Thursday, July 2, 2009

Day 20 of Recovery - Lucky to be at VGH,Swallow test results and more

10:30 am Thursday, July 2, 2009: Well this morning I am anxious to hear the results of the barium swallow test being conducted under the guidance of Tesfaye's occupational therapists John and Tracy. My daughter Haley and her husband Jim were going to take my place and be with Tesfaye in my absence. Before the swallow test I received a call from Dr. Marcel Dvorak to advise me that after looking at the bottom part of Tesfaye's wound they decided as a precautionary measure to do a procedure in the OR to clean it out to avoid any more serious potential complications later; it would be either tonight or on Friday. Marcel told me he explained it to Tesfaye and felt he understood him, but I told him that in any event Melaku would probably be coming later to visit and could repeat it in Amharic.

Haley and Jim waited for the completion of the swallow test and right away called me and told me that unfortunately the way his throat is currently operating he is not yet in a position to swallow properly when ingesting food through the mouth without the possibility of asperation occuring. Haley also said that Tesfaye knows that the minor surgery to clean his wound is no big deal, but Melaku will come and reiterate that later in the afternoon. To quote Haley, Tesfaye " is in good spirits,smiling with that big smile we love! Of course he is annoyed about the swallow test, but he understands that it is a slow process that will take time and patience." Haley reminded him how far he has come with his back and physical rehab, and to further quote Haley: "He's a fighter! So positive and strong. We had fun with him today."

6:30 pm Thursday, July 2, 2009: Jim told me he would be having the wound clean-up surgery around 7/7:30 pm this evening, and I asked them to give me a report when he is out. They would likely have to use a breathing tube again, though a more shallow one. I waited a little anxiously for a report, and Dr. Dvorak called me just after 9 pm to give me a report. The surgery to clean up the bottom wound area went well, and they were able to determine that the area they were concerned about was really a superficial irritation, that the underlying layers including the fascia were in very good condition. He said they were also able to scope the vocal cords and saw that both sides were basically in good condition, better than they expected, and so he feels the voice should start coming along by itself over the next few weeks. Marcel also feels that they may be able to retry a swallow test in the next few days and perhaps figure out a way to get Tesfaye to be able to eat through his mouth successfully. I sure hope so.

I know from the many pre-operation sessions that I attended with the spinal team at VGH, first as part of the approval process and subsequently as part of the pre-operation preparations with Tesfaye, that most of these post-operation complications that Tesfaye has been going through are possible and predictable. That may be, but as we go through them and I see the tremendous care and attention that Tesfaye is receiving from the various departments and staff at Vancouver General Hospital, I am so thankful Tesfaye is here at VGH recovering from major back surgery rather than going through it in Ghana or Ethiopia, where they just don't have the same kind of ability to deal with these kinds of complications. In the face of disappointments (in Tesfaye's case he was twice turned down from surgery in Ghana) I always say things have a way of ultimately working out for the better, but in this case you could say it may have been a difference between life and death for Tesfaye.

2 comments:

Haley C said...

And amidst all of this, we discovered that he's got a great arm as we tossed around a football in his hospital room. We bought him one with a Canada flag on it in the spirit of Canada Day. He was tossing it like a champ :) Don't worry, it was a soft, light, squishy ball - no potential for injury. Good times!

Anonymous said...

Tesfaye did 4 laps around the centre of the tower (in a loop) today! All by himself, just with his supporters at his side! Three of those were consecutive. Go Tesfaye!