Karen got a sharp pain in her abdomen in the middle of the night. Her pain level quickly jumped to a 9 out of 10, and it took most of the night and into the morning to get her pain level back down. Needless to say, she didn't sleep very much. Her heart rate also jumped back into the 100s; so that's got to be pain related. They brought in a portable X-Ray machine and took an image of her abdomen. They tell us we're dealing with an obstruction of the intestines.
They inserted an NG tube to drain the contents of her stomach. She really hates those, and this one was particularly painful as it went in. It hasn't actually suctioned anything out yet, so maybe that means things are still moving forward at this point? It's also worth noting that she hasn't been nauseous through any of this, which is almost always the case with a blockage. It may have been caught early due to her abdomen already being sensitive from all it's been through lately. However, this does mean she's been taken off solid food again, and with the NG tube in, she won't be able to drink anything either.
Two steps forward, one step back. But at least we're moving forward.
