Hi all
My dad has just come out of hospital today after his oesophagectomy last Tues. To be home after 9 days is quite unbelievable and he has done amazingly well so far. However, this is the real start of his recovery and while the feeling of being back home is great for dad, its also a little overwhelming as he has had round the clock care while in hospital.
He has to have night feeds through his jej tube and has been shown this in the hospital as have I, and am sure it will become 2nd nature in time. Its just a bit scary when it's the first time doing it himself. Dad has to continue on a liquid diet for the next week then can build up to mashable foods after that.
Just wondered if anyone has any tips for these early days being just out of hospital, when everything is new and scary.. I know dad is feeling pain which is to be expected but we trying to manage this with paracetamol. He needs to continue building up his walks to help his lungs as he is building up his lung capacity again after his op. Its a whole new normal and emotions are all over the place but at least he's here and that's the most important thing.
Hi cmj78 hopefully you have been given the phone number of the Macmillan nurses at your hospital ,you will find them brilliant for any queries ect and the feeding tube yes it’s not as scary as you first think ( I was terrified at first 
)but again you should have j tube nurses numbers and again there great at sorting out any problems , and really after that one day at a time plenty rest , when he starts eating soft foods remember only very small meals and graze in between, very best of luck
Thanks for your kind words JPM. While Dad is glad to be home he had quite a tough night, and couldn't get comfortable in bed. We quickly realised that he had not been prescribed his pain relief meds!! No the wonder he was in such pain! It was very quickly sorted out today and he isn't feeling quite as bad as last night. Just hope he can get some sleep.
His diet for now is mainly soups, yoghurts, ice cream, jelly and mouse. Trying to vary flavours as much as possible but hopefully will be better when he can eat soft foods and have a bit more variety.
We have a follow up appointment with dietician and the specialist nurses on 7th Aug, which is quite soon, then he will see his consultant after that and then the oncologist in September to see how things will progress regarding more chemo. I know dad is praying he won't need more, but we're expecting that he will. Still a long journey, but truly hoping for positive things to come. 
