Ricky and I arrived at the hospital this morning at 9:00AM, just as visitor hours were beginning. That's us on the left side of the blog, outside the hospital entrance. As we thought, Dad was unchanged, sleeping. They had tilted his bed down so that his head is higher than his feet, and we asked the nurse why they had made that change. Her answer was long, and it boiled down to "it's better for him that way". We told him the story again, reviewing all the elements that would ease his mind about anything that might cause him to worry.
The nurse said that each day now they scale back the sedation and wake him up. She said that it takes a lot of effort and shaking to rouse him out of his medicated stupor, but that ultimately he does wake up. She said that he is not moving his right arm. The neurosurgeon specifically reported that the tests they ran showed a very positive response in his right arm, so it's unclear what the status is. She also said that he has more trouble moving his right leg, but that he can move it with effort. I don't know what to make of her comment about his arm, or even when her comments about his right leg indicate that he will have difficulty down the road. I guess these things remain unknown for this period of time when he remains asleep more or less the whole day.
She said the ENT department (for the tracheotomy) usually does procedures Saturdays and Wednesdays, and that yesterday had been too early after the surgery to consider undertaking that. She said they will try to see if they can squeeze him in before Wednesday, but Mondays are generally busy so that's not likely. I hope they can take him soon -- I want that tube out of his throat. I don't mind that he's asleep: that actually seems good to me. But I want him to rest comfortably, and removing that tube seems like a high priority.
We sent in a change of address form for Dad on Thursday, to get his mail delivered to my house. His neighbor Laura says that as of Saturday they were still delivering mail in Fullerton. Ha! Ricky is a 16-year veteran postal carrier, and he will see that they respond to our request.
Ricky's flight back to Sacramento will take off shortly. A new phase begins.
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5 comments:
Thanks so much for continuing to update the blog. Your life must be terribly hectic and we really appreciate it.
Kathy and Tom.
OK. Us east coast cousins need better pictures of you guys!!!
Alright. If Dick is having problems on the right side of his body, that tells me he has a problem in the left side of his brain. This may just be swelling. Heck. They had a lot of work to do when they were in there. It may take a few days for the swelling to go down. It's still too early to tell. When someone has a stroke, they look at 6 months as being the time frame for recovery. Dick has LOTS of time to recover at this point.
Who only does trachs 2 days a week? That is confusing to me! Maryanne, does that make sense to you? I am used to them being done on a daily basis. Please add your imput. As I said, it's been awhile since I've done critical care stuff. Trachs should be pretty basic. Like something every medical student can do.
Getting someone off of a ventilator is a magical thing. It's somewhere between 10 and 14 days. The balloon that keeps the tube in place puts pressure on the esphagous, which keeps it in place.
After that, they want to do a tracheostomy. It's less harmful to the throat in the long run. He'll be able to communicate more with the trach.
I'm concerned about the right-sided weakness. BUT this may just disappear when he becomes more alert.
Hugs to you and Ricky.
Cousin Carole
Hi Carole,
Thanks for all the information! I don't know if you know this, but Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's a while ago. It doesn't affect his ability to handle things -- the shaking stops when he touches something, so he can drive (and fly). But I know that the Parkinson's was affecting his right side more strongly, so maybe that is a confounding factor?
D.
In response to Dris, we do trachs all the time when the need arises. Don't understand the twice a week, but that's Kiaser. They definately have their own way of doing things. Not necessarily bad, but more on the manage health way of things.
Wonder if a new CT of the brain might be appropriate to evalutate any brain swelling. We often do serial CT's to check on progress or changes. Debby you are probably already finding out that you have to be very proactive in todays health care. As things move along the occational meeting with the primary health care players is a good idea. Otherwise it's kind of hit and miss info. On our floor our social worker arranges them. Usally the main doctor, charge nurse, phyical therapist and any other main players will meet with you.
If the only thing preventing Dick from getting off the ventilator is the trach, then I agree with Dris, it's time.
Please take good care of yourself.
It's very hard to work and go through what your dealing with. It's hard on the body and our immune system. Find a way to recharge your body and soul each day(yoga, massage, accupuncture, hot bath, fun movie, walk in nature, prayer, lunch with a friend,etc and good night sleeps.) Be good to yourself.
Maryanne
Hi Deborah,
Neighbor Laura here, It really sounds like you have very knowledgeable family members. They seem to know what they're talking about and taking their advice seems like a wise decision. Again, my prayers are with all of you. BLessings, Laura
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