After the op

Tracey asked if I'd updated the blog this week and since I hadn't I thought I had better get on with doing just that.

Last Sunday we came up to Bristol so that Rhys could be admitted to Ward 35 in preparation for his operation. He found himself in a four bed room rather than having a room to himself. This changed on Thursday when he got moved into a room in order that they could barrier nurse him due to finding out that he had C Diff, although it wasn't active fortunately.

On Monday his surgery was scheduled for between 8:30 and 8:45. The anesthetist and surgeon both popped in to see him beforehand. Sunday evening one of the doctors had put a cannula into his hands so he was all ready for going to theatre.

Tracey took Rhys down when the nurses came in and told us that they were ready for him. The operation was going to take around about 4 hours we'd been told, a lot shorter than last years marathon 8 hours.

With Rhys in theatre Tracey and I popped into Broadmead to grab some breakfast and have a wander around the shops. After popping into a couple of places I headed back to the hospital to wait rather than continue to wander aimlessly. Tracey cam back a short while after.

We sat around until we were surprised by Mr Rodgers, Rhys' surgeon, who came to tell us that Rhys was in the recovery room and that the operation had gone to plan and the tumour had been removed. It had been sent off to the pathology lab to find out whether all of the tumour had been removed or whether it was possible that some of it had been missed.

At the moment the news is that there is clean tissue all around what was removed so it looks like they have got it all. Last year the tumour went right up to the edges and there was no clean tissue so they were unsure whether everything had been removed and arranged radiotherapy to kill anything that had been missed.

It also looks like this is the same tissue as last year and not a new one.

Recovery has been slow but has been happening. Rhys has been rolling onto his side in order that the nurses can do things and to prevent bed sores. Rolling onto the side where he'd had his operation was difficult but as the week has progressed that has happened as well as being able to lift himself off the bed in order to change position and allow for washing since he can't get to the shower just yet.

Thursday and Friday saw Rhys get out of bed and walk short distances to sit in the chair. Thursday being a short sit out because it became to painful quite quickly; Friday being about 45 minutes before he decided he wanted to get into bed. Walking still needs a bit of support from another person just in case he gets wobbly and falls.

Eating has been a big issue, as usual. On Thursday he tried to eat some yoghurt and ice cream but this proved a struggle as it made him sick. However, he did manage to eat half a yoghurt over the course of an hour in the evening without being ill. Friday he managed to eat a Rich Tea biscuit but it did take all day.

The biggest issue that Rhys has had to face has been pain control. When he returned from surgery they had inserted an epidural. This kept his pain levels down but when he was rolling from his back to his side started to lose its effectiveness as the drugs went to the opposite side to where they had operated. This drove his pain upwards. The first time that this happened they on-call anesthetist ended up giving him Tramadol which eased things.

Wednesday evening the same thing happened but was much worse. Before Rhys' pain was once more under control 3 hours would pass. 3 hours in which his pain levels were off the chart. 3 hours during which he was brought to tears by the pain racking his body. Earlier he had had two cannula removed and a new one inserted. While he was in agony the doctor had to insert a new cannula which she managed first time, with Rhys holding his arm still to allow her to do it. An amazing feat considering.

Eventually the anesthetist turned up and it was decided that Rhys' epidural had failed and so he was switched to a morphine syringe pump, with a patient controlled button for extra shots when he needed it. Morphine was injected prior to the pump being attached and Rhys' pain dropped considerably, ending up at a very low level by the time the pump was connected. With the morphine connected the epidural was removed as it was of no use.

Thursday the pain team swapped the morphine over to Tramadol but after Rhys sat in the chair it was decided that he needed to go back on the morphine.

On Friday they once again swapped from morphine to Tramadol but this time with it being prescribed for more frequent use. His pain levels seemed to be ok, even after sitting out.

On Friday another cannula failed, leaving him with just one available for use.

As I mentioned earlier eating has been a big issue. On Friday Rhys started on TPN, a nutritional feed that he has had before when in hospital. Those of you that followed the transplant blog might remember the Gammon and chips, Chicken Tikka and Apple Crumble Pie that we used to make the TPN sound better. Last night Rhys was on Mixed Grill with Chicken Tikka Massala. Not being able to eat is going to be the factor that determines when he gets discharged. He's started to get mobile and the more he does the quicker he'll be ready to go home. Other things that he needs to do in order to be discharged he's already done. That just leaves eating and until he is eating what for him is normal then he's not going to be going far.

Friday also saw a visit from one of the neurosurgeons. This time the one that referred Rhys to the Eye Hospital for tests the other week. We discussed the surgery required to remove the meningioma. This has been postponed until Rhys has recovered from his current surgery but everything is in place. The people required have been identified and informed. The replacement for the area of his forehead has already been made based on scans that have been done of Rhys' skull. We're not sure but the replacement is either going to be ceramic or titanium.

The surgery itself is going to be the longest that Rhys has ever undergone. When I asked the neurosurgeon he said that Rhys would probably go into surgery at 9am and the operation would be finished by 7pm, a whopping 10 hours; 2 hours longer than last year's operation. Of course it could be quicker but it is going to be complicated surgery and more extensive that we originally understood.

Rhys should be in hospital for about 5 days, according to the surgeon. Yeah, really! This is Rhys we're talking about. Recovery at home afterwards will be a couple of weeks, with no heading of footballs allowed.

There's still a long way to go with all of this, but we are getting there and Rhys is on the road to being well again.

Thanks to everyone who has commented on our updates on Facebook. We really do appreciate you keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.