Tom's Diary

Today’s Activities

• Shower.  DONE.
• Cat duty.  Sister Jojo performing this until I return home.

Log

08:00 AM: I’m up. 

09:15 AM: I’m walking to the hospital now to be with Mom.  Back later.

12:40 PM: I’m back home.  See the   Mom’s Status: 2010-08-13   post for details of this morning’s visit to her. 

01:30 PM: Watched a bit of   The Young and the Restless.  Now, we’re headed to our favorite Indian restaurant for lunch.

02:45 PM: We’re back from lunch.  Yum! 

02:55 PM: Filled sister Jojo in on today’s events and findings at the hospital. 

03:00 PM: Normally at this juncture, I’d be making a bee line for the bed, and an afternoon nap.  But I’m too anxious over Mom to nap.  So I’ll catch up on some blogging until it’s time to visit Mom again; at 5:00 PM or so this afternoon. 

05:00 PM: iPodded for a while, and listened to Internet radio.  Now, we’re leaving for the hospital. 

09:00 PM: We’re back home again, and I’m typing in today’s information about Mom into this blog. 

09:30 PM: Talked to sister Jojo and brought her up to date. 

10:30 PM [Emmy's] wrists are hurting a lot; likely due to the nerve tests she had earlier this week as well as all the sighted guide walking she’s done with me to and from the hospital.  So she took a couple pain pills.  Hopefully, these will stop the stings and jolts in her hands in less than an hour.

11:15 PM: Watched bits and pieces of various news shows on television, and now, we’re off to bed.  It will be a busy day tomorrow, as a couple sisters are going to join me over here again to care for Mom.  So good night, and I’ll write more soon.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts

• Mom’s Status: 2010-08-13
• Today’s Diet: 2010-08-13
• Weight Loss: 2010

Summary

Mom’s experiencing less pain today though in the morning at least, she was still sedated from her arterial doppler test, which they completed at around 10:30 AM.  I met with a palliative care (pain management) representatives, and a hospital social worker.  They suspect that Mom’s pain experiences is amplified by delirium from the numerous meds she’s taking.  They’re limiting the narcotic pain meds to limit the delirium.  The mental health services group also visited Mom and found that much of her pain can be subdued by holding her hand and rubbing her back.  Familiar surroundings are called for, and the social worker suggested that we bring Mom familiar things from home; such as pictures, robes, blankets, and books.  Lots of visits from family also seem to help to orient Mom. Tonight, they ran a CT scan on Mom’s stomach, pelvis, and legs; looking for signs of internal bleeding.  No results yet.  But Mom, as per usual after thest test that involve sedation, was sleeping soundly.

Log

08:15 AM: Again, we received no calls overnight.  So Mom must be doing okay; or at least, did not take a turn for the worse.  I’m visiting her in less than an hour this morning to find out for sure.

09:45 AM: Leaving to visit Mom now.  Here are the details of this morning’s visit:

