Great appointment with Dr. Dunn!

I had an appt with Dr. Dunn this afternoon. Have I mentioned before that I love her? :-) We went over all the standard stuff first. She thinks I'm doing great after that last bout in the hospital. She looked at my abscess drain - it isn't putting out much anymore, but she wants to keep it in for just a few more days to make sure everything in that abscess is completely gone. So, I'm coming back on Thursday for a culture of that fluid and then, based on the results, will have it removed on Friday. I so hope that happens - even though this tube and bag are the smallest of the three I have, they're the most bothersome. It's in my back, so it's uncomfortable to lay on my back, and the bag just hangs there so it gets caught on everything. It will be nice to lose that one.

Then we went to my g-tube. I have had it clamped for 4 1/2 days, so she decided to just remove it right then and there. She had me lie on the table and deflated the little balloon that was holding it inside my stomach, and then pulled the tube right out. Lesson learned: make sure to drain whatever's in your stomach first! Once she pulled that tube out, a geyser of whatever was in my stomach shot straight up out of that hole and drenched all of us. It totally surprised everyone, it was so funny! It kept doing it, too, every time I shifted position. It's a good thing that it was only water in there! I'm thinking that I could join the circus and go on a traveling roadshow. Come see the human geyser with the railroad tracks down the middle of her stomach! Ha! Anyway, it's kind of bittersweet - it was my little safety net in case I got too nauseous, but it's nice to have one less tube hanging off of me.

So lastly, my j-tube or feeding tube. I will likely have this for quite a while still (meaning several more weeks). But now that my g-tube is gone, I'm allowed to eat whatever I want now! I have to start slowly, eating soft, bland foods like yogurt, pudding or mashed potatoes. This is where I will start counting carbs and learn how to adjust my insulin. It's a little bit daunting for me. I've never had to do anything like this, so I'll have to learn. I know I can, and will pick it up quickly, but it's a bit overwhelming right now. Please keep me in your prayers that it all goes smoothly, and also that my islets start to kick in. I've been feeling pretty down that I'm still on so much insulin. I know it can take a while for the islets to start working, but I'm seeing no signs at all. And yes, I know that this is what I signed up for, and I'll take diabetes over pancreatitis any day, but I'm hoping that I'll be one of the lucky ones. Anyway, the GREAT news is that if I'm able to manage my blood sugars now as I start to eat, they *might* let me come home late next week! Woo hoo! As I said, I know I'll be able to figure all this stuff out - I just need my body to cooperate as well! But very exciting news - yay! :-D

One last thing - I wanted to say thanks to Sally for the wonderful pictures. Once again, you made my day! You have such a great sense of humor, and those other photos were just beautiful. The meditating dog was definitely the best one, though! :-) Thank you for all your prayers and support!