Mother's Colonoscopy

I had hoped that if I went to bed early last night, I'd get seven or eight hours of sleep. But no. Even though I was in bed by 10:30 p.m., I lay awake until around midnight. So I was pretty draggy at 5 a.m. on this rainy morning.

At 6:30 a.m., still dark outside, Mother and I went to the ambulatory surgery clinic. We were the first to arrive at the clinic, and in only a few minutes, we were ushered to the back, where a nurse completed paperwork. Then I helped Mother get into a hospital gown. A few minutes later, the nurse came back and prepared Mother's hand for an IV drip.

Just before 8 a.m., the nurse wheeled Mother to the surgery room, and I went to the waiting room, which was by now full of people. I brought along a couple of new magazines to read, but I only had time to read about half of one magazine before the nurse came out to get me.

The procedure went very well, and the colonoscopy showed that Mother has no problems beyond a couple of pockets of diverticulosis, which the doctor said might never bother her. He said that diverticulosis occurs in some ten percent of people over age 40, and in about half of people over age 60. In some cases, diverticulosis can turn into diverticulitis, causing pain and fever, but most folks are never bothered by it. He suggested that Mother eat more bran cereal and fruits and vegetables to help prevent diverticulitis.

Mother was of course groggy after the procedure, but I encouraged her to stay awake so we could come home. In a few minutes, she was able to sit up and let me help her get dressed. I brought the car around, and a nurse wheeled her out in a wheelchair. Mother was wobbly, but with the nurse's and my assistance, she was able to get into the van. I was actually more concerned about her being able to get in and out of the van after the procedure than I was about the procedure itself, so I breathed a sigh of relief when she negotiated this without falling.

At home, she was also wobbly getting out of the van and into the house...staggering a little like a drunk person...but we got her seated on the couch safely. Yesterday, she was sure that after going without solid food all day, she'd be ready for a big meal when she came home this morning, but all she wanted was coffee and toast.

She was hungrier by lunch time, though, and asked for a baked potato. So I used Sis's tip about wrapping a potato in two layers of plastic wrap and microwaving it. It turned out just fine, and is a more economical method than buying those pricey microwave potatoes at the store.

Mother dozed on and off until around 2 p.m., when she decided to continue working on her jigsaw puzzle. Hubbie took Shih Tzu and ran errands around town, and I gathered ingredients for making spicy muffins filled with fruits and vegetables, like pineapple, applesauce, raisins, and carrots (recipe in a previous blog), which were very good served with chicken noodle soup. There's nothing more satisfying than soup on a dismal day.


Off and on throughout the day, Gustav dumped rain on us, with more expected tomorrow. We in the northern part of the state, though, are fortunate not to be affected by the power outages that our neighbors to the south are experiencing.

By this evening, Mother was fully alert, but she will stay overnight with us so I can help her if she needs anything in the night.