Saturday 29 March 2014

Baby steps to recovery.


My daughters arrived within a few days of each other.All my three children were here now and hospital was our home.All our energies were drawn towards finding out every detail of Mr. Nayyar's condition and the utmost best treatment options that we could avail.Total oesophagectomy with proximal gastroectomy with paraesophageal lymph node microscopic examination revealed Signet cell adenocarcinoma,poorly differentiated with margins free of carcinoma.The carcinoma extended to distal oesophagus extending to GE junction and proximal stomach.This biopsy report would then decide his pattern of Chemo and Radiation.

After 6 days in ICU, Mr. Nayyar was shifted to private ward room.His drainage tubes and urinary catheter were removed.We were so relieved that Mr. Nayyar was freed of attachments and that we no more needed to hang around in waiting room to get a a glimpse of him. In the ward room, we could be next to him and closely care for him.The daily routine was very hectic still, doctors did their rounds and the nurses were constantly carrying out the medical interventions.They taught us how to handle the tube feeding.The highest need of the time was to maintain hygiene and we were on to it.We limited any visitors, even close relatives were requested to delay their visits.We ourselves took charge of keeping Mr. Nayyar's bedside environment and equipment bug free.We sanitized our hands, ensured nurses did it too and that Mr.Nayyar's tube feeding bag was kept as sterile as possible.This was very necessary to prevent any secondary infections.

Days passed by and we saw improvement as time passed.On 13th day, doctors cleared Mr. Nayyar for commencement of oral feeding.We saw this as a big leap in his post operative improvement.The dietitian visited Mr. Nayyar to start him on a soft diet.It was recommended that Mr. Nayyar be given small size meals every 2 hours which would consist of Porridge, juice, stewed fruits etc. The dietitian also planned a calorie chart with food suggestion for Mr. Nayyar and advised us how to prepare his food at home once he would be discharged from hospital.

Mr. Nayyar also started walking in the corridor with assistance after being sponged and dressed neatly in hospital gown.My children would give their dad foot and hand massages and lots of love and encouragement.This improved his psychological health.We were now feeling ready to take him home.Since we were from Dehradun, taking Mr. Nayyar back to Dehradun was not a feasible option as he needed to be under close medical supervison of his Surgeon, come in for review weekly and then commence Chemotherapy in 21 days time.So we decided to continue to stay in Delhi and as Mr. Nayyar's parents' house was in Delhi, this would work just fine for him to stay in his house during his recovery.



                                   Sharing smiles with Mr. Nayyar

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