I had my feeding tube replaced on Monday. It went well. I stress myself out beforehand because I have had so many problems in the past. Not with the doctor at the Civic Hospital that has been helping me with my tubes in the past and on Monday. With the doctors and some nurses here at St. Vincent’s. I have had my tube pulled out by nurses twice and the doctor here who is supposed to handle the feeding tubes got angry with me for choosing a Mic-Key tube instead of what he wanted me to have. See, I wanted a Mic-Key because it has a detachable extension tube. The other kind of tubes have a long tube connected to the site that enters my stomach through my skin. I don’t like those because the tube gets caught on everything and pulls, which is painful. The Mickie sits flush to my skin, just above my belly button and has two extension tubes that the nurses can put on and take off when giving me my pills or my feed.

Well this doctor thought that I should have a different tube. Never mind the fact that the specialist from the Ottawa General Hospital suggested the Mic-Key to me. Never mind that the doctor from the General specialized in feeding tubes and the doctor here is no where close to knowing what the doctor from the General knows. Never mind all of that! So what does the doctor here do when I insist on the Mic-Key? He throws a temper tantrum and yanks my old tube out while I was trying to explain why I wanted the Mic-Key – cue a great deal of bleeding and pain – and jams the Mic-Key into the hole and then storm out of my room leaving the nurse to clean up! Professional much?! Here’s the real problem. When he jammed the tube into the hole, he went into my stomach so hard that it went right through. So every time they tried to flush the tube or give me medication, or food, it went NOT into my stomach but instead into the cavity of my body. You know, where all of my organs are! Let me tell you one thing. That was the most painful thing that I have ever experienced. And it landed me in the Civic for a week. No food, water by some tubes in my leg and every day spent enduring another painful procedure trying to repair the damage. Not fun and the reason for my anxiety when it comes to my feeding tube. Warranted? I think so!

That is a Mic-Key tube with the extension tube. See the balloon at the end? That is the part that is in my stomach. It is filled with fluid and it stops it from being pulled out. It’s supposed to have 6 cc’s of water in it but when they changed it, mine only had 3. That’s when accidents happen because it can be pulled out with a little pull. See the opposite side of the balloon? That is the part that sits against my skin. The tube can then be attached or detached when needed. Can you see how having the long tube permanently attached be problematic? It’s painful when it gets accidentally pulled.

Well, I wrote that on March 5th. Since then I have been on quite a whirlwind! First I got a serious case of diarrhea. Yeah, I know that it’s gross to tell you this. The problem is that I got very dehydrated. I live at St. Vincent’s Hospital but they didn’t do anything for my dehydration. My potassium levels dropped and my electrolytes were out of whack. Because of this, I picked up a stomach bug. This caused more diarrhea and, now, vomiting. Vomiting is dangerous for me because I don’t have the strength to get the vomit all the way out. So I essentially end up choking on my own vomit. A terrifying act let me tell you! I have to be lying on my side with someone holding my head forward while suctioning my mouth. Even then I still choke. Vomit got in my lungs twice. On the Wednesday morning and then again on the Friday morning.

That caused me to take a small vacation to the Civic Hospital. Woo-hoo! Yay me! I was put on pretty much continuous IV fluids, potassium supplements, something to make my electrolytes fine again and, of course, IV antibiotics for the pneumonia caused by the vomit in my lungs.

Needless to say, I have been away and I am still recovering. It will take me some time but I hope to be posting again soon.

Be well friends! Here is a funny picture taken by my friend Neena before I got sick. I love the filters! lol