Dad was in good spirits this morning, laying in bed with hands on his head, looking at the wall (looked quite content). He said he wasn't bored...looked like he was just chillin' out. He looked SO much better without the feeding tube in his nose, and the long tracheotomy in his throat. The new tracheotomy is actually a metal one, and is a "plug" model. They have stuck a small little rubber cork in it, and he is now taking oxygen through his nose. This means he is speaking from his mouth and not the trach. He will likely not get another trach...when time, this one will be removed and they'll let the stoma heal over!
Dad was feeling nauseous last night, so didn't drink his Ensure as he promised...for which he was chastised this morning (by me). He made sure to call me later in the day and said, "I drank it!" He needs the calories and nutrients. Think his nausea was from all the stuff he went through yesterday with PT, as he is now straining muscles that haven't been used much, and they are likely releasing stored-up toxins. He did some aggressive upper body PT this morning while having to balance on the side of the bed. The therapist said Dad does work hard during their sessions, and that he is not worried about him getting lazy about PT sessions. Go Dad!
Be praying that all his bodily functions continue to improve, including large muscle coordination and kidney repair. And if you want to visit (and are healthy), feel free! He loves visitors.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Added side note to Tuesday Stuff
They did downsize the tracheotomy this evening.
He is also having some swelling in his left ancle that is something new noticed today.
He is also having some swelling in his left ancle that is something new noticed today.
Tuesday stuff
I got to the hospital this morning, and noticed they had fed Dad with the feeding tube last night (which they hadn't done in several days, and the nurse told me yesterday that they weren't feeding him at night so that he'd be hungry). I asked the nurse which was going on: They were supposed to feed him and they weren't, or they weren't supposed to feed him and they were today. I said, "Either way, SOMEONE isn't reading the chart!" Apparently they WERE supposed to have been feeding him all this time, and were being lax. Anyway, she said if Dad would drink several Ensure drinks a day, the doctor would probably take out the feeding tube. Dad said, "ABSOLUTELY," so they took it out today at some point, and he was greatly relieved.
They did not take out his dialysis ports today, because the Cumadin (blood thinner) levels were too high. Won't give him the Cumadin today, and should take the ports out tomorrow. Doctors said that Dad's kidneys are operating at about 50%, and aren't sure whether or not they'll get much better...but they're "good enough." We are going to keep praying they WILL continue to improve, to full restoration!
They had Dad stand up today with the help of a medieval torture rack apparatus. He did well (but it was mostly the apparatus holding his weight). His left leg is now able to be raised about 3 inches too. He is determined to get out of the hospital sooner rather than later, so thankfully he is working hard every time they have any kind of therapy session.
Lastly, they will likely take out Dad's tracheotomy tonight, and replace it with a smaller one so that the stoma can start to heal itself up. They've had the new one sitting by the bed all day, but his main doctor has to do it...and he doesn't come in until the evenings/nights. Hopefully that will be done today too!
They did not take out his dialysis ports today, because the Cumadin (blood thinner) levels were too high. Won't give him the Cumadin today, and should take the ports out tomorrow. Doctors said that Dad's kidneys are operating at about 50%, and aren't sure whether or not they'll get much better...but they're "good enough." We are going to keep praying they WILL continue to improve, to full restoration!
They had Dad stand up today with the help of a medieval torture rack apparatus. He did well (but it was mostly the apparatus holding his weight). His left leg is now able to be raised about 3 inches too. He is determined to get out of the hospital sooner rather than later, so thankfully he is working hard every time they have any kind of therapy session.
Lastly, they will likely take out Dad's tracheotomy tonight, and replace it with a smaller one so that the stoma can start to heal itself up. They've had the new one sitting by the bed all day, but his main doctor has to do it...and he doesn't come in until the evenings/nights. Hopefully that will be done today too!
Events for Today
Just a short note to let you know dad is getting his feeding tube and his dialysis ports both taken out today. Please pray for his safety and for everything to go smoothly. Taking the ports out are considered a surgery. I do not know what time this will happen but as soon as we can get an update on how it all went and how he is doing, we will update.
