Administrator, Director of Patient Support Services Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 10,507 Likes: 7 | Welcome to OCF! Im very sorry to read about everything you have been thru. You are in the right place to get info and support. Stick with us and we will help you thru all the upcoming hurdles.
To help your body recover from everything you have been thru, you need to boost your intake. This will also help you to heal quicker from your upcoming surgery. Every single day you should be taking in at least 2500 calories and 48-64 oz of water. These numbers are the bare minimums. After everything you went thru you should try adding some high protein whey powder to your liquid formula. This helps with healing. If you can push to take in 3000 or 3500 calories thats not too much for your situation. If you can talk with a nutritionist they can help with getting you on a prescription calorie dense formula to make getting enough calories easier. Or you can order Boost Very High Calorie from the Amazon link on the right side of the page. Your intake is so very important especially with surgery coming up. You want to be as strong as possible going into it to make it easier to get thru.
If you have friends and relatives who want to help, ask them to take shifts staying with you while you are in the hospital. Every patient who undergoes major surgery should have someone there with them even if they are only sitting around watching you sleep. After the type of surgery you are having, the hospital staff may not understand you. With someone there they can be your voice and advocate for you.
Wishing you all the best with everything. ChristineSCC 6/15/07 L chk & by L molar both Stag I, age44 2x cispltn-35 IMRT end 9/27/07 -65 lbs in 2 mo, no caregvr Clear PET 1/08 4/4/08 recur L chk Stag I surg 4/16/08 clr marg 215 HBO dives 3/09 teeth out, trismus 7/2/09 recur, Stg IV 8/24/09 trach, ND, mandiblctmy 3wks medicly inducd coma 2 mo xtended hospital stay, ICU & burn unit PICC line IV antibx 8 mo 10/4/10, 2/14/11 reconst surg OC 3x in 3 years very happy to be alive |