some homemade chicken broth which smelled wonderful. Yolanda gave me the recipe so I could make it at home. Later in the afternoon, Dr. Campos came in and removed Mark's drain. He was nervous that it was going to hurt a lot, but in the end he said it didn't hurt at all. His IV site was also getting sore, so they took it out as well. He rested in the afternoon and I went to one of the pharmacies to buy medications. I got a couple of courses of antibiotics, as well as Mark's Nexium mups. I didn't find the drugs to be very cheap; I have insurance and am used to paying my copay for drugs, not the full price. I spent $200 USD and got one course of zithromax, one course of augmentin, and 2 months worth of nexium. I guess you're paying for the convenience of not having to go to the doctor when you get sick. We spent the rest of the day walking around the hospital, walking around outside - it was beautiful again - and sitting on the bench outside. During our walks, we stopped at the scale and he weighed himself - he lost 6 pounds during our time in Mexico! So, all in all, he has lost 26 pounds in 3 weeks. Amazing. In the evening, Lucy came in and gave us Mark's x-rays, copies of his fluoroscopic leak test, copies of his labwork, and the surgery report. She also gave us some Supradol sublingual tablets for pain, and 2 weeks' worth of nexium mups. Dr. Aceves came around and told us goodbye - he is so compassionate! We went to bed, ready to go home the next morning.
Tip for caregivers: Bring mostly small bills, like fives and ones. If you try to change a twenty, they usually give your change in pesos. Unless you want to try your hand at paying with the local currency, it's just easier to give exact change with a little more for a tip.
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Mexicali Day 3 - First Postop Day
Feb 20, 2009
Last night was very long, and neither of us got much sleep. Mark had to get up every hour or so to pee, since he had IV fluids going. He needed help getting in and out of bed, and positioning the urinal. He also became nauseated a couple of times during the night. This morning they started him on sips of water. He did fine with it, so they gave him the much-talked-about apple juice with blue dye for his first leak test. After not being able to drink anything for so long, he said it tasted great. Of course, I got some great pictures of his blue teeth and tongue. We got up several times to walk. He showered, shaved and brushed his teeth, while I changed his bedding. One thing I will say about the care here is that they rely on patients' partners a lot for personal care. The hospital was full and the nurses were busy quite a bit of the time, and no one offered to help us with anything. This was fine with me; being a nurse, I'm used to providing personal care. They have you go ahead and shower with your IV and drain still in, which is another difference from the US. We walked outside and sat on the benches by the emergency entrance; it was 75 degrees and sunny, and felt great. Mark had a delicious supper of apple juice and Tang. He kept everything down fine, but it was a learning process - drinking too much at once causes pain. Later in the evening they capped his IV, so he no longer had fluids running. They gave him a sleeping pill dissolved in water at bedtime. We were both exhausted after two nights of very little sleep, so we went to bed early!
Note to caregivers: you will be depended on for a lot of personal care, so meals for you will be rather sporadic. I would recommend bringing snacks like granola bars, protein bars, etc. so you can eat when you have a minute. Bring something to do, like magazines or a laptop, so you can do short activities while your patient is sleeping. There is nothing here to do, there are no magazines in English, and there are only 2 English channels on the TV. I also brought some wet wipes to help with personal cleaning aside from shower time. He got sweaty several times, and I would wipe him down then put the fan on him - he said it felt really good.
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Mexicali Day 2 - Surgery
Feb 18, 2009
This morning we were up early. We got ready, then walked around the Hotel Lucerne, taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. A hotel groundskeeper came up to us and angrily gestured and spoke in Spanish, basically telling us that taking pictures was prohibited. It was very strange. We went to the office to check out, and told them what the man had said; the manager then told us we could take as many pictures as we wanted. Ernesto picked us all up at 7 a.m. and took us back to Almater. We met with Dr. Campos, who explained the recommended post-op diet and answered last-minute questions. They then took us to our rooms, where Mark had a mini-meltdown. He got emotional for a few minutes; I think it finally hit him that he was going to have surgery and he needed reassurance. He settled down and changed into his gown. The nurse, Tania, who did not speak English, took his vital signs. The internal medicine doctor came in and discussed Mark's test results from yesterday, all of which were perfect. He cleared Mark for surgery. Then two different anesthesiologists came in and spoke with us, explaining the process for medication administration and surgery. Lucy came in and gave Mark pills for nausea and anxiety. Sergio came in, did an exam, and gave him a shot of heparin in his belly, to prevent blood clots while lying still. About 30 minutes later they rolled him out of the room in his bed, and took him to surgery. I said goodbye to him in the hall, and shed a couple of tears myself. About 2 hours later, Dr. Aceves called to the nurse's station and I spoke with him; he told me that Mark was in recovery and had done very well, but he would be there for 2 more hours. So, the other patient's husband and I went to the cafeteria to eat lunch. The food was great and the prices were very reasonable. We went back to the unit and waited; I got on the hospital's wireless internet on my laptop and sent update emails to all our family members. Two hours later, they rolled Mark back into the room in his bed. He looked horrible; very pale and sweaty. He said he was hot, so I told Tania "caliente," which means hot, and she brought a fan right in. He had 4 small laparoscope incisions covered with tape, and a penrose drain covered by a colostomy bag, draining small amounts of bloody drainage. Mark was sleepy for a long time but eventually he felt strong enough to sit on the edge of the bed, then stand up. He alternated between standing up to pee and walking a bit, then sleeping. The second time he walked around, he got nauseous and retched a few times. He did vomit a little mucus. I think he got hot; it was very warm in the hospital this afternoon. We hustled him back to the room and put him back to bed with the fan blowing right on him, and they gave him a dose of Zofran in his IV. This did the trick and he went back to sleep. Later in the evening, Dr. Aceves and Dr. Campos came back to the hospital and checked on us again. If I can say anything about the care here, it is that you receive lots of attention! It's unusual to me, being from the US, where it seems like doctors can't wait to stop talking to you. I must have seen Dr. Campos ten times today; he would come up and just hang out and talk to the patients and partners between surgery cases. Everyone is so willing to answer your questions and address any concerns or doubts you have, it's wonderful. They will be giving Mark something for pain and sleep in a little while, so hopefully he will rest well through the night tonight. I will be sleeping in a chair that pulls out into a cot; we'll see how comfy that is. Honestly, I'm so tired, I could probably sleep on the immaculately clean marble floors! Hopefully Mark will be feeling better tomorrow...
