my 19 yr old daughter had UC since she was 4. Just had the removal and pouch done two days ago. We are in the hospital now. Her biggest problem is there is a drainage tub in her bottom for 5 days while the surgery spot heals. How do I help her deal with that?
She he feels disgusting, and unclean. The doctors arnt helpful. The nurses not much better, so I’m asking the pros.
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Tell her to remember why she is there. It's a means to an end which will hopefully allow her to get her life back on track. I had my final surgery last week, sore and bruised but well worth it. My drainage tube went in just above my groin, leaked daily, caught it a few times while moving, was a nightmare but needed to be done.
Stay strong. Wishing her all the best and a swift recovery. She'll be up and about in no time
How old is she? You didn't say...
Yes, the drainage tube is a pain, disgusting and very uncomfortable...The only help is constant distraction, keeping her busy with other things, get her to keep a diary or journal of the travels through healing.
It is a temporary upset in a long journey towards a better life...as Scott said, this is a good thing...it is almost over.
Let her complain, cry, bit-ch, cry whatever it takes, this is a huge change in her life even if it is for the better, look out for major mood swings and keep her company as much and often as you can.
She may yet go through PTSD as well (post traumatic stress disorder) so be vigilant...
Sharon
Wanted to provide an update on this. First of all thanks for the responses.
We actually had a hospital CNA come in with an entire bag of tricks to try and give my daughters some relief to the issues. They spent about 2 hours in the middle of night trying different configurations of pads and bandages, adult and childrens diapers until they found what worked. It was a combo of adult diaper and maternity pads that gave her the comfort/dignity balance that worked.
For the most part the single stage surgery has gone well. She spent 7 days in the hospital total, today marks 14 days since surgery and she is out cruising the town with her friends. Still going around 8-10 times a day, but that is more on doctors orders to not hold it in at all for 3 weeks. She has been going twice at night, which is about average for when she was in a minor UC flare, so she is used to it.
We have a surgical followup next week, and hopefully they will green light her to start to work on control. They said to be cautious since it was all handled in one surgery.
Thanks
