Got the Tube...and a chair!

After major juggling of schedules and my team of Doctors jumping through hoops to get Dr. Solga to do the procedure before my treatments start on Tuesday, I had the feeding tube inserted on Thursday. As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to get it in before my body becomes compromised and it possibly becomes difficult to swallow throughout the radiation treatments. I will need to drink 2-3 quarts of water per day during chemo treatments to keep the kidney and bladder flushed and will need to make sure I'm getting enough nutrition to stay on top of the fight. Although I've got this 1/4" tube sticking out of my stomach, I don't HAVE to use it. I can continue to eat or drink whatever I want. The only thing I need to do is flush it with about 3 ounces of water every day to make sure it doesn't get clogged...but I know it's there if I need it!

The procedure itself took about 10 minutes and other than a little discomfort where the tube was inserted, it was not a big deal. The discomfort should pass in another day or so. It is pretty amazing how they put it in and as crazy as it sounds, when it's time to take it out, they literally just "yank" it out and the hole in the stomach will close up on its own in about 3 hours! It is a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to sleeping but I'll get used to it. As a side note, I used this bit of discomfort as an excuse to by myself the most comfortable new leather recliner at Martin's Furniture, 3rd Street, Bethlehem (Thanks Kevin!). In fact, this post was composed in the fully reclined position over the past 15 minutes and looking forward to watching game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals tonight from "the chair" with a cold Sol or two!