Mom is also in Texas City today to take her mom to the doctor and try to get MeeMaw feeling better. Please pray for her day all together. As many of yall know a day with MeeMaw, espcially for mom and her position now, can be very hard on mom. As soon as she is finished with MeeMaw then she is back to be with dad. We have a great family friend staying with dad today while we are unable to be there. Praise God for his willingness and availability.
God Bless!
Mom is also in Texas City today to take her mom to the doctor and try to get MeeMaw feeling better. Please pray for her day all together. As many of yall know a day with MeeMaw, espcially for mom and her position now, can be very hard on mom. As soon as she is finished with MeeMaw then she is back to be with dad. We have a great family friend staying with dad today while we are unable to be there. Praise God for his willingness and availability.
God Bless!
Monday, December 29, 2008
A very good Monday
Dad slept well last night, and had no issues to where he needed any "assistance." He again ate all his breakfast. They did another swallow-evaluation, and he passed! Yea! Now he can eat or drink anything on the menus they give him, and won't have to be "syrupy" liquids. Dad also sat up in one of the special chairs for about 3 hours today, which is good to get him in a more natural upright position. Also, they may take out Dad's dialysis ports on Tuesday or Wednesday, as they say he won't need them.
Mom spoke with the CEO of the hospital today about our issues. She said that he was very understanding, and listened to everything she had to say. He even took notes! He agreed that her concerns were valid, and that the nursing service level described was completely unacceptable. While we understand that this isn't ICU, the fact that no one would even attempt to respond for at least 45 minutes is ridiculous (in fact, a few times at night it took 2+ hours for a nurse to even pop a head in...what if you're choking, fallen, having a heart attack, have defecated on yourself, etc.???) . The little intercoms on the TV remotes don't work, so basically, a nurse HAS to come to the room to find out why they're being called. Mom did a great job of outlining everything reasonably and fairly, mentioned that the top supervisor's phone was ringing off the hook due to people calling out of desperation, and gave other patients' examples. So we are hoping he does something about it.
Thank you all for your prayers, visits, emails, etc. It has been a real blessing to Mom and Dad both. Dad has loved seeing old friends, even though the circumstances aren't ideal. Your love has been greatly felt these past 5+ weeks.
Mom spoke with the CEO of the hospital today about our issues. She said that he was very understanding, and listened to everything she had to say. He even took notes! He agreed that her concerns were valid, and that the nursing service level described was completely unacceptable. While we understand that this isn't ICU, the fact that no one would even attempt to respond for at least 45 minutes is ridiculous (in fact, a few times at night it took 2+ hours for a nurse to even pop a head in...what if you're choking, fallen, having a heart attack, have defecated on yourself, etc.???) . The little intercoms on the TV remotes don't work, so basically, a nurse HAS to come to the room to find out why they're being called. Mom did a great job of outlining everything reasonably and fairly, mentioned that the top supervisor's phone was ringing off the hook due to people calling out of desperation, and gave other patients' examples. So we are hoping he does something about it.
Thank you all for your prayers, visits, emails, etc. It has been a real blessing to Mom and Dad both. Dad has loved seeing old friends, even though the circumstances aren't ideal. Your love has been greatly felt these past 5+ weeks.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday...Day 35
Dad had to call the "top supervisor" number AGAIN at 2am last night, as no one was responding to his "emergency" button. Unbelievable to think that someone could truly need immediate attention, and they just don't seem to bother checking on them. Really scary. Sad thing is, this is not uncommon in a lot of rehab and other types of recovery hospitals (based on what people have been telling us).
Today he had Occupational therapy again, and asked to do lots of "extra stuff" that impressed the therapist, like dumb bells. He also lifted one of his legs up about 3 inches when they were moving him, which everyone was happy to see. Seems to be feeling well, and ate ALL of his lunch too.
