Claudia started the day with mom this morning. She ran into both the head nurse and the physical therapist. the head nurse talked to Claudia and told her the the splint on mom's hand has to be on and off on a rotating basis...6 hours on and 2-3 hours off. The problem is, and Claudia told her this, that no one bothers to do anything with the splint...none of the staff bother with it. The splint is never on in the mornings...it has to be taken off in order for mom to use that hand to get up or stand... No one reads her charts to see what care she needs...it is still all generic. This is why we still need to be with mom to advocate for her. If you are not there with her, you miss all
this nonsense.
The PT told Claudia that all the CNAs and other people on the weekends who help mom will have to "deal" with her learning to stand on her own and transfer from the wheelchair to the toilet or bed and back rather than use the serita lift. Claudia suggested that the PT do an in-service for the weekend crew. There had been an incident yesterday where the CNA crew on duty yesterday didn’t feel that mom was ready to transfer without the lift. That crew called in a PT who never worked with mom and they all determined that mom would need to go back to the lift and be reevaluated by the PT department. This would have been a huge step backwards. Dad panicked because he was afraid a step back would mean that mom couldn’t come home. I reminded him that the decision to bring mom home has always been ours. We all decided to keep her in the facility throughout each stage of this process because we all felt it was what she needed at the time. She WILL come home now because we feel she is ready to do so.
Dad said that he was able to work with the physical therapist again today and dad was very excited about the progress he is making with helping mom. Dad said that mom walked with the walker alone in the upstairs hallway by her room and that mom also went from sitting in the wheelchair to standing while holding onto the wall rail independently 4-5 times. Each time mom stood, she stood for a
count of 30!!!
Mom went to the urologist today for a recheck. As luck would have it, the facility failed to send the xray report they did. As usual. The urologist said mom still has the stone and that she still has the stent. The stent is keeping the tubes open for drainage and is also keeping the stone from blocking things. The longer the stone is in, the more chance mom has of getting an infection (UTI urinary tract infection). The stent is also considered a foreign object in mom’s body and could therefore cause an infection as well. The stent can stay in for 6 months and then it needs to be changed. The stone needs to be blasted with ultrasound waves to dissolve it. Mom asked the urologist, “What song will they sing to blast it?” They all laughed! Only mom!
In order to blast the kidney stone, mom needs to be sedated for about 45 minutes in the hospital. At the same time, the stent can be removed or it can be removed at a later date in the office. The procedure is done on an outpatient basis. We will check with mom’s neurologist to see what the best plan of course will be. The procedure has to be done within the next 1-2 months. The urologist put mom on a sulfur drug to get rid of a UTI she has. I told the doctor that mom lives with this condition and that it shouldn’t be treated without symptoms but the doctor said that mom needs to be treated before the procedure. The procedure is called a lothotropsy (hard to read doctor’s handwriting!).
Before we left the doctor’s office, mom needed to use the bathroom. I was able to watch dad “run the show” in the bathroom with a little help from the CNA who accompanied us there. Dad did great!!! So did mom!! She really listens to him!! She does seem to listen to a male voice more than a female one in the realm of physical activity (Dad, Anthony, one CNA, the PT). Dad was so gentle and encouraging with her!! So strong and patient. Mom responded so well. Mission was accomplished and mom cried on dad’s shoulder when all was finished. They are such a loving and beautiful couple to watch and be in the presence of. We are so blessed to have them in our lives.
Dad is so worried that something will prevent mom from coming home. He doesn’t have to worry though. Her homecoming is up to us. She will indeed get there and soon.
Con and Anthony Michael went to see mom . When they got there mom was eating dinner. Dad was there but he left because he was tired. Sam had a sleep over tonight so she didn’t go. They played cards with her and talked. They also watched the food network. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives was on and they were talking about things that mom would to cook. Con put mom’s brace on her hand and arm and took her hearing aid out. They kissed her and said a prayer and left.
“I am with you always” Matthew 28:20
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