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Mexicali Day 1 - Preop
Feb 18, 2009
Today we flew to San Diego from Kansas City. We were fortunate enough to get a direct flight on Southwest. I was pretty nervous about it being a full flight, so we went ahead and bought an extra seat on the plane so we wouldn't have to worry about being smashed in with another passenger. Southwest has a pretty nice policy regarding "large sized passengers," where they will refund the money you paid for your extra seat if the flight is not oversold. We made it to San Diego and met Ernesto at the baggage claim area; he was waiting for us with a sign with Mark's name on it. He went and got the van, and loaded our luggage into the back. We drove to a motel and picked up another patient and her husband. We stopped at a convenience store to pick up drinks and snacks (and water for the pre-ops), and pee one more time before heading to Mexicali. The drive was very beautiful; the mountains, then desert, then farmland is so stark and striking. Mexicali itself looks like many other Mexican border towns; there are nice areas next to run-down areas. Lots of doctor's offices, surgery centers, dental centers, and pharmacies. We arrived at Almater Hospital, where the patients were whisked away for urine samples, blood samples, EKG's, and chest x-rays. Yolanda met with us and gave us a packet of paperwork to fill out before surgery tomorrow. Afterwards we met with Dr. Aceves, who spent lots of time explaining the procedure and how to be successful with it, and answered all our questions. Next, we were taken to the Hotel Lucerne, which on the outside is very beautiful - lots of marble, beautiful landscaping, pools and fountains. There are three restaurants on-site, so you don't have to go exploring to find a place to eat. We checked in to our rooms, which weren't so nice. My hubby and I have traveled extensively, and our room compared to your average Motel 6. The beds were very comfortable, but the room was very run-down, the shower door came off the track, the door didn't lock well, and there was a lot of clanging noise like there was a storage room on the other side of our room. The hotel doesn't have wireless internet but does have a business center where you can get online. Just beware that the keyboard is different from North American; things aren't where you expect them to be. The four of us went to dinner together; we went to the Italian restaurant to have one last pasta dinner. Unfortunately, the food was not very good, and was disappointing for a "last supper." The prices on the menu are in pesos, so it was fun ordering an entree for $140 (which is $10 USD). We got back to the room and completed the paperwork for Yolanda. Mark took his antibiotic and sleeping pill, and we went to bed. We were very tired, but also very anxious, so neither of us slept very well. Surgery tomorrow...
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Mark starts his preop diet tomorrow!
Feb 01, 2009
Uploaded some pics of Mark today. He will start his preop diet (high protein, very low carb) tomorrow. He will follow that for 2 weeks; surgery scheduled for 2.18.09. Hopefully he can lose a few pounds and shrink his liver to make surgery easier. We are both nervous and excited!
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Hubby has a surgery date!!
Jan 29, 2009
Well, thanks to the kick-ass U.S. economy, it has been a long, hard struggle to get financed for surgery. Isn't it amazing that you can work so hard to have great credit and still get turned down for a loan? We were hoping to have surgery at the same time, so we could help each other through each stage together, but that's not going to be possible. The Hubs is going to go first; since I'm a nurse I feel like it will be easier for me to help him post-op than vice versa. Then when it's my turn, he'll know how to help me because he's gone through it (theoretically, at least)... :) We've decided on Dr. Aceves in Mexicali. I've heard so many great things about him and just feel a sense of peace about the whole process. Hubby's surgery date is Feb. 18th. Only 3 weeks away...we are both nervous and excited at the same time. Can't tell you how much help this forum has been!! I'll get to see this process twice - once as the caregiver and once as the patient. Should be interesting. Happy to finally get this show on the road! Feels like I've been researching forever...
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