Moving Day!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Mom was moved to the Lake Bennett Health & Rehab Center at approximately 4:30 this afternoon. The good news is that is a rehab at last. The bad news is that is it further from my house (now 22 miles) and on the opposite side of town from work. Her new room number is 309.

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I spoke with her shortly before the transfer. She was apprehensive and said she had never heard of this place before. I tried to remind her that it was on her list... but she still said no. All she really wants to do is come home. I told her she could as soon as she was ready. Guess her response...? She can walk, she does it all the time, so she is ready! Hopefully this change of scenery will be good for her mental health, too.

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I am heading over there soon. I will send a phone number as soon as I have one.

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Postnote - this pic is of Mom on the balcony of our room, looking at the Hubbard Glacier, in Alaska.

Dance Party in Pat's room

Wednesday February 11, 2009

This morning, they removed mom's traych! To celebrate, they turned on the music. Mom danced (in her bed), the doctors danced, the nurses danced, other people's visitors came in to dance. =)

And again, in the grand scheme of their fantastic communication skills, no one called me.

Diane went to visit this afternoon so she called to tell me the good news. She also told me that the case worker said Mom might move tomorrow. I can't imagine how since she has a UTI still, and her creatinine is 3.5. Also, her calcium is elevated, so they are putting her on a medicine that might make the kidneys even worse. So I can't imagine they will move her yet... but we shall see!

Postnote - the picture is from Fairbanks, Alaska.

Size 4!

January 25 through February 8

On Sunday February 1, Dianne and I had spa day with Mom. Diane cut and filed Mom's nails while I tackled her hair. The nurses got her into the special chair they use with her so that she was sitting upright. After about an hour, I was still no where with her hair, so we made the tough decision to cut it. The hair in the back of her head is now only about 1/2" to 1" long, and there is a small bald spot from her rubbing against the mattress for the last few weeks. The sides and front seem long enough to cover it for now, so the focus is to keep it from getting bad again. That day, Mom was in the chair for about 2 1/2 hours, which is fantastic for her.

This week we had exciting traych movement! On Tuesday (2/3), they capped her traych so that she is no longer breathing through it. Now, all breathing is done through her nose, yeah! Then on Friday (2/6), they reduced the size of the tube to a 4!! The next move is to take it out entirely. I don't have a time estimate on that, but we are very hopeful that it won't be too much longer.

Also this week, she started eating normal food. She is still on thickened liquids, but gets stew, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, etc. She does not have much of an appetite, so we are working on getting her to eat more each day. Once she is eating enough to cover the calories she needs each day, they can stop the tube feeding and take out the PEG tube.

As for the rehab facility, the one here in Hunter's Creek is full now and they do not believe they will have a bed anytime soon. The insurance company is all about getting Mom into rehab asap; they called me Friday to ask about a new facility in Metro West. This would be about the same distance as the current place, but with traffic it might take longer to get there. Diane was thinking about going to the Hunter's Creek admin office asking for more information and help getting Mom in. I hope to know more soon.

Postnote - this pic is of Mom on the balcony of our room, looking at the Hubbard Glacier, in Alaska.