Please pray that Mom and Sis get to talk with the appropriate supervisor on Monday regarding the horrible lack of response. While I sort-of want to be there for it, I'd probably end up going ballistic as I have low patience for bull-hockey and bureaucratic explanations of why things are "different" than they should be...I deal with enough of it on a daily basis, and am used to "my way or the highway." Probably not a good idea when my dad's health care is at stake. "A man's got to know his limitations," so I'll let the cooler heads have the discussion, and come in as the bad guy later on if needed.
Today he had Occupational therapy again, and asked to do lots of "extra stuff" that impressed the therapist, like dumb bells. He also lifted one of his legs up about 3 inches when they were moving him, which everyone was happy to see. Seems to be feeling well, and ate ALL of his lunch too.
Please pray that Mom and Sis get to talk with the appropriate supervisor on Monday regarding the horrible lack of response. While I sort-of want to be there for it, I'd probably end up going ballistic as I have low patience for bull-hockey and bureaucratic explanations of why things are "different" than they should be...I deal with enough of it on a daily basis, and am used to "my way or the highway." Probably not a good idea when my dad's health care is at stake. "A man's got to know his limitations," so I'll let the cooler heads have the discussion, and come in as the bad guy later on if needed.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Sat Night Update
Well apparently last night after all the calling and talking to the supervisor that mom did, things got much better! Dad said that he had a good night. After they gave him his pain medicine he was able to sleep more then he had all week and the nurse came in during the night in a timely manor the few times he needed something. Praise God! From what I can tell things today went okay with the nurse.
We were not able to get an apointment with anyone at the other facility with it being the weekend. So we are going to stay where we are for now, give it through the weekend, see how things go and see if we have any changes while we are in a few days of not being being on a holiday skeleton crew. We figure with new years we will go back on skeleton crew for another couple of days next week. On Monday there are suppose to be 3 supervisors at Kindred instead of just one like it has been with the holiday, so on Monday mom is going to sit down and have a long talk about what has happened up to that point and what we expect. I am going to try my hardest to attend that meeting also. We were encouraged by how things went last night after the big ordeal and encouraged with there being more people on staff today. They are still not staying with him while he eats breakfast like they are suppose to as he needs one on one supervision...so that will obviously be an important thing to address on Monday. Once again I plan on coming up with a list of topics.
Dad's doctor while at Kindred came in tonight (actually his sub while his dr is out for a couple of days) and mom said they had a real good conversation. Doctor said that dad is getting better and stronger everyday and looking good on his pace of recovery. They are also talking about taking his ports out that they use for Dialysis because he hasn't needed it for 8 days now and his numbers are also continuing to improve everyday. Another Great answer to all the prayers!!!
Dad is suppose to have another barium swallow test, either Sun or Mon. Dad is hoping for Sun and that he will be cleared to drink and eat like normal. Today while I was there he was talking about how he is REALLY tired of everything being a thick consistancy...and ready to take the test again with hopes of passing. They are also doing electrode (sp?) therapy on his legs now to try to get the muscles activated....dad really likes this and it seems to be helping some. About an hour after he had done a session he was able to move his toes a little bit more. He still doesn't have all his feeling back...I know he is still numb at the ends of his fingers some, the tops of his feet and I'm not sure if it is all back in his toes yet. The doctor tonight said that because the tops of his feet are brused pretty bad it makes him think that they put in IV's there and if that is the case it is normal for it to take awhile to get all the feeling back.
Overall dad is looking a little better everyday. Today he looked alot better with actually getting some sleep last night. I just pray that tonight goes as smoothly, it's hard to have hope that it is just knowing how the nights can be in any hospital. He is starting to watch some cooking and fix it shows on TV...which are both up dad's ally so it was good to see him getting an interest in those. Today while I was there he was talking about how he was watching an interesting show about building a chair. You could tell he had that look of...that would be a fun project some day. It was a great, "that's my dad" conversation.
