Mel, your the best! No, he drank his brewed Irish Cream coffee that was 1/2 heavy cream and fortified with REAL SUGAR [love those fat calories!] Sooo...while he was slurping it down his mouth it was COMING OUT the peg and draining into the collection bag! I suggested that we just connect the drainage back up to his mouth and have a continuous loop of recycled Irish Cream. :] I have a twisted and sick sense of humor. I think that all PEG's are done as Out Patient procedures for everyone-anyone else? It is just one more way for the Insurance Companies and Health[I don't]Care to maximize on their MONEY! Trust me, I spoke with the Head of the Department and the Hospital Administrator the next day with a detailed Constructive Critique. Honestly, I don't know if this is what normally happens or if it was just our special experience! IF it always is like this, they need to change asap and I gave them many suggestions from the viewpoint of the PALS, the CALS and from a Nursing observation. We do not want this to be the reality for one more person! Apparently they did not give him a very big dose of the Versed & Demerol-he was AWAKE and definately felt the procedure as uncomfortable. He is also VERY CLAUSTROPHOBIC and they strapped down his arms and legs. I told them that he could not be FLAT as he can not handle his secretions and will choke and they put him flat. The Nursing staff did not check his PEG or the connection to the drainage bag for the 45 min that I was gone. The Nursing staff did not offer any alternative to assisting me with finding him clean and dry clothing for the 1 hour ride home when it was 18 below zero. Maybe they could have gotten him some scrub pants? The Nursing staff did not do any return demonstration of wound care, how to manage the peg with flushing, checking for patency, s/s of problems and how to address potential problems at home, no one said anything about bleeding, they did not give me ANY supplies [I had to ask for a 60 ccc syringe so I could flush him at home] the post op discharge instructions were generic and not specific to a PEG. No tape, no sterile 4x4's, no connector that worked and I had to request pain medication on top of all of that. If I do not hear from them by next week with how they are fixing their flawed program, I will call again and not be so nice. :] The good news is that Web is walking a little straighter, the wound looks good, PEG works and I taught Web how to do wound care and how to flush and he did it on his own last night for the first time. :] I asked Matthew if he was ready to learn and I got a adament NO! I had to lol. This is the child that has always said that he is going to be a Neuro Surgeon and wants to go to Duke. I said, "Matthew, it is no biggy. If you can not do this-how are you going to be a Dr?" His pithy reply, "Momma, that is what Nurses are for!" ROTFLMAO He will learn to do it eventually-just not today. :]
Barry, it is a real Peg and has one part for the fluids and one little port for the balloon. I think that the confusing issue was the 24 hours of straight drainage to the foley bag. They didn't have an adaptor to connect the PEG to the drainage collection bag that fit and just tried to tape it together and it didn't work. SOOO did anyone else have 24 hours of being connected to a drainage bag? Was anyone else awake, aware and uncomfortable during the procedure? my inquiring mind wants to know :]
:-D 
