Monday, June 6, 2005

G - tube drama

Just a small drama today! The weather here in New York has been very hot the past few days and today Dylan decided we should walk to Central Park so he could use his remote control boat on the lake. I agreed and we set off in the heat. Half way there I regretted it because it was so hot, I felt like I was melting, anyway we finally made it and stopped on the corner for a hotdog each, then walked down to the boat lake. Once we got there we put the boat in the water and Dylan walked by the lake following his boat. I was walking behind him and I noticed a G-tube, the same as Dylan’s laying n the ground, and I thought, wow how unusual to see a G-tube , well DER! I don’t know why I didn’t instantly realize it could be Dylan’s, the heat must have really fried my brain! I said to Dylan, “have you still got your G-tube and he replied “yeah course I have” as he put his hand on his stomach. I then said “give me a look” and he lifted up his t-shirt. Dylan now had two belly buttons, except one was weeping hotdog! Yuk! Now I was really sweating from the heat and the stress! I quickly rummaged through my bag for a band-aid and stuck it over the hole, grabbed the boat from the lake and we whizzed up the hill to the road, and hailed the next cab. When we arrived at the hospital, we were taken straight in and they paged surgery. As we waited, Dylan said, I don’t want my G-tube anymore. The nurse practioner, Dr. Kushner and I all discussed whether it was really necessary for Dylan to have it replaced. In the end Dylan guaranteed he would take his medicine by mouth and given the fact that Dylan is doing so well on TPN, we decided to put a bandage over the hole and let it heal up. Dylan is so happy, he said “Now I can lay on my stomach again!” He is very keen to take all his medication by mouth, I can only hope he keeps his word because most of them taste awful.
Yesterday was a good day, apart from my depressive state of missing Tim, Cain and home. Dylan and I decided it was time we had a pet because we are missing our pets back home so much. A few weeks ago we found a fish bowl in the trash room and we thought, perfect let’s grab it and clean it up. So yesterday we walked (In the heat again) to 86th street and Lexington to buy a Siamese fighting fish for $3.99. He is so cute, Dylan named him “Aussie” and he is blueish green with some red through his tail. They had so many colors to choose from so in the end we chose Aussie because he had all the colors through him. He is very interactive and after only 24 hours, he takes food from my fingers and swims right up to the glass to stare at us when we approach the tank. When we put a mirror near his bowl he flares himself up and looks amazing, this excites Dylan and makes him giggle. Aussie lives in his bowl on the night stand, directly under the lamp so it keeps his water nice and warm, just how he likes it.