Some smaller details to pray about along with all the normal things: the doctors would know the right timing of removing the ports; he is getting 10 meds at the same time and upsetting his stomach with the nasea mentioend before...we had mentioned this to the dr but no changes yet...so prayer that these changes might be approved if it would still be safe for him to have that change; that God would show favor for dad to the nurses and staff; that we would be guided on rather to keep him there or change him (our concern now that we have a sliver of things getting better is that if we change him we would have to start all over with making ourselves known at a new place); mom's strength as she is running on empty and exhausted to the point of not always function to well; mom is going tuesday to help my grandmother (her mom) and take her to the dr as my grandmother isn't doing well overall....so prayer for that whole day and situation.
Thanks again for all the family support!!! We hope everyone had a Fantasic Christmas and has a Happy New Year!! God Bless!
We were not able to get an apointment with anyone at the other facility with it being the weekend. So we are going to stay where we are for now, give it through the weekend, see how things go and see if we have any changes while we are in a few days of not being being on a holiday skeleton crew. We figure with new years we will go back on skeleton crew for another couple of days next week. On Monday there are suppose to be 3 supervisors at Kindred instead of just one like it has been with the holiday, so on Monday mom is going to sit down and have a long talk about what has happened up to that point and what we expect. I am going to try my hardest to attend that meeting also. We were encouraged by how things went last night after the big ordeal and encouraged with there being more people on staff today. They are still not staying with him while he eats breakfast like they are suppose to as he needs one on one supervision...so that will obviously be an important thing to address on Monday. Once again I plan on coming up with a list of topics.
Dad's doctor while at Kindred came in tonight (actually his sub while his dr is out for a couple of days) and mom said they had a real good conversation. Doctor said that dad is getting better and stronger everyday and looking good on his pace of recovery. They are also talking about taking his ports out that they use for Dialysis because he hasn't needed it for 8 days now and his numbers are also continuing to improve everyday. Another Great answer to all the prayers!!!
Dad is suppose to have another barium swallow test, either Sun or Mon. Dad is hoping for Sun and that he will be cleared to drink and eat like normal. Today while I was there he was talking about how he is REALLY tired of everything being a thick consistancy...and ready to take the test again with hopes of passing. They are also doing electrode (sp?) therapy on his legs now to try to get the muscles activated....dad really likes this and it seems to be helping some. About an hour after he had done a session he was able to move his toes a little bit more. He still doesn't have all his feeling back...I know he is still numb at the ends of his fingers some, the tops of his feet and I'm not sure if it is all back in his toes yet. The doctor tonight said that because the tops of his feet are brused pretty bad it makes him think that they put in IV's there and if that is the case it is normal for it to take awhile to get all the feeling back.
Overall dad is looking a little better everyday. Today he looked alot better with actually getting some sleep last night. I just pray that tonight goes as smoothly, it's hard to have hope that it is just knowing how the nights can be in any hospital. He is starting to watch some cooking and fix it shows on TV...which are both up dad's ally so it was good to see him getting an interest in those. Today while I was there he was talking about how he was watching an interesting show about building a chair. You could tell he had that look of...that would be a fun project some day. It was a great, "that's my dad" conversation.
Some smaller details to pray about along with all the normal things: the doctors would know the right timing of removing the ports; he is getting 10 meds at the same time and upsetting his stomach with the nasea mentioend before...we had mentioned this to the dr but no changes yet...so prayer that these changes might be approved if it would still be safe for him to have that change; that God would show favor for dad to the nurses and staff; that we would be guided on rather to keep him there or change him (our concern now that we have a sliver of things getting better is that if we change him we would have to start all over with making ourselves known at a new place); mom's strength as she is running on empty and exhausted to the point of not always function to well; mom is going tuesday to help my grandmother (her mom) and take her to the dr as my grandmother isn't doing well overall....so prayer for that whole day and situation.
Thanks again for all the family support!!! We hope everyone had a Fantasic Christmas and has a Happy New Year!! God Bless!
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