Slow down, Bev
Hi friends,
When I arrived at the hospital today, mom was being checked out by one of the doctors, and as soon as I walked in, her eyes flew to me and followed me around the room. I THINK she was glad to see me. :) Her room is nice and bright and sunny, which I was very pleased to see since her SICU room, though great, had only thin windows which were mostly blocked by equipment and machinery. So she was getting some Vitamin D in the sunlight, always a good thing. She looked beautiful as usual, and maybe a bit more rested than before. I attribute this to less frequent vitals, a quieter floor, and different scenery. I put on some music for her and sat beside her talking to her for awhile. I had brought in a picture of the two of us on my graduation day from college - it's a gorgeous picture of her - and showed it to her periodically. She was definitely looking at it and I could see the wheels turning as she tried to process it all. I gave her the usual hand and foot massage, and tried to keep repositioning her in bed. The day nurse told me she had been suctioning less frequently from the trach, and that mom wasn't coughing as much, so I think her pneumonia is well on it's way out the door. The infectious diseases doctor came by and said she's on day 10 of her antibiotics but that her white blood cell count in her blood is under control, and if it remains stable through tomorrow, they can discontinue the antibiotics! :) So this is a good step in the right direction.
As I sat there, she'd take short naps here and there, but for the most part she was awake and looking around and moving around the majority of the afternoon. She started to get agitated again, and I think her stomach hurt with gas pains, so I was rubbing her stomach and talking to her and trying to keep her relaxed. But then she'd really get going with her leg and arm grabbing the side rail, and I swear she was trying to speak!! She was mouthing something, and a little air came out when she was doing this. She did it a few times early in the afternoon, and then when Stef M came by, she witnessed it as well! I don't know if what she would say if she actually spoke would make any sense whatsoever or whether it would be gibberish, but it's a start!!! She is also now bringing her left arm up all the way to her face and scratching her nose and rubbing her eyes and forehead (as much as she can with the helmet in the way). Her right leg is now beginning to really pick up in movement - she was only curling and bending her toes on that side yesterday, but today she was doing ankle circles and bending her knee a bit too!
Got a call from the social worker today regarding her discharge placement...not so good news. Upon further evaluation, RIC does not think she would be appropriate for their facility at this point. I was absolutely devestated at first, but after talking with some of my friends at work, all hope is not lost until I exhaust all the options of trying to talk to people more and get some things worked out. So please continue to pray for RIC, because all may not be lost. Regardless, I plan to go check out Holy Family Medical Center probably tomorrow just because it is still a possibility. So I'll keep you posted on that as well. Fingers crossed for RIC!!!
Stef and I snuck back up to say goodnight after we finished with dinner, and mom was all crooked in her bed, sort of on a diagonal. No matter how much we repositioned her, she was determined to get into her own position, damnit! :) She is getting so strong with that left leg of hers, she literally lifted it over the bottom side rail and wedged it between that one and the top side rail. She was grabbing onto the top side rail with her left arm and literally trying to sit up in the bed. She wants out of there SOO badly!!! :) Stef and I were cracking up, and we were sure to let the nurses know in case they needed to have someone in there with her or at least do something else to ensure she won't be running up and down the halls tonight!! She's such a cutie pie, and so determined. I can't believe how strong she is after lying in a bed for just about 3 weeks straight now. It's unbelievable, and I'm SOO proud of her. Leaps and bounds. Pretty soon, maybe literal leaps! :)
Until next time, please keep up what you're doing, I love it and she loves it. And we love you.
When I arrived at the hospital today, mom was being checked out by one of the doctors, and as soon as I walked in, her eyes flew to me and followed me around the room. I THINK she was glad to see me. :) Her room is nice and bright and sunny, which I was very pleased to see since her SICU room, though great, had only thin windows which were mostly blocked by equipment and machinery. So she was getting some Vitamin D in the sunlight, always a good thing. She looked beautiful as usual, and maybe a bit more rested than before. I attribute this to less frequent vitals, a quieter floor, and different scenery. I put on some music for her and sat beside her talking to her for awhile. I had brought in a picture of the two of us on my graduation day from college - it's a gorgeous picture of her - and showed it to her periodically. She was definitely looking at it and I could see the wheels turning as she tried to process it all. I gave her the usual hand and foot massage, and tried to keep repositioning her in bed. The day nurse told me she had been suctioning less frequently from the trach, and that mom wasn't coughing as much, so I think her pneumonia is well on it's way out the door. The infectious diseases doctor came by and said she's on day 10 of her antibiotics but that her white blood cell count in her blood is under control, and if it remains stable through tomorrow, they can discontinue the antibiotics! :) So this is a good step in the right direction.
As I sat there, she'd take short naps here and there, but for the most part she was awake and looking around and moving around the majority of the afternoon. She started to get agitated again, and I think her stomach hurt with gas pains, so I was rubbing her stomach and talking to her and trying to keep her relaxed. But then she'd really get going with her leg and arm grabbing the side rail, and I swear she was trying to speak!! She was mouthing something, and a little air came out when she was doing this. She did it a few times early in the afternoon, and then when Stef M came by, she witnessed it as well! I don't know if what she would say if she actually spoke would make any sense whatsoever or whether it would be gibberish, but it's a start!!! She is also now bringing her left arm up all the way to her face and scratching her nose and rubbing her eyes and forehead (as much as she can with the helmet in the way). Her right leg is now beginning to really pick up in movement - she was only curling and bending her toes on that side yesterday, but today she was doing ankle circles and bending her knee a bit too!
Got a call from the social worker today regarding her discharge placement...not so good news. Upon further evaluation, RIC does not think she would be appropriate for their facility at this point. I was absolutely devestated at first, but after talking with some of my friends at work, all hope is not lost until I exhaust all the options of trying to talk to people more and get some things worked out. So please continue to pray for RIC, because all may not be lost. Regardless, I plan to go check out Holy Family Medical Center probably tomorrow just because it is still a possibility. So I'll keep you posted on that as well. Fingers crossed for RIC!!!
Stef and I snuck back up to say goodnight after we finished with dinner, and mom was all crooked in her bed, sort of on a diagonal. No matter how much we repositioned her, she was determined to get into her own position, damnit! :) She is getting so strong with that left leg of hers, she literally lifted it over the bottom side rail and wedged it between that one and the top side rail. She was grabbing onto the top side rail with her left arm and literally trying to sit up in the bed. She wants out of there SOO badly!!! :) Stef and I were cracking up, and we were sure to let the nurses know in case they needed to have someone in there with her or at least do something else to ensure she won't be running up and down the halls tonight!! She's such a cutie pie, and so determined. I can't believe how strong she is after lying in a bed for just about 3 weeks straight now. It's unbelievable, and I'm SOO proud of her. Leaps and bounds. Pretty soon, maybe literal leaps! :)
Until next time, please keep up what you're doing, I love it and she loves it. And we love you.
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