Still having trouble with the feeding tube. While I was visiting Estelle this morning I checked the site to see if it was healing up any and found, to my dismay, that while the surrounding skin looked considerably better the tube itself was still leaking. There was not a feeding going on at the time but there was a goodly amount of drainage being caught in a washcloth. I questioned her nurses about it and they said that the cloth had been left there after her feeding was completed so they could show me how much it was leaking. There wasn't nearly as much as there had been but it's obviously still not leakproof by any means. We left the cloth off and I stayed another hour or so in order to check that it was not also plain old stomach acid leaking back out and the area did seem to stay dry, so that's good. It means it's only leaking the actual feeding and not a constant slow drainage but we'd really like to see it not happening at any time. That may be a pipe-dream, however, since it's hard to avoid any leakage at all. I won't settle for what there still is, however. As far as I am concerned it's still too much. It may take time for the skin to grow back around the tubing so we just have to wait and hope for now - and try to keep the area as clean and dry as possible while the skin grows back around the insertion site.
It's also ruined virtually all of Estelle's clothing, unfortunately. The combination of feeding material and stomach acid does not wash out - and it eventually eats holes in most cloth material. Because she's suffered through so many large leaks most of her tops are unwearable. We've been leaving her in a hospital gown often lately because it is easier to clean her while wearing one and because it makes no sense to put her through the hassle of being moved around enough to take her shirts on and off over her head more than once or twice a day as her clothing needs changing frequently because of the leaking. I'd brought her some of my extra big sleeping t-shirts last week and that's not working out well either so today I went to Marshall's and bought her a few pretty housecoat type gowns made out of terrycloth which zip or button from top to bottom so they don't have to keep pulling shirts over her head and two pretty "lounging" outfits with stretchy pants and large tops with buttons for "company." (I'm a big believer in "company clothing." As long as I'm not leaving the house and no one but my family is going to see me I'm really happiest in ratty clothing which is worn out and comfortable. But if I'm gonna see someone, then I break out the good jeans.) I remember Estelle seemed to follow the same pattern when we would go visit so I'm hoping this is in line with what she would have wanted for herself, too.
Regardless, until this clears up, for safety sake and to avoid further irritation and the possibility of infection, I think the hospital gowns are going to be the best bet. We've also suspended the "getting up in the chair" for a bit, too, until the inflamation and soreness which has spread across her belly is gone. When she's in a sitting position it just totally scrunches the tubing and the insertion site and causes that much more pressure on skin which is barely staying intact. The last thing we want it to do is open up - they've done a great job of avoiding that so far but it's a constant worry. So, for right now, the less pressure on the area, the better.
Other than that, Estelle looks good. Still a bit dry in the mouth and skin but better than a few days ago. She slept throughout most of my stay today but did wake up when I moved the chair back across the room when I was getting ready to leave. She said, "Oh, hello," and something I did not manage to catch and which she would not repeat so I put the chair back at her bedside and stayed another half hour but she did not speak for the rest of my visit. I tried to read her a Mother's Day card which Vivian and her family had sent but I do not know if she heard me or not. We will read it again to her tomorrow in case she did not. In the meantime there is a cork board in her room and we pin all of her cards to the board and she can look at them when she is awake.
I'll stop in again tomorrow morning to check on things. Hopefully, because it's bath day, Estelle will be awake and alert and happy that she's had her beloved shower and we can have a conversation and maybe open the blinds and the window {if it warms up outside) and she can hear the birds singing.
No comments:
Post a Comment