• 10:05 AM: I arrived.  But Mom is still being tested.  So I called sister Mary Ann to update her on the happenings over the past couple of days.
• 10:15 AM: The day nurse says that they suspect that some of Mom’s pain is not real pain; that the symptoms may be exaggerated by her delirium.  So they wish to avoid administering too much medicine and exacerbating this delirium.  They’re still trying to sort out the real pain from exaggerated pain.
• 10:20 AM: Mom returned from her arterial doppler test.  She’s sedated at present, and resting comfortably.
• They’re giving meds to help restore her awareness of her situation and surroundings. 
• Mom is sensitive to loud noises, and even voices that aren’t so loud.  The meds should help with this also.
• 10:45 AM: Mom’s pulse: strong and steady.  She can wiggle toes on both feet. 
• Brown matter on her lips; probably dried blood from the tooth extraction the day before yesterday.  The nurse cleaned that up for her.  The nurse also noted some bruising on her chin, again, also probably because of the extractions. 
• 10:50 AM: Slight temperature today, but not high enough to qualify as a low-grade fever.  This is an improvement.  Perhaps the antibiotics are working against this nasty MRSA infection.
• 10:55 AM: Mom is dosing peacefully at present.
• 11:10 AM: Mom is softly moaning and calling out now.  The sedation from this morning’s tests is probably starting to wear off. 
• 11:15 AM: She’s once again asking me to help her sit up, and she’s crying louder.  I checked with her nurse, who advised against this.  They tried sitting her up earlier.  But she was very floppy and could not support her own weight.  Then Mom started rolling around; constantly changing her position in bed.
• 11:30 AM: Then, the social and palliative care workers arrived to discuss Mom’s situation and bring the family up to date on what they’re working on with her.  That meeting went as follows:
  • 11:30 AM: They informed me that a hospital psychiatrist interviewed Mom.  He found that when she’s hurting, that holding her hand and rubbing her back can calm her down and make her feel better within fifteen minutes.
  • The heart failure service doctors along with doctors in the infectious diseases area are evaluating Mom’s heart infection and say that they’re slight vegetation on her mechanical valve and leakage of her mitral valve. 
  • They say we should consider visiting her in the evenings as these periods she tends to be highly agitated.  It helps during these times, to have people she konws nearby.
  • The pain meds she’s been receiving may be adding to Mom’s delirium.
  • They suggested bringing familiar things from home for her; blankets, books, robes, people.
  • The meeting ended and I thanked them for all that they’ve done to help her and assured them that I believe that Mom is in the best place she could be in for good care. 
• 11:55 AM: Back to Mom’s room.  Blood sugar: 232. 
• 12:05 PM: The nurse says we may begin offering her small amounts of water and pop when we visit; to encourage her to start eating again.
• 12:10 PM: Another nurse arrived.  She quizzed Mom to see how alert she was.  Not too alert at present.  She also listened to Mom’s heart and lungs, and said that both sound good. 
• 12:15 PM: No belly pain today so far, and the leg pain seems subdued at worst, and non existent at best. 
• 12:20 PM: I’m leaving for [Emmy's] now.  Mom is sleeping again, in relative comfort.  Both [Emmy] and I will visit her again later this afternoon.

05:00 PM: [Emmy] and I are heading into the hospital for the evening visit with Mom.  Here are the details of this trip:

• 05:45 PM: We arrived.  Mom was awake but in relatively little pain; though she did ask me to help her reposition her legs a few times.
• 05:50 PM: The doctors think her blood may be too thin and that this could be causing internal bleeding, that in turn could be causing much of Mom’s pain.  So they’re stopping the heperin blood thinner temporarily to thicken the blood up some.
• They suspect internal bleeding due to bruising that has recently appeared on her back and thighs, and her low blood count readings today.  She’ll need a transfusion in the next 24 hours.  I’ve signed all papers required to allow the hospital to administer blood products to Mom
• 05:55 PM: Talked to sister Diane to bring her up to date.  But as we talked, Mom woke up and experienced more pain; she began calling out anew.
• 06:10 PM: Nurses just arrived to prepare Mom for the next CT scan of her mid section, to be done in ten minutes or so.
• They have the new room ready for Mom, when she returns from the CT scan.  It’s closer to the nursing station.  So the should better hear her should she call for help.
• 06:20 PM: They just took Mom to the CT scan.  [Emmy] and I are waiting in the lounge until they bring her back; should be less than an hour.
• 07:00 PM: Mom ia back, and they have placed her in her new room.
• Mom’s friend Debbie surprised us with a visit too.
• 07:45 PM: Debbie left.
• 07:50 PM: Lab personnel arrived to draw blood.
• 98:00 PM: We decided to go home as Mom is sleeping deeply and peacefully.  I’ll get further information on the results of the CT scan when I visit tomorrow. 

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Today’s Business: 2010-08-13

I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today, I consumed the following items:

• Diet pop and herbal tea throughout the day. 0 calories.
• 02:00 PM: Indian lunch.  1500 calories. 
• 10:00 PM: 1 bowl of cherries.  200 calories.
• 11:30 PM: 2 bowls of Cheerios cereal with skim milk and organic cane sugar.  800 calories.

Total calories: 2500.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Other Food Diary Entries
• Today’s Business: 2010-08-13
• Weight Loss: 2010