My big news was the catheter went away. Kate, my day nurse today, deflated the balloon holding it in place internally, told me to take a deep breath and launched herself toward the wall with one hand on the catheter. The "deep breath" doesn't do much for the pain but you can't scream and take a deep breath at the same time. It is less upsetting on the staff. There was some suspense for a couple of hours but we are now going with the flow.
Dr. Bibbler, the surgeon was in to see me. My "procedure" is the one I need and the device I need is the second stage device-but I can't have it until Friday. So we are stuck here a little longer than we thought. The new van will head to Florida tomorrow in the hands of a flight attendant or a car thief -to be determined.
Dr. Kutty dropped by to discuss the situation with me while I was in the very nice bathroom attempting to have my first post heart-failure poop. I was nicely equipped with oxygen, a current newspaper and lots of time. I have never had a physician make a potty call before. Before long I felt I could tell him anything.
