Good News.....Today I arrived at the hospital about 9'ish....to find my mom wide awake with the tube still in. She had been trying to talk with Shirley and I saw that she had been trying to write - really?? - she hasn't been able to write since all of this happened on March 16th. Wow - really...she looked better then she had since before this all happened.
About 1pm she got the tube out - that went well - she was supposed to not use her voice very much for the rest of the day. She was so excited to get ice chips and she watch the time when she would be able to have water. I have to say that it was so good to see her "want" water as we had been force-feeding her the water for days. The physical therapist came by today and my mom sat at the side of the bed and stood up. All in all she is headed in a good direction after yesterday's scare. She is being tube fed and hydrated and leaning to breath with a special machine called C-pap that she will have to use at night.
After to seeing my mom yesterday in the emergency room and hearing all the doctor had to say I think it is safe to say that my mom has survived one more brush with death. Some things have come to back to me that had occurred this last week.
My mom had been at Eskaton a week and a day when this happened....I had been asking the staff, including the Kaiser doctor, about her breathing and swollen feet. Each day I visited I noticed that she hadn't eaten anything and barely drank anything....I asked about how long they go before they help with food intake and fluid intake,,,the answer was "that patients have the right to refuse"......I didn't understand that a doctor wasn't made aware of this...since she really hadn't eaten since March 15th. Also, no one encouraged her to use her spirometer (the breathing thing) - I was starting to really dislike this place and feel uneasy about my mom's well being. She was also so tired and so weak...she would fall fast asleep and be really hard to wake, she would sleep sitting up all these things were red flags - wasn't this staff trained to see that?? Then on Tuesday my mom asked me where my dad was...I said "my dad - where is my dad?" and she said "well I know he is dead but he is hanging around here" I asked her if he says anything to her and she said no that he is "just here". What was she saying?? I think my dad was there....I think he was keeping her here...it is not her time.
What I am learning everyday is...we all need to be a vital part of our care and the care of our loved ones...I feel for the patients who don't get visitors or don't have people that hang around and question. I think that we are taught to respect doctors and nurses as people who know what they are doing - BUT they don't KNOW us or our loved ones as much as we know...and we should be heard. So if there is any message in all of this it is to BE HEARD and if you aren't being heard talk louder.
Right now we are back to no visitors...but when she is moved I will let you all know and visits will be very welcome again. I am now on the hunt for the next care home for her so she can continue her rehab...she still needs physical and occupational therapies...but from what I saw today if she can continue gaining strength then, hopefully this next time will go better. Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers. Sleep well
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