My daughter came home from the hospital on Wednesday evening (she had step 1 of a 2-step j-pouch). On Wednesday afternoon the ostomy nurse changed her wafer and bag and talked us through what she was doing. During the 6 days she was in the hospital, my daughter learned to empty the bag.
This morning around 4:30, she calls me to her room because she is a bit nauseous and dizzy. While on my way there, she realizes that she has a leak. Her wafer is moist as is the surrounding area. Mind you we had a visit from the home health care nurse a few hours earlier and we discussed probably changing everything over the weekend. So she has a leak and we need to change everything. Her incision is very close to where the wafer is, in fact, the ostomy nurse had the wafer edge over the incision (and then the incision is covered with gauze).
So at 4:30 am, I am searching through the stuff they sent us home from the hospital, the stuff that got delivered, and hoping we knew what to do. The hospital gives out Convatec supplies (10 wafers/10 bags, etc). The ostomy nurse put a Hollister New Image 2-piece on my daughter and she likes it. She also sent us home with one extra one. We got a box from Hollister that the ostomy nurse ordered but really hadn't looked at it yet. I am also trying to remember everything the nurse said we should have nearby (scissors, something to put over the stoma, etc.). Of course, I ended up making numerous trips throughout the house because I kept forgetting things.
Well my daughter's stoma is currently 1-1/4". The wafer she is wearing is 1-3/4" (that can be trimmed). The box from Hollister contains items that are 2-1/4". I am not sure if there is a way to make them work but at 4:30 in the morning, I don't want to figure it out. So we use the one extra set that the nurse sent us home with. The dressing on the incision has a little bit of leakage on it so that has to come off. We clean it as best as we can (now worrying about whether or not this will cause an infection).
Her stoma is quiet while my daughter is taking everything off and being cleaned. Then comes the task of trying to trim the wafer so it doesn't go over the incision, remembering what to do, etc. Of course the stoma decides it is time to play. And play. And play. We finally get everything on including redressing the incision.
That whole little escapade took us an hour! And probably 1/2 a roll of paper towels. But I have to say my daughter was a real trooper. She did alot of it herself. I have a call in to Hollister to find out if the 2-1/4" stuff will work or if we need a better size. In the meantime if anything happens, she will have to use the Convatec stuff from the hospital. Not bad, but she likes the feeling of the New Image stuff more.
We still have no idea where the leak was. It didn't look like the seal was broken. We couldn't see any holes in the wafer or the bag. I hope this was a one time happening and everything will go better from now on.