I use a thigh strap when in the shower specifically to support the cath tube so it does not tug. It's a little awkward in that you cannot shower where the strap is. Those neon Velcro ACE bandages would suffice for your husband. All you gotta do is secure the bulb to it or tuck it underneath, although I've not used one in the shower...you'd have to safety pin it to be certain. Maybe put a lanyard around his neck and secure the bulb to it. Just make sure it's good & secure.
The kitchen twine works as well as a lanyard and is available in the kitchen. That was what I did with my drains and it worked great as a short-term solution. The bulb on the drain has a loop on top where you can thread a cord through or safety pin it.
My patient has perked up considerably and is feeling pretty good. He still has a sore belly and doesn't like to cough, but the output in his surgical drain is more clear and much less volume and the wound looks good. I have to tell this, though I should be ashamed... hee hee. After three days of no post surgical "BM" I was getting worried about a possible problem with the bowel. I decided to take matters into my own hands and added a scoop of unflavored Miralax into his coffee a couple of days ago. Well, that got the job done. And now I know what to do if he pisses me off sometime in the future. :evil: Let this be our little secret. Shhhhhhhhh.
Reminds me of a story about a lady whose hubby had become too enamored with a local pub on the way home from work. One drink became two, two became fine, etc. Wife talked her doctor into giving her a prescription for Antabuse. She began to spike his morning coffee with the drug and hubby believed he had developed an allergy to alcohol and gave it up completely after a few days of treatment. It was a dangerous tactic, but it worked for her.
Spiking the hubs coffee with Miralax was just plain shitty. Have him push a small pillow on his abdomen when he coughs. It makes it tolerable.
Yeah, they gave him a little pillow at the hospital. I'm excited because he hasn't had a cigarette in a week now. We went to the ER last Monday and he left his cigs at home. I hope he can keep from picking them back up again. (I'm thinking this is a major contributor in his crankiness.)
Good for him leveraging the imposed hiatus on the habit. Quitting smokes is such a tough thing to do, on so many levels.
He has been smoking for over 40 years so I figured he'd make a beeline for them as soon as he got home. It's amazing that he hasn't so far but I know how hard it is; he has tried many times to quit.
I thinking you are right. If he starts again then, replace the tobacco with horse poo and tell him the change in smell and taste is because of having his appendix removed, changes his senses especially for coffee and tobacco.
I was surprised by the Miralax powder. I bought it thinking it was the liquid (duh) but after I got home noticed it was an unflavored powder. I stirred it into his coffee and tasted it; it has no taste whatsoever and seemed to dissolve completely.
One of the only worthwhile events I attended in my corporate career was where they played the video of a guy who put forth the notion that none of us makes any true changes in our lives unless confronted by some Earth-shaking personal catastrophe. He Called them Significant Emotional Events (S.E.E.) I wonder if this experience didn't shake hubby to his core.