Monday, December 16, 2013
December 8, 2013
Mom seems to be a bit off today....she is shuffling to the bathroom rather then walking with strides. Tasks are taking longer and not much of an appetite. We will have to keep an eye on her over the next couple days.
Decmeber 7, 2013
The Farmer's market is still kickin' in December. Mom, Zuber, and I went today. We bought some of the best oranges/clementines,a kale, shitaki mushrooms, tomatoes, and a bow for the wreath on the front door. It was cold, but worth it. I know Mom had a great time!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Thanks for your service everyone!
November 11, 2013
Another Veteran's Day down! Very thankful for all those including mom for serving this country. We let all of the family we love them and are grateful for them.
We also had to wish Uncle Johnnie and Benjamin a very happy birthday!
I think Mom was really happy to be back home after spending time at E&I's place. I am really glad we went for the 5 day visit though, it was extremely re-energizing for me after staying here since the middle of Sept.
Another Veteran's Day down! Very thankful for all those including mom for serving this country. We let all of the family we love them and are grateful for them.
We also had to wish Uncle Johnnie and Benjamin a very happy birthday!
I think Mom was really happy to be back home after spending time at E&I's place. I am really glad we went for the 5 day visit though, it was extremely re-energizing for me after staying here since the middle of Sept.
A bright new world!
November 12, 2013
Haven't written in awhile..
Mom has been making progress! Ever since her first paracentesis after being released from the hospital she has been more mobile.The amount of fluid/ascities that is being drained has lessened even since the summer.
She really enjoys hanging out in the living room in her chair watching tv. She loves to watch In the Heat of the Night, food network, create tv, and The Chew. She seems to sleep a lot, though
Thanks to Zuber Mom will have new lenses for her current glasses. Zuber took mom to her In about a week she will be able to see much better.
Mom's friend JoAnn is coming to visit her tomorrow, i know she is very excited for this visit! The last time Jo came, she came bearing gifts....pumpkin bread. We will wait to see what she brings for mom to enjoy tomorrow. Thanks in advance Jo!
I'm thankful for mom's sense of humor, I really enjoy being around her!
Haven't written in awhile..
Mom has been making progress! Ever since her first paracentesis after being released from the hospital she has been more mobile.The amount of fluid/ascities that is being drained has lessened even since the summer.
She really enjoys hanging out in the living room in her chair watching tv. She loves to watch In the Heat of the Night, food network, create tv, and The Chew. She seems to sleep a lot, though
Thanks to Zuber Mom will have new lenses for her current glasses. Zuber took mom to her In about a week she will be able to see much better.
Mom's friend JoAnn is coming to visit her tomorrow, i know she is very excited for this visit! The last time Jo came, she came bearing gifts....pumpkin bread. We will wait to see what she brings for mom to enjoy tomorrow. Thanks in advance Jo!
I'm thankful for mom's sense of humor, I really enjoy being around her!
We're walking!
October 8
Very early morning was kinda rough. We almost ran out of pads to put on the bed between mom and her bodily fluids and her bodily fluids flowing freely. I am considering changing the time when she has lactalose -thinking if she has her lactalose early morning say 3 a.m. she might go at a normal time (during the day rather than 1 a.m. on). I lowered the amount today to 10 ml, and she hasn't popped yet. She might not have pooped for two reasons 1. Her ammonium level wasn't high 2. She didn't have enough lactalose to bind to the lactalose. On a very positive note....we started our day kinda late fresh fruit for breakfast and the diamond for lunch courtesy of Zuber. Mom ate her fruit and some of her Grecian Meze platter. She also walked today for the first time in a week! Yesterday she got out of bed and her linens were changed, today she got up, moved/sat in her rolling walker, and even walked toward the head of her new (hospital) bed. By walking toward the head she put herself closer to the top and sat herself higher in bed.
It's 10 p.m. and she had her first bowel movement of the day. At least she is not stopped up. 1 a.m. bowel movement.
