Mom’s Heart: Day 11

Positive!

On Day 11 she made a big shift to the Cardiac floor! Hurray! The new room has a west-facing window with lots of light, great for watching the sunset. Heart arrhythmia finally settled out on Day 10 and the Cardizem taken away. Hallucinations continue, but those could go on for another 6 weeks or so. Nights remain filled with confusion and discomfort but are slowly improving. No phone calls to Kim at 2am.

The combination of food on empty stomach is not pleasant . She tried applesauce with fruit pectin then cranberry in the same format. The outcome was a horribly upset, painful gut. Not terribly uncommon for her, but not positive. On day 11 she had some cold chicken soup. She claimed it was that horrible instant stuff, very greasy, but Kim and I guessed it was a can of Campbell’s chicken broth. Ice cream sounded much to cold for her mouth and she couldn’t swallow the thick custard. Thank goodness the feeding tube is still in place. Not certain what food is in store for day 12.

Her activity level is much stronger. The physical therapist has her getting up and using the walker. They have her wear a waist belt for safety. This occurs several times a day. She is spending more time sitting in the chair. The evening nurse was catching Evelyn’s bad habit of crossing her ankles, “bad for your circulation” says Lisa. That will be a hard habit to break!

Evelyn’s brother Harold & wife Lindsay visited in the morning. Harold had bypass surgery several years back and continues to use the cardio workout machines downstairs. I met up with my nephew Alex around 3:45. Having an additional person to meet can certainly make the visit easier, especially on the first time through. Our time was shortened due to the fact the evening nurse came on shift (having to check all Evelyn’s vital signs etc) and the respiratory therapist Bruce came and administered a dose of lung therapy (breathing in a bronchial dilation for a specific amount of time) . Then the CNA showed up and took a blood oxygen reading that was 95%.  Kim arrived during this time and when everything was finished, Evelyn just wanted to get back in bed. We left her with the CNA to get comfy.

After the visit, Kim and I met up for coffee at the Shari’s down the road. She is starting to sleep better and is contemplating going back to work on Wednesday. I too am getting back to a normal sleep pattern.

Another beautiful sunny fall day is upon us!