Lenny, Jo Ann and I spent the night with mom last night as we were evacuated from our house yesterday. We rotated sleeping in the lounge 2 at a time on a couch and 2 chairs while the third person slept on 2 chairs beside mom’s bed. Mom slept soundly throughout the night. She has no roommate again…and this helps a lot.
Yesterday, at bed time, the CNA and the nurse argued about how to get mom back into bed from the wheelchair. The CNA said to use the new device that allows mom to use the toilet and then helps her to get into bed. The nurse said only the board was on mom’s care plan. The head nurse checked all the order and care plan books and nothing other than the board was listed there……someone did not do his/her job and list the new device in the official care plan books. As a result, they used the board. Mom isn’t really able to successfully use the board to get into bed at all. I persisted with the head nurse and she finally noted the official change in mom’s care plan. This all occurred on the 3-11 shift.
As mom was being put on the bed pan in the middle of the night, I noticed a huge bruise on the back of her leg behind her knee cap (it is about the size of my hand in length and width). I showed the nurse on duty, in addition to the head nurse on duty. The head nurse felt it was due to the board used to get mom into bed tonight or another night. The bruise is deep purple and blue in color.
Last night, before bed, we asked mom if she could hear the TV and she said, “Yes, but it’s very garbled.” She called cousins Angelo, Madeline, Laura, Donna and Tom, and she also called her brother, Ray, and dad and Claudia many times. At one point I told her to, “Say it loud” when on the phone and mom yelled, “LOUD!!!”
We had a great surprise---mom’s old nurse from downstairs was on duty with us on mom’s floor last night!!! The nurse came in and marveled at mom and her progress. The nurse rubbed mom’s shoulder and asked how she was and said she was a miracle but mom said, “Not really, I can’t walk.” The nurse told mom that she was a miracle and doing great and then told mom, “Are you kidding? I used to check on you and I had to write ‘patient is unresponsive to voice and tactile stimulation.’ And look at you now!”
This morning, Mom had a big breakfast of spinach omelet, oatmeal, wheat toast, and juice and coffee. While she was eating, the head of respiratory from downstairs came to see her. The therapist was really pleased and shocked to see her progress. She talked a lot to him and when he said, “I think of you often” mom joked with him and said, “Oh, I’m sure you do.”
Mom asked about all our family members and was concerned about their safety so she called each person and spoke to each one on the phone (I dialed and she talked). We have been practicing using the phone and mom can dial the numbers as they are recited to her without any problem. I am planning to make her an enlarged phone book/list of sorts for her to use. Using the phone is an important skill to have once she is home.
Right now, mom is glued to the news on the TV. This is big progress because she usually can’t focus on the TV. She is commenting on what the announcers are saying and also is reading the news line at the bottom of the screen and commenting too! WOW! This is a really great step forward.
Mom’s CNAs said that mom does not like to use the new lift for the toilet because it hurts her back from being in it so long. They said she is better off with the bed pan in the mornings. I am going to have the nurse change her care plan to say that mom can choose what she wants – bed pan or new lift. Mom told Lenny and I that her back hurts when she uses the new lift for the toilet. Lenny massaged mom’s back with a small massager my friend, Lenore, gave to mom. Mom loved it! This is a thing between mom and Lenny because, when he was little, mom used to massage his back!
Lenny did the calendar with mom and reviewed the day, date, month and year. He asked her questions and she answered but lowly. Lenny asked mom to speak louder and she became annoyed…but she did it! He wrote parts of the date and had her read it back to him. She knew yesterday was Saturday but then kept going in the past to tell us the name of today…she kept saying today was Friday. She knew that 28 came after 27 and that the month is August.
Lenny and mom played a “telling time” game next. We bought it for her in Boston. There is an anolog clock and many different cards with digital times written on each one. You pick a card, tell the time, and then plot the time on analog clock. At one point, we left mom with the analog clock showing a specific time and we gave her the digital cards to match to the time on the analog clock. Mom sat for a while trying to complete the task. After a while, mom expressed frustration over the fact that she couldn’t “alphabetize” the cards as she said. We explained that she needs to put the cards in “time order” and she figured it out then.
Mom slept well last night and as a result, she told us off a lot!!! Jo Ann moved a chair noisily and Mom yelled at her (kidding around), “Hey!! I can’t hear!!” Then Jo Ann said something and mom wanted to talk so she told Jo to, “Shut up!!” Lenny was trying to help mom eat lunch and mom tried to eat a long piece of mozzarella cheese…Lenny told her to put it down so he could cut it and she told him to “Go away will you!!” She also told me, “I wish you weren’t here!!” because I cut her food so she wouldn’t choke. She also said I was stupid too! She was in rare form and all in jest though. Lenny tried to show mom how to turn the dish on her tray and she yelled and said, “Oh stop now!!! I’m capable!!” It was funny to watch Lenny tell his grandmother, “Nonny, no---no bread first. First eat your vegetables!” and mom tell Lenny, “Oh leave me alone!” At one point, mom grabbed a huge piece of the chocolate éclair she was eating (even though Lenny just finished cutting most of it) and quickly stuffed it into her mouth. Jo and I told Lenny to grab the piece from mom’s mouth and Lenny responded, “Ma! She’s a person not a dog like Brutus” (our dog)—Mom responded, “Well thank God I’m not! Thank you Lenny!” All we did was laugh all day!!
There was some confusion over whether mom should use the new lift or the slide board or not any more. Evidently, she is uncomfortable using it and is frightened about standing with/in it. One of the weekend CNAs told us about this and suggested we should go back to having mom use the hoyer (the swing-like lift she used for a year). The hoyer seems to be (and probably is) a step backwards but mom is used to it and comfortable with it. After a brief discussion with mom, mom said that she preferred using the bed pan and not the toilet (which requires using the new lift). There was a lot to consider in making this decision. The biggest consideration, of course, is mom and what she wants and what makes her feel comfortable. But there is also the fact that, if how she is moved by the CNAs counts in the realm of physical therapy, then a step back rather than forward can cause her therapy to cease…be terminated. The nurse and CNAs assured us that it doesn’t effect physical therapy services…but we are checking that out. As of now, we jointly decided that the slide board and the new lift are beyond mom’s confidence and ability levels for now. Maybe in another week or two, mom will be ready to use these new tools. One of the main requirements for using these new tools is the ability to stand (while holding onto someone or something) alone. Mom really can’t do that yet.
Anthony, Con, dad, Anthony Michael, and Sammy came to see mom as Jo, Lenny and I were leaving. Anthony worked on mom’s legs and had mom practice standing up. Mom had asked me earlier in the day if she had PT and when she heard she didn’t, she said, “Oh then Anthony will come to work on my leg exercises.” She is beginning to have a more functional memory now…far from typical but much better.
We figured out where the bruise on mom’s leg and arm came from…it happened when she climbed out of bed 2 days ago. I had the nurse note it in the records.
Dad put mom to bed tonight.
“Just say the word and I shall be healed.” Matthew 8:8
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