Sticks, Stones, and Paper Stew Blog

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!

Day 10 was positive

I received a call from Evelyn (via Liz in ICU) at 8:45am wondering when I would be down to visit. I called back, passing along the message that I would not be down for a visit but everyone else would be there. My mission was to head coastal to retrieve requested goods and reconnect with the neighbors (Evonne and Suzanne).

The reports from Kim & Lee were excellent. She was spending more time talking, wanting people to come visit, her coughing had lessened, communication skills were clearer. Swallowing remains difficult but increasing slowly. By evening she consumed fruit juice with pectin (to thicken it up) and some sort of tapioca like pudding. Ice cream is in store for day 11. Feeding tube remains in place for now.

Tom’s visit was a tad shorter than it could have been. He had to scrape out 5″ of snow in the driveway to leave the house. Then on arriving in Eugene,  he didn’t realize Sacred Heart had constructed a new facility. After visiting the old hospital by campus, he corrected the mistake and located River Bend. He visited for an hour or so.

Mike and Shannon both made it down and certainly told their tales of Blocktoberfest. I briefly talked with them via speaker phone around 5pm. They had reconvened at Lee’s house for wine and yummies, kind of a debriefing and communal sigh of relief.

I spent the morning helping bottle the Wicked Blackberry Wit beer. By afternoon the skies had cleared and we headed to our destination. The weather was beautiful, no wind on the beach and warm at 56 degrees. George got in a great ball chasing session while we walked on Patterson beach (south side of the Alsea River in Waldport). Picked up her mail, talked with Evonne, filled the bird feeder, collected requested clothing, picked a few tomatoes and the one cuke and headed back home. We did get a fabulous sunset and afterglow.

Large positive changes today! Lee’s first comment on our morning phone call was “She has good color today”. Not bad coming from him. Mornings are not her strong suit. She had another bad night, but not as bad. Dr Ameen (Amean?) had a brief chance to talk with Kim on her first visit. He stated that her oxygen levels were doing fine and he wanted to get her off everything that he could. So the oxygen tube came off! One less thing to bother her face and dry the nasal passages. The next big move was catheter removal. Yet another step towards freedom. She now has to work more with the nurses, but it seems to be going well. Kim, Dave & I all had to step out of the room while she was maneuvered into her commode.

Physical therapy is lacking over the  weekend at the hospital (basically non-existent). Fortunately the nursing staff is willing to work with patients and had Evelyn sitting in a chair three times. Gabi & Susan (nursing staff) both are thrilled at her strength and desire to get out of the bed. She is much happier being upright!  Dr Ameen, aka Dr MEAN to his patients, wants to push Evelyn’s activity levels and get her walking.  Unfortunately she is still experiencing heart arrhythmia and is connected to several IV bags. They tried 3 times to drop the Cardizem medication but the heart slipped back into irregular function. The doctor has upped the levels and she will remain on it for now.

Blood sugar levels are good, feeding tube still in place, swallowing not improving but maybe in a day or two with more physical therapy. Her coughing was down from day 8 and she didn’t have to use her “sucky stick” as often while we were there. During her chair session she was able to find her comb and work on her hair. There is a small cup with vaseline for her lips and dry nose. She reached over and could pick up the swab and brushed some on her lips and nose. On day 8, she couldn’t manipulate the TV controls but during day 9 she could.  We asked about her hallucinations and they seem to be fading. The drugs are moving out of her system, thank goodness! Having camels and wispy dark people with green snot hanging from their noses just don’t sound like good company! She seemed much more like herself.

We left her waiting for “Last of the Summer Wine” to come on OPB. She was going to have a more normal Saturday night watching  British comedy and falling asleep on the adjustable bed. We felt much relief.

After finding a few items from Evelyn’s car, we headed to Mazzi’s for a nice dinner. Calmer food & surroundings than Ring of Fire on Friday night. Sorry Mike for not making it to your performance. His group was the headliner for Block 15’s birthday bash (Blocktoberfest). Mill About Smartly has drawn the largest crowds when they perform at that venue.

Day 10 for me will be going coastal to pick up a flannel shirt she requested, checking in with her neighbors and gathering mail. Tom & Mike will be visiting her during the afternoon along with the other troopies. Kirsten had a chance to stop by Saturday to see her grandmother’s new digs while on lunch break. Kind of nice to have her working there and able to check in on her grandmother and mom.

Now if we can just get her swallowing!

Actually I’m sitting at home on day 9, wondering what will be in store for today. Looking back on day 8, I can see more baby steps forward. On the downside:  Kim and Lee received the 2am call from the frantic mother wanting to go home. She yanked out tubes yet again, tried numerous times to push herself out of bed and just wanted to leave. They strapped her arms down, reinserted feeding tube etc. Not a fun night. That was also the night I encouraged Kim to try a low dose sleep aid. Unfortunate that it coincided with Evelyn’s struggle. Poor Kim, she will never let that one go. Evelyn’s heart did venture into abnormal rhythms and the doctor placed her on Cardizem drip (sp?).  This is fairly common as we learned in Thursdays class. Her coughing has increased (not so good) but they are giving her bronchial dilators and a big suction stick. She refers to it as her “gag stick”. It’s to help suction out the crud in her throat. Swallow reflexes have yet to resurface.

On the upside, the nurses removed the IV from her neck that day.  Mike went to visit around 3pm and Dave & I arrived around 4:30. We all stayed until 6pm, much longer than any previous visits. She did quite a bit of talking.  I talked with Kim this morning and she reported no 2am phone calls. The hospital started having a CNA stay with her round the clock to make sure tubes stay inplace.  We will head down and meet up with my nephew Jeff for a visit. Seems like bringing along a book to read out loud might be something of interest. She stopped reading about 20yrs ago, well with exception to articles related to her botany or other interests. I’m thinking she might enjoy Oliver Saks. Wonder what GrassRoots might have in stock…

Off to the great Riverbend edifice and the lovely ICU!

Back on Friday the 25th, my 79 year old mother went in for heart surgery to have a double bypass and replace the mitral valve. She assured us that she would make an amazing recovery and be out of the hospital in five days. Her body had other plans once under anesthesia. Surgery went smoothly and everything was patched and in place quickly. While in recovery, she experienced a series of 5 seizures. The doctors put her through a series of tests searching for clots and extra bleeding but found nothing. She remained sedated until Sunday and slowly came around. On Mon & Tu, she experienced a lot of confusion. By Wednesday she seems to be getting better brain connections.  She told me that “If I had known things would turn out this way, I wouldn’t have had the surgery.” I’m curious to see how things are today. Did she even recognize me yesterday? She did call out “Thank you for coming” as I was leaving with Kim & Lee.

My sister and dad have been rocks through this all. Well, the rocks have been getting a bit saggy with all the stress.  Kim started showing the extra sag yesterday, hence my speedy departure from work to help her out. Looking forward to having a visit from Tom and hopefully Mike over the weekend. Prior to surgery Evelyn made a huge point of telling us kids that we were not to come visit her in the hospital. She might be happy we are ignoring her wishes!

The festival came and went through all this extra stimulation/stress. I did realize yesterday that during the weekend I could “act” like a functioning person, but if I had to really think about a particular task (ie: getting out supplies for the bookkeepers at closing) I wasn’t the most effective. Maybe my friends have other stories of my actions…

I think my reliquary has  inspiration now. Actually two possible sources (heart or leg) I’ll explain later about the leg amputation in October for my mother-in-law…..   Did I metnion reality sucks?!