#10 Post Surgery Update

It is the day after mom had surgery. SURGERY???? Yes, in between last post and this post, my mom was required to have surgery. She has been in the hospital for the past 10 days. She really was looking, sounding, and feeling better. She had energy too. But on paper, she wasn't doing better. Her tests came back and showed more fluid around the lungs. Her pneumonia was not going away and was actually coming back worse. The antibiotics just were not able to handle it, so the next option was surgery. There are three different types of proceedures that could've been done. The first, most non-invasive was to stick a needle into the area where the pneumonia was collecting (did you know that the fluid from pneumonia does not actually fill up inside your lung? It's more towards the outside from my understanding.) and to extract it. Problems with this proceedure? The needle can't get to every spot in the lung easily, plus the fluid turns into a jello like texure and can't very easily be sucked up into the needle. Mom had already had this earlier, but obviously it didn't work, so why try again? The second option was called Video Assisted Throacic Surgery (VATS). This is the one she opted for because it is the one that is pretty much a sure fire way to extract all the empyema. Empyema is a collection of pus and fluid that develops from a lung infection such as pneumonia. VATS is used to suck out the excess fluid and allow the lung to reexpand. They also place chest tubes in each lung to remove more fluids that may remain or develop for about 4 days. This is the proceedure mom chose and had done yesterday. I was not allowed to see her before or after surgery because I haven't been feeling well. I think its due to stress, but just in case it wasn't and it might be something else, it was best I not be around her. I did talk to her on the phone numerous times. And dad was there, and my aunt. She called me after surgery and I could tell she was heavily sedated. Lol, it was kind of amusing. I did talk to her again this morning, and she said she was in some pain, and that her tubes kept getting clogged which is a bit of a concern. But the surgery went well, no problems in that department. She had dialysis this morning from 6-9:30ish and she was in a feisty mood because she hadn't eaten in a day and a half. Dad said she was like a refugee who hadnt eaten in days and ordered everything on the menu and ate like there was no tomorrow.
Everyone keeps saying, (nurses, doctors, random people, even me) that she doesn't look sick. She makes herself and her demeanor always presentable, she doesn't complain, she doesn't mope around, etc, It wasn't until I saw her last and helped her shave her legs that it sunk in. She is super skinny. At 6 feet tall, weighing 110 is ideal in the model world, but not in the healthy world. I watched her remove all the bandages, hike her foot up onto the sink and shave around all the sites where she has MOS surgeries, her legs basically look like something a lion has just got done devouring. I was just there to help hold her up and pour water over her legs. This was the first time I've really ever looked at her condition and results of all the MOHS surgeries. But she didn't complain once, I was the one almost freaking out, not her. She felt much better after shaving her legs, it's the little things that make you feel normal, beautiful, and have self confidence.
What about the 3rd surgery option. Well it was to open her up surgically, spread her ribs and surgically open the lung and remove the fluid that way. The VATS actually is more effective because the camera can go to every angle and part of the lung easily. Even butterflied open only gives you one view.
If all goes well we hope she will be home from the hospital in a 7-10 days. Me and dad have been getting the yard ready for her to plant her flowers like she does every spring.
I will update again soon. Thanks again for all the well wishes and thoughts. Hopefully she will get past this part soon and get back on the donor list.