but I want to do it so that I can have a record and then move on to make my next post a happy one! Have cut and pasted from a forum I'm on so it is posted sort of day by day.
Thursday 1st October 4.00am
Last night Russ had severe chest pains that he thought were indigestion. They didn't go away and so I said I would ring the ambulance - he then relented for me to drive. It is literally less than a minute drive so I pulled up at the front door and he was taken straight in. They treated him for heart attack first (protocol until something else turns up I think?). Upshot was that he had 20mg of morphine and that didn't even touch the sides of the pain 
,they couldn't believe it. He then had another drug (Fentanyl?) and still nothing. They did a chest x-ray and urgent CT which showed that his hiatus hernia (which we knew was very large but he had no symptoms) had pushed a large part of his stomach into his chest and it had also twisted like this:
In some cases, a hiatal hernia can cause twisting of the intestines or stomach. This condition is called a voluvlus. It is a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate treatment
Once the CT scan came back they went in full "panic" mode and said that it was a very serious medical emergency and that he needed to have urgent major surgery and would need to be flown to Adelaide or Melbourne. I asked could it be Adelaide as family were there and they said, we don't have that luxury, he is in dire trouble and will have to go wherever can do it ASAP. It was so awful, Russ was in so much pain and it was horrible sitting there by myself - especially when all the Dr's in the ER were looking at the CT scans and they praised the radiologist for "saving another life". At this stage,all the morphine and other painkillers just hadn't touched the sides and Russ even said to me that he didn't think he could take much more and knew he might die....
A surgical guy(who had just gone to sleep after a very long shift!) came in to tell me the above and that he had called the senior GI surgeon in and said that he was going to try something to see if it could buy Russ a bit more time. He sounded like he hadn't done it before so it was a bit "OMG" as he also looked about 12. So he inserted a huge (18 guage) tube into Russ' nose, down his throat and into his stomach and drained the contents hoping that it would relieve the pressure and untwist the stomach. As much as it was horrid to watch, Russ did get some relief and is now a bit more comfortable. The gorgeous thai prawn salad that Russ made for dinner did not look so good coming back up! Thank god for this registrar!!
They got the ball rolling to fly him to Adelaide in the morning where he will have a big op to repair the hernia. They generally don't do surgery for the hiatus hernias because it is a big and complicated op but they said that if he recovered from this episode and then had another attack he could possibly die. The local GI surgeon said that although he has had 20 years experience he said that he wouldn't do it. So Russ will be off work for possibly a couple of months (thank god he has over 6 months sick leave) and who knows how long we will be in Adelaide. They said that as the "dire" emergency had passed he could go to Adelaide which will be so much better for me as I have all my family there.
So at 3am, I am typing this (and shitting myself off because I am going back correcting typos!!), washing clothes and getting ready to head off sometime tomorrow. I have to let my work know, get Charlie to the kennels and do a million other things. Marnie is flying back to Adelaide from QLD tomorrow afternoon so I will get to see her a bit sooner as Mum and Dad were going to drive her 1/2 way on Sunday. I will update as soon as I can.
Thursday lunchtime
OMG, to top it all off, Marnie was supposed to be flying back to Adelaide today and for some reason I booked it for the 24th September, a week early! Holy crap, I just don't need this today. Not able to get her on Virgin until next Wednesday unless I pay over $500, no flights at all on Jetstar so I have taken a huge leap of faith and booked her onto Tiger
. She can't go "unacompanied" though. Adam and Tamme were happy for her to stay as long as she wanted but I really think I need her here with us. She won't be going back to school next week at this stage. Dont' think I'll tell Russ about the extra $368 it has cost.....
Off to take charlie to the kennel. They are going to ring me when they know a RFDS departure time so I'll come back and update before I leave. He is quite comfortable at the moment which is good, ringing work when I left to bloody talk to them about ordering prime movers etc.....
Thursday evening
Far out, I'm in Adelaide now and he isnt! which isn't too bad really because it means that he is going OK and they said that a couple of other urgent cases elsewhere havebumped him down the list a bit. They are hoping to transfer him tonight but it still could be tomorrow.I spoke to the surgeon in Mildura once I had arrived here and he said that Russ was comfortable and kept saying how the registrar really averted a huge catastrophe by doing the draining of the stomach as it isn't normal procedure that they'd do. Apparently the chief medical guy is keeping all Russ's stuff for his teaching!
