NPO stands for "nil per os", or nothing by mouth. This is the common order placed or instruction given prior to surgery, procedures, imaging studies, public speaking, etc. The easiest instruction is to say NPO after midnight (rather than "don't eat this many hours before your procedure", which requires math), but even that is usually misleading. You may be able to take clear liquids (liquids that you can see through, like water or Jell-o gelatin, not milk or pea soup), but that depends on what is actually happening. J is scheduled for his spinal tap early this afternoon and was supposed to be NPO after midnight.
It snowed yesterday. Not a lot, but it snowed enough to make the roads a little messy. It was supposed to snow well into the night. Our school district covers a large geographic area with a lot of hilly roads, so usually the forecast of snow results in either school cancellation (when there is no actual snowfall) or a two-hour delay (when small amounts of snow fall). (We never really get a lot of snow, but I'm sure that if we did, we would still send the kids to school). Last night we received the phone call for a two-hour delay. Hooray! Love two-hour delays!
Sadly, this one messed up our schedule. I woke up to clear our driveway. The kids had a late breakfast. Mom was feeding the baby. Somehow in the mix of all this excitement, J ate breakfast. We're quite happy he is eating, but sad that he ate at the wrong time. I called the Pediatric Sedation team and they said, "Whoops". They also said he can never eat 8 hours before the procedure, but can have clear liquids up to two hours before). Fortunately they gave us an adjusted time of late in the afternoon, so he'll still get this last dose of chemotherapy and be officially finished with his first round of treatment. And that is something to really be excited about.
Oh man, spinal taps really suck! Your all still in my prayers!
ReplyDelete