He FINALLY Farted!

Whew! I never thought I'd be more happy to have my husband fart!!!  Yesterday he told me he felt some "pressure in his rectum" and it came out in the version of an "air fart."  But hey, in my book, that definitely counts as passing gas!  And then throughout the day yesterday he passed several times. They started him on IV nutrition because it's going on a week and three days since he last ate. And he says he is HUNGRY! So that's a good sign. So finally the colon awakens after a LONG slumber!  Thank God-which I do several times each day for looking after my husband and for saving his life many times over. This GIST tumor is nothing to ignore, I tell you that. When he was diagnosed in 2003, the tumor was basketball sized, just laying on top of several organs and inside the abdominal cavity.  They could only remove portions of it and had to leave a lot of it in because it just was too dangerous to remove it.  So he started the Gleevec and that has been his miracle drug. He's been taking it since Sept. of 2003 and has been in remission.....and STILL is in remission. :0)  Yay!!!  To think this wasn't a tumor at all but just a tangle of arteries and veins in his intestine is phenomenal.  I've never heard of AVM's (arterial-venous malformations) growing in the intestine, but as my husband has proved, they can!

The plan today is to keep up the walking and to sit up more in the chair.  He will have the nasogastric tube clamped and if he has nausea, they will have to un-clamp it and restart the suction.  If he ISN'T nauseated, they will completely remove the tube and start him slowly on liquids.  I hope it goes that way and he can start the liquids.  That is just one more step home! He still is producing more than average stomach fluid through the NG tube, but hopefully now that the colon is waking up, it should lessen.   Another yay!  He says he can't sleep very well as the bed is uncomfortable and he has to lay on his back because of the NG tube. He can sleep for only an hour at a time and then wakes up with a lot of pain.  I feel for the poor guy. I wish I could do more for him!!!  But his colon is slower than the second coming of Christ and was in hibernation for awhile.  I HOPE this is the last GI surgery he needs. I don't think the bowel will tolerate a fifth round!!

My mother-in-law and I will be leaving shortly for another action-packed day at the hospital. We are going to stop on the way there and see if we can find him one of those pocket games that he can play. I know he misses the computer, so hopefully a little game will keep his mind occupied until he comes home.

As for me, I holding in there. I woke up stiff as a board this morning, even more than usual. My thighs feel like someone is jabbing them with knives. But no wonder with all that's been going on!  The fibro is taking full advantage to make me miserable! But I will NOT let it stop me from visiting Frankie. Thank you everyone for asking how I'm doing, too, and for all your well-wishes and prayers. Every last one is precious to me. I feel honored to call each and every one of you my friend.  Joining Facebook was the BEST thing I've ever done as I've found some really great friends AND I could start my very own support group, which is something I've wanted to do for a long time.  So if you haven't already checked it out, please do. Just click on the butterfly image (thank you, Eileen McCarthy-Keddy for the use of her artwork!) above, underneath Jesus and it will take you right to the "FibromyWHAT?" support group.  We have grown so much in such a short time and I've got a fantastic team of lead officers that have helped me out so many ways, I cannot thank them enough. And the members, too.  Let's make "FibromyWHAT?" the BEST support group on Facebook!! 

Happy 4th of July to every one of my American friends. BE SAFE and have a great time watchin' fireworks!!  Here in AZ, so many places have been banned from doing fireworks because of the high fire danger risk, that I don't know if I'll see any fireworks.  So I'll just "light" the ones I have on my farm in "Farmville" tonight. 

God bless ya all,
Until next post,
Missy