So I am at my sister's place which is only a couple of minutes away from the hospital so I will be handy once he is in.
Thanks for all the thoughts,they really do mean a lot. The grapevine in Mildura works very well - I've had so many phonecalls offering help etc and my work have been fantastic. Basically they don't won't to hear from me anytime soon and said I just had to do whatever I needed and come back" whenever". Gawd, lollies, chocolate, Coke etc for my drive - eek but it kept me alert etc. Also drove Russ's work car so had his phone hands free which was good because I made a lot of calls on the road as well.
Friday morning 2nd October
I just had a phone call from the Mildura hospital saying that they were loading him into an ambulance and the plane was there to fly him out in about 1/2 hour. He is grumpy (which is probably a good sign LOL) because he has been there so long and has not been able to eat or drink all this time. He should be here in about 2 hours so I will wait to hear if Marnie takes off on time and if not,will get Mum or my sister to pick her up. Would like to do it myself if possible just because it has been hard without her and even though I've only told her a bit and said not to worry,I know she would have.
Russ's mate went to see him last night which was good but he bloody told Russ about M's flight so I was spewing! I just didn't think Russ needed to know and worry about it until she was actually here. I didn't tell his friend not to tell him but he opened with "oh the Marnie flight thing has been an expensive exercise" etc
So I have internet access while I am at my sisters,they are heading away for the weekend but we'll stay here because it is so close to the hospital.My sister took me to the wonderful central market this morning,just in case Russ's surgery doesn't happen until tomorrow etc so that I could buy him some nice fruit etc.
Hoping to speak to the surgeon as well so I know what is happening and seeing if once surgery is done, whether he can be transferred to a private hospital.The medical faciliites at RAH are first class but it is falling down (new one being built soon) and it would be good for him to recover in a bit more comfort.
It has been crazy with phones etc so have told most people to check Facebook for updates so I don't have to tell the same story over and over again.
Support has been wonderful from friends and family and I really appreciate all your concern.
Will let you all know update once he is here and I know what is happening
Friday afternoon 2nd October
was with Russ when the surgeons came around today and they have said that they won't operate for about a week. They really don't want to do it while he is acute because it is a much bigger op and the risks are far higher. They are confident at this stage that if they wait for a bit, they will be able to do repair via keyhole - which is a massive plus. Other way would be months off work and this way could be as little as 2-3 weeks
We have asked re going to a private hospital at some stage and they were speaking to the head surgeon this arvo (trying to anyway) to ask him about it. They think he will need to be at RAH for a heap of tests but think it will be possible at some stage. He is in a 6 bed ward with old,sick men (like Russ I said LOL) and it is just horrible, to say the least. If he has to be in hospital for another 7-10 days at least he could be much more comfortable.
Depending on what happens tomorrow, Marnie and I may go home on Sunday until Friday. Russ really wants this because then I can actually use my sickleave for when he needs me after the op where I will possible need to be in Adelaide for the week then. Marnie then could come down that week rather than missing 2+ weeks of school. Not ideal I know and I don't really like the idea but it does sort of make sense,especially now that he is stable.
His spirits are MUCH higher now because he was stressing so much about being away from work for 8+ weeks. They were find and he has loads of sick leave but he just worries about everything going pearshaped while he is away
So we will all sleep easier tonight. Still an op to come and a good stay in hospital but so much better at this stage than we had thought.
Sunday afternoon 4th October
the surgeon (head honcho) came to see Russ this morning and said that he would have a barium swallow and endoscopy (prob Thursday) plus some more tests before they will consider a surgery date. He won't commit to anything time wise until he has seen the results so we are still playing a real waiting game. Teeny possibility of him sending Russ back home by RFDS and scheduling surgery soon privately. Russ doesn't want to come home first, he is terrified of something happening again, which is very understandable.
Have come home so that M can go back to school and I can then speak to her teacher about work etc should we need to be away for a week or two. I'm sure it won't be an issue, M is cruising and we have worked out a few things to do that will be educational. M has seen that there is a nature photography exhibition on at the SA Museum and is really keen to see that. Lots of offers for M to stay with friends if I need to get back to Adelaide quickly which is great but I don't think I could leave her behind. Will just have to play that by ear I think.
