"jmcquown" wrote in message

Yes, it's me. Yes, I was in the hospital. Yes, Matthew, I was
posting in the wee hours of Saturday morning (7/12) because I was so
uncomfortable I couldn't sleep. By 11AM I was in the emergency room,
having been whisked off by ambulance. I couldn't stand up, much less
drive myself to the hospital. And Mom, bless her, was too freaked
out to even think about driving. Here I'm supposed to be acting as
her caregiver and I wind up in the hospital *again*! NOTE: the doc
says even if I'd stayed in the hospital the first time around for a
day or two it probably wouldn't have made any difference.

Diagnosis: perforated colon. I was on heavy duty IV antibiotics, IV
fluids and a LOT of pain medication. Two shots of morphine in the ER
didn't do it. They had to give me something that practically knocked
me out. Gradually I was able to eat soft foods withouth a problem
and they removed the drain (which was more uncomfortable than
anything after a couple of days). Long story short, I'm back home
now, still on heavy-duty antibiotics and a strict diet. Do I feel
like cooking? No. Do I have to? Yes. Dammit!
I have to see the surgeon for more tests next week. I'm going to be
scheduled for laproscopic surgery to remove part of my colon (oh
joys!) but hopefully we've caught it soon enough a colostomy won't be
necessary. There's still a chance of that; I was told not to be
discouraged if this comes back before we can schedule my surgery and
it might lead to a temporary colostomy.

John left on June 30th. He was with me for the trip and also is the
one who took me to the emergency room. But he had to get back home.
Wouldn't have mattered; there wasn't anything he really could have
done by still being here. And yes, I contacted the neighbor and got
someone to take care of her kitties.

I was more worried about Mom and Persia than anything else. Mom
assurred me she was taking care of herself, eating and taking her
meds (ha!). I do know she was feeding Persia. I had the foresight
to unplug Persia's Drinkwell fountain; I knew Mom couldn't lift it
let alone clean it out.
Mom made attempts at litterbox scooping. I'll have to give it a good
washing today. This is the only time in my life I've been able to
walk into a room and it screamed CAT!!! Mom just wasn't able to
scoop all the clumped stuff way down deep. I'll take it outside and
fill it with dish soap and give it a good squirt with the hose; it's
about all I'm capable of. I'm very tired.

Purrs to all who need them. A few continuing purrs for myself
wouldn't hurt I'm not out of the woods yet.

Welcome back and please look after yourself. Your staff (Persia) need you.

Yowie