Post Opt Night 2

Lacey had another sleepless night and was awakened often by her pain and discomfort. However, as i watch her, i am beginning to see some small improvements. She is moving her legs and arms more in the bed and seems to be getting more ability to reposition herself. She started TPN last night (nutrition via IV) and because of that, her blood sugars jumped around a bit during the night. The nurses continue to check the sugars every hour and adjust the insulin pump so that sugar is kept on the low side of normal, hoping that the transplanted islet cells can continue to rest. The nurses seem to think that because Lacey is needed such small amounts of insulin in the drip, her islets are already beginning to work a little. She doesn't seem bothered at all by this, but i was looking at her fingers last night and they are just covered with marks from the multiple blood sugar checks. Hopefully the insulin and sugar regulation will level out so they can check the sugars less frequently and maybe the bruises to her finger tips can begin to heal. She will remain on the TPN for at least the next 4 to 6 days depending on how long it takes her guts to wake up and how long it is before she can tolerate some liquids and foods by mouth.The tube in her nose draining her stomach will stay in place at least another day or two depending on the nausea (which has been good) and the amount of drainage from the stomach. The drain into her wound will also stay another day or two depending on how much drainage is present.
On of the surgical medical students just came by early this morning and removed the dressing from lacey's wound. It looks really good and shows no signs of infection. The wound is mid abdomen and about 6 to 7 inches long. For those who have seen Lacey, she had a scar in this area from a previous surgery, but the surgeon not only made a new incision, he cut out the old scar completely and closed up the wound so that she now has only one scar that actually should heal and look better than the old scar. She will probably like this for aestetic reasons.
So we are sure that today on post opt day 2, they will be begin what the surgeon called "boot camp." They will have Lacey up and walking a few times today and possibly even in the chair to sit. She is somewhat anxious about this, as are we all. The staff here is very supportive and encouraging, and all have said that she will feel significantly better after some movement. She does still have wires and tubes coming from everywhere and this is going to be challenging when trying to walk.
All in all the first 36 hours have proven very very tough for Lacey. But this is expected and even patients with the best outcomes have very rough days in the beginning. Thankfully, there has been NO pancreas pain and no vomitting, which are the two things we were striving to rid with this surgery, so this means the surgery has been successful thus far. We are thankful. Please continue to pray for Lacey through the day today as she will be pushed beyond what she feels is physically possible. Pray that God will hold her up mentally, spiritually, and physically as she attempts to learn to walk again.