So home to do washing and wouldn't you know it - the bloody drier has packed it in. Not that I use it all the time but it would be very handy to just get stuff up to date. Our housesitters washed a houseful of sheets and towels and hung them out which was fab but I forgot to bring them when we got home and only saw them when I was leaving the other night and they are so dusty I have to do them all again. bugger!
So, so tired - emotionally as well. Russ's son Chris has been overseas and I only got to speak to him today so he was quite emotional but happy that he is doing OK now. They'll go and see him tomorrow so that will be nice. It has just been really hard to update everyone (the non Facebookers) by phone all the time and go over the same thing over and over. Off to have an early night tonight. Not sure if I'll go to work tomorrow yet, may just have a day to gather myself. Have been running on autopilot for 5 days now and haven't had time to have a cry or just settle my thoughts.
Thanks for all your support, I really appreciate it
Wednesday 7th October
he is going well and is amazingly still in good spirits. He can be quite grumpy and does not have a lot of tolerance to a lot of things so he has really impressed me with how he is handling things. This is especially so when you hear about the way some of the staff treat the patients. Yesterday he had to have a serious of tests that analyze the pressure in the internal valves etc. The tech also read out a huge list of foods/drinks and he had to answer yes or no as to whether they trouble him. Seeing that there are only a couple of things, he was saying no to just about everything - her comment "well if you say no to everything, there is obviously nothing wrong with you and this is a waste of time" 
...
He has had a raft of tests this week and will have an endoscopy tomorrow. At this stage they are saying that if all patients that are on the surgery list on Friday go according to plan (thinking this might be unlikely), they may do him last. If not, they will then see when they can schedule the surgery next week. They are saying his case is "urgent-ish" because although he really is quite fine at the moment, anything could happen if they released him and let him start eating. So he just has to stay until they can get it done. They will also see then if private might be an option to get it done quicker as one of the professors also does surgery in private hospitals. They also said today and while they will attempt keyhole, they may still have to open him up so they have more technology at the RAH if that is the case. Aargh, I just want to know!
So at this stage he is happy and stable but I just wish I knew what the heck was happening. I really won't find out until 5 or after on Friday whether I will be at work on Monday. Not that they care (have been brilliant) but it is hard with M's school too. If surgery is to be Monday or Tuesday next week, we'll probably go down on the day of the surgery, otherwise if he is lucky enough to have it on Friday we will go down Saturday morning as the surgery will be late and I don't really want to drive at night after the week I've had!
He has had quite a lot of visitors from my family and his son Chris has been in everyday. Sally is an exec at a big advertising agency so she had a parcel delivered today with just about every magazine on the market!
So sort of good news at this stage anyway.
Friday afternoon 9th October
after Russ's endoscopy being cancelled yesterday and getting down to surgery today only to have it cancelled at the last minute, he is finally in a private hospital, tucked up in a private room and will have surgery on Monday. Bloody hell! I rang late this afternoon to be told that, yes he was in surgery only to have him ring 1/2 hour later to say they did the endoscopy then woke him up to say that they ran out of time and surgery couldn't go ahead. I told him to insist (now that all the tests that could only be done at RAH had been done) on being sent private. So they agreed (had to get his own way there!) and surgery will definitely go ahead.
I've obviously been more on edge than I thought because when he rang to say that surgery had been cancelled, I nearly fell to pieces. A couple of champers with a friend later I am feeling better and am looking forward to going to see him tomorrow. We'll come back when he is ready to travel (maybe a week).
Letting out a mini sigh of relief now.....
Wednesday 14th October
After 14 days in hospital, Russ is sleeping in his own bed tonight. We drove back this afternoon after the surgeon said he could come home. Under strict instructions to take things easy and soft foods only until his next appointment in a month but he is so glad to be home
We have so much to be thankful for after this horrid experience. The registrar here of course and also the Prof that did the surgery as well. It is amazing that he was able to have keyhole after all and the surgeon told Russ that he had to pull his stomach down from behind his heart before he could do the repair. He has a very sore shoulder (not from referred pain) but from where they had to get behind the heart and touched some nerves that run up to the shoulder. He is remarkably well and I'll go back to work next week if things keep going the same way. He'll play going back by ear but a couple of weeks should see him back to it.
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so that has been our last couple of weeks! Russ is doing pretty well - sore and sick of mushy foods already but thankful that he is here.
Allie x
