Thank you so much, Jerry. We are really hoping my husband's surgeon can
get by w/ the laprascopic surgery & won't need to reopen part of
his old incision. Our 2nd opinion felt it was a bad idea to attempt a
laprascopy, but also said attempting it wouldn't hurt things.. just
might give us false hopes. My husband's going to UCSF & our 2nd
opinion was from City of Hope
in Southern Cali (we can't travel that distance from our Northern Cali
home for the surgery, though.. it's just too far for us financially;
even UCSF
is a bit of a distance to work w/). We're both pretty positive people,
just nervous (& stressed.. of course).

I was pretty nervous too.  It go to the point that I had to take some anti
stress meds.  Something to think about.

My husband's commute is
about the same as yours & I took special note of what you said
about driving. I know Russ doesn't want anything to set him back as he
improves, especially w/ our son's surgery coming up so soon after. He
may telecommute longer than he was hoping to.

If his company will allow him to telecommute I would suggest at least 4 - 6
weeks.  I did 6 and it worked out well.

 Can you suggest anything
I can do at home or have ready before he comes home from the hospital,
that will help his recovery? A hospital bed (rental) maybe or is that
not necessary? 

He won't need a hospital bed by the time he gets home. A comfy bed and couch
will suffice.  Keep the pets away from his abdomen.

We have a very small master bath (VERY small & zero
counter space.. only 'shelf space' is the lid of the toilet tank)...
what can I do to make the bathroom easier for him to use when he drains
his bag & tends to the ostomy? Where do you keep your supplies?

I kept my supplies in my bedroom near our bath which was in the master bedroom. 
All he will need in the bathroom is a toilet where he can sit down and drain his
pouch (pouch sounds better) and a sink to clean up afterwards..  One other thing
I had was incense burning at times.  There is a smell associated with all of
it.  Incense seemed to help a lot.  There are also products to put in the pouch
that will help eliminate the odor as well..  I ordered all my supplied from
Edgepark.

https://www.edgepark.com/



They were outstanding and receptive to my needs.

 I used all Hollister products.  I found them very comfortable and easy to use
plus they had a huge variety of pouches.  I'm pretty active so I tried not to
let the Colostomy hold me back.  After the reversal surgery, I played golf 6
weeks later.  I even played while I had the colostomy!

Ping me anytime!  Or you can call me.  603-236-6780

When is surgery scheduled for?

-Jerry



-Meghan, Russ' wife







--- On Thu, 8/6/09, Meghan <wymom94@...> wrote:

From: Meghan <wymom94@...>
Subject: Re: [peoples with ostomy2] upcoming surgery -advice for spouse
To: peopleswithostomy2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, August 6, 2009, 2:49 AM






 





>>I had a temp colostomy back in January 08.  It was emergency
surgery so laproscopic was out of the question.  I had a 12 inch incision in my
abdomen and a 1 inch hole for the colostomy.  32 staples.  I was 11 days in the
hospital but remember - laproscopic is MUCH different.  Less healing and less
invasive.  Sounds like you have a few other issues that could pop up as well.  I
would say he should be able to travel after two weeks but I seriously doubt
he'll be driving and there is no way he'll be 100% sorry to say although he may
feel up to it.  Stay positive and do what the doctors say.  They really do know
whats best.  Heal the right way.  I made th emistake of trying to travel an hour
to work every day after 4 weeks and it set me back.

Ping me anytime!

Jerry



Thank you so much, Jerry. We are really hoping my husband's surgeon can get by
w/ the laprascopic surgery & won't need to reopen part of his old incision. Our
2nd opinion felt it was a bad idea to attempt a laprascopy, but also said
attempting it wouldn't hurt things.. just might give us false hopes. My
husband's going to UCSF & our 2nd opinion was from City of Hope in Southern Cali
(we can't travel that distance from our Northern Cali home for the surgery,
though.. it's just too far for us financially; even UCSF is a bit of a distance
to work w/). We're both pretty positive people, just nervous (& stressed.. of
course). My husband's commute is about the same as yours & I took special note
of what you said about driving. I know Russ doesn't want anything to set him
back as he improves, especially w/ our son's surgery coming up so soon after.
He may telecommute longer than he was hoping to. Can you suggest anything I can
do at home or have ready
before he comes home from the hospital, that will help his recovery? A
hospital bed (rental) maybe or is that not necessary? We have a very small
master bath (VERY small & zero counter space.. only 'shelf space' is the lid of
the toilet tank)... what can I do to make the bathroom easier for him to use
when he drains his bag & tends to the ostomy? Where do you keep your supplies?

-Meghan, Russ' wife































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