You want to put that where?

The first day that you wake up they bring you apple juice and a sports drink. After hearing about how small your pouch is supposed to be and the little amounts you are able to take I was very hesitant about drinking anything. Ally was only able to take a few sips because anything she ingested would make her very nauseous and then the night before we were to be taken back to the hotel she got even worse. She was throwing up constantly and there was nothing in her to throw up but she managed to find something. Once done with what little she had managed to drink up till then, there was stomach acid and bile along with other substances I was unwilling to try and identify.

As the hours wore on she continued to throw up anything and everything. She was constantly nauseous and in pain. The more time went on the less energy she had and the only thing she was able to focus on was me. Later she told me that her only goal was to get me home from Mexico before she “dropped dead”. At this point she was getting so weak I was worried she was going to end up with permanent damage. The nurses were no help at all just coming in and emptying our drains and getting her a new container to throw up in.

The next conversation had to take place thru the language barrier between us and the nurses. When I asked to see the doctor they just told us that they weren’t in and we would have to wait for the surgeon. They didn’t even have a definite time on when the surgeon would be in just that she would be there “in the late afternoon.”  Finally asking to see the doctor on call they told me that there was no one, I couldn’t believe that they wouldn’t have a doctor present at a hospital at all times.

While this was going on there was a man nearby who heard what was going on. He came in and after introducing himself (I think he said he was the head of the hospital’s board of directors but I am not positive) offered to help translate and find a solution. During the conversation with the nurses they said that there was nothing else that they could do for her except give her more anti-nausea medication. This had already been tried twice earlier and consisted of a very large needle injected into her butt. The look on her face when she saw the needle was priceless and only got better when they told her where it was going.

When he asked what we wanted them to do I said that we just needed her well enough to fly home. This confused him and he asked what that would accomplish. I said that I just needed her well enough for me to get her home where we would take her to a Canadian hospital. This seemed to light a fire under all of their asses. I guess that leaving Mexico sick to go to a hospital in Canada to get better wasn’t what they had in mind.

After he found a doctor they said that there was nothing they could do without putting the IV back in. Because she was unable to keep anything down an IV would be the only way to keep her hydrated and the most effective way to deliver needed medications. We agreed and it took them another four tries to get it situated, at one point they even tried to put it in her armpit, which is something they DO NOT do in Canada. They also didn’t want her to try and drink anything else for the next twenty-four hours.

It wasn’t a good night. She had to continually call the nurses to come empty her drain (which would fill at a rate of about four times for every one of mine) and get her an empty pan to throw up in. Twice she accidentally threw up on nurses during particularly violent episodes. To say we were exasperated by the time the surgeon showed up in the afternoon is an understatement. The Surgeon decided to send her for another scan to see if there were any leaks or blockages they hadn’t discovered before.

This time the Surgeon went with her to have the test and she started by going thru the same process as before, standing in the machine and drinking the contrast. It didn’t work like they wanted though and after a few minutes of maneuvering her around and trying to get the contrast to move they decided to send her back to the room to wait fifteen minutes. When she went back the second time the surgeon’s assistant was there and the contrast still had not moved.

After reviewing the results the doctor came back and said that there were no leaks but her tract was so swollen and inflamed that nothing was able to move on passed the pouch and so she was throwing up anything she ingested. To me this only made sense as far as what she was drinking, but where was all the extra stuff coming from? An extra night’s stay was ordered to keep an eye on her and she was told not to drink anything until he came back the next day. Until then he was going to order the anti-nausea medication be upped.

Having gone thru all of this and worrying that if she is still throwing up they might not let her on the plane we requested that they issues us both a “Safe to fly” letter. He said that he would talk to our coordinator and have it ready when we were discharged.

At this point with how well everything has been going I am skeptical, but we will see.

XOXO, Evie & Ally