Had shower and shampoo all by myself. However, when I was washing, I noticed that the colostomy bag was leaking. That meant both pieces needed to be removed. There's the piece that sticks on the skin, tightly, and then there's the bag that snaps on.
That sounds simple enough, but when you can't see what you're doing, it becomes a real piece of work. First of all, the piece that sticks on the skin has a hole that goes over the stoma. Except it's not the right size and has to be molded or cut to size. After that's fitted, the bag snaps onto the piece on the skin. It's actually easier to snap the bag on the bottom piece before attaching the bottom piece to the skin, but it's hard to see where the hole for the stoma is.
So I had to get dry, and very carefully dry the skin around the stoma before I could put the bag contraption on. By this time I'm getting a little tired, but still feeling good from the shower. But I did get dressed, and not in some stay-at-home rag. I had to lie down a bit, and then the nurse came. Took my vitals and checked out the bag and pronounced it properly in place. My blood pressure was low, and that was surprising considering the activity I had just completed. We chatted a while, and I told her about coming appointments. Before she left, the physical therapist called and said she'd be here by 2:00. I was getting really weary by this time and needed a rest.
The therapist arrived at 2:10. I told her I was not going to do any exercises for her, as I was pooped. She was okay with that, and gave me some exercises to do while I'm sitting down. We chatted a bit, and when she left I still had some time to rest before my chat with Marian.
We chatted about a half hour, and I had to plead utter fatigue. I slept until 6:00, and woke up hungry. I had some left-over stoup, a small yam with lots of butter, and an apple.
I managed to stay awake for a couple TV programs, and now I'm ready to crash. Were it not for spell check, this entry would have typos galore!
Bless
That sounds simple enough, but when you can't see what you're doing, it becomes a real piece of work. First of all, the piece that sticks on the skin has a hole that goes over the stoma. Except it's not the right size and has to be molded or cut to size. After that's fitted, the bag snaps onto the piece on the skin. It's actually easier to snap the bag on the bottom piece before attaching the bottom piece to the skin, but it's hard to see where the hole for the stoma is.
So I had to get dry, and very carefully dry the skin around the stoma before I could put the bag contraption on. By this time I'm getting a little tired, but still feeling good from the shower. But I did get dressed, and not in some stay-at-home rag. I had to lie down a bit, and then the nurse came. Took my vitals and checked out the bag and pronounced it properly in place. My blood pressure was low, and that was surprising considering the activity I had just completed. We chatted a while, and I told her about coming appointments. Before she left, the physical therapist called and said she'd be here by 2:00. I was getting really weary by this time and needed a rest.
The therapist arrived at 2:10. I told her I was not going to do any exercises for her, as I was pooped. She was okay with that, and gave me some exercises to do while I'm sitting down. We chatted a bit, and when she left I still had some time to rest before my chat with Marian.
We chatted about a half hour, and I had to plead utter fatigue. I slept until 6:00, and woke up hungry. I had some left-over stoup, a small yam with lots of butter, and an apple.
I managed to stay awake for a couple TV programs, and now I'm ready to crash. Were it not for spell check, this entry would have typos galore!
Bless