Karen's intestines are up and going at full speed. Which of course means she didn't get much sleep last night; she must have gotten up 6 or 7 times to go to the bathroom. (And suggested the title for this post.) So she's a bit more drowsy than she was yesterday. Yesterday they were able to get her pain level down to a 5 out 10, and was hovering around a 6 the day before. Today, it's occasionally come down to a 4. She says she can deal with a 3 out of 10 well enough to read for pleasure, or hold a casual conversation, but her goal is a 2 out of 10.
The surgical team decided she could have her NG tube taken out, but she had such a traumatic time with it going in that she asked if they could do a test run before removing it. So they started with a "clamp test." They turn off the suction for 4 hours and then see how much they can suction up through the tube. Nothing came back up the tube, so she passed the clamp test. This was around noon, and soon she was allowed to have clear fluids. She started slowly with water, and had some broth with a cup of coffee for lunch. She's getting a clear liquid dinner now. After she's been on clear fluids long enough without getting sick, they will advance her to solid foods and at that point they will have to remove the NG tube.
