WooHoo!!! Passed my tests!!!

So, testing for leaks during surgery yesterday .... passed! Gastrografin swallow this morning checking for leaks .....passed! And, blue ice test today .... passed!!! I'm officially leak free X 3! I'm now drinking watered down apple juice and doing fine. Got my IV out, telemetry is off, pulse oximeter is off, oxygen came off yesterday, and foley comes out in just an hour or so! I still have my ON-Q ball in place and my JP drain. I'm almost a tube free woman ... and completely leak free to boot!!! : ) I'm looking forward to trying some chicken broth and SF jello in a bit! : ) I'm not really hungry....just looking forward to the experience. And, all is looking good that I'll get to go home tomorrow! Dr. Nelson came in and  said all looked great. I couldn't ask for anything more. ; )

Way to go Shelly. I didn't get to post yesterday, however thought about you. I'm glad it's all going good, and everything went fine. Welcome to the other side and best of luck, Rita

You are on your way now girl!!

Wooo hoooo!  No leaks is a good thing....the blue ice test sounds a little spooky.  Getting the IV out is always a relief, isn't it?  I despise those things.

It's amazing to me how different surgeons do things so, well, different!  WW docs only have us stay 1 night, no tubes, no catheter and I think all the leak tests are done while you're still on the table. I'm so happy to know you're doing so well.  I know you must be looking forward to going home.  I always feel better when I'm home!  Glad that you're addicted to that laptop - it keeps us in the loop! Kim

Dr. Nelson and Dr. Keith are very conservative and patient safety oriented. They also test for leaks during surgery, but they make triple sure that no leaks are there. Some leaks develop after surgery in some patients. They were very cautious with me due to my medical history and many medications I had been on to control lupus. Those medications interfere with cell production and healing ... so there was some question about my tissue integrity. I had to be off my lupus meds .. some for 30 days pre-op and some for 14 days pre-op. I was thankful to have the additional testing for leaks, but they do that for everyone. I just had the foley for a day...and actually, I was thankful for that the first day, too. I didn't have to get up to go to the bathroom every few minutes because I had an IV going at a good clip and I would have been wearing the floor out between the bed and the bathroom! ; ) Oh, and the abdominal binder was purely for comfort ... my very favorite thing post op!