Very early morning was kinda rough. We almost ran out of pads to put on the bed between mom and her bodily fluids and her bodily fluids flowing freely. I am considering changing the time when she has lactalose -thinking if she has her lactalose early morning say 3 a.m. she might go at a normal time (during the day rather than 1 a.m. on). I lowered the amount today to 10 ml, and she hasn't popped yet. She might not have pooped for two reasons 1. Her ammonium level wasn't high 2. She didn't have enough lactalose to bind to the lactalose. On a very positive note....we started our day kinda late fresh fruit for breakfast and the diamond for lunch courtesy of Zuber. Mom ate her fruit and some of her Grecian Meze platter. She also walked today for the first time in a week! Yesterday she got out of bed and her linens were changed, today she got up, moved/sat in her rolling walker, and even walked toward the head of her new (hospital) bed. By walking toward the head she put herself closer to the top and sat herself higher in bed.
It's 10 p.m. and she had her first bowel movement of the day. At least she is not stopped up. 1 a.m. bowel movement.
We are home!
October 7
Another day on the E coli killing antibiotics. She seems to be doing good, although there are times that I get scared for her. She is funny, I have to write down some of her comments. Zuber came by to hang and I ran to the food store to stock up for the week. Thanks Zuber! He of course didn't come empty handed....orange Julius
Stacey from hospice (moms nurse) came by to check on her since getting out of the hospital. Stacey is taking a new position within a nursing home setting, not sure how much longer she will be the nurse for. She helped switch out the egg crate that they delivered with the hospital bed for moms gel pad she had previously been using. Today mom had to stand for a minute to switch the mattress (gel), put new sheets on, and a draw sheet. She stood! Just a couple days ago she was in intensive care! She took all if her scheduled meds, ate all her meals, got a full sponge/bed bath, and entertained company. She ate breakfast (a package of oatmeal), the nurse came (changed the sheets and mattress), then Ms. V came to giver her a bath (seems so nice and conscience), she had lunch (a pulled beef or pig sandwich) -she ate the entire sandwich, she rested, Zuber came to visit bringing Duncan doughnuts, then Eric came to visit after work, we ate dinner, and she rested/got ready for bed. Eric took moms door off the hinges to see if it would help in mobilizing her for Thursday's paracentesis.
As a result of being in bed all day and night, day after day, mom's legs look the best they have in a long time.
Another day on the E coli killing antibiotics. She seems to be doing good, although there are times that I get scared for her. She is funny, I have to write down some of her comments. Zuber came by to hang and I ran to the food store to stock up for the week. Thanks Zuber! He of course didn't come empty handed....orange Julius
Stacey from hospice (moms nurse) came by to check on her since getting out of the hospital. Stacey is taking a new position within a nursing home setting, not sure how much longer she will be the nurse for. She helped switch out the egg crate that they delivered with the hospital bed for moms gel pad she had previously been using. Today mom had to stand for a minute to switch the mattress (gel), put new sheets on, and a draw sheet. She stood! Just a couple days ago she was in intensive care! She took all if her scheduled meds, ate all her meals, got a full sponge/bed bath, and entertained company. She ate breakfast (a package of oatmeal), the nurse came (changed the sheets and mattress), then Ms. V came to giver her a bath (seems so nice and conscience), she had lunch (a pulled beef or pig sandwich) -she ate the entire sandwich, she rested, Zuber came to visit bringing Duncan doughnuts, then Eric came to visit after work, we ate dinner, and she rested/got ready for bed. Eric took moms door off the hinges to see if it would help in mobilizing her for Thursday's paracentesis.
As a result of being in bed all day and night, day after day, mom's legs look the best they have in a long time.
On the mend!
October 4
We had a great day, we are on the mend. She has been taking her regular medicines and antibiotics. The culture came back and she had E. coli, now we can narrow the antibiotics to cure the infection. We are planning to leave the hospital later today or Saturday.
We had a great day, we are on the mend. She has been taking her regular medicines and antibiotics. The culture came back and she had E. coli, now we can narrow the antibiotics to cure the infection. We are planning to leave the hospital later today or Saturday.
She is a whipper snapper...
October 3,2013
Dr mike came to see us and saw what a whipper snapper mom is and yet now at the end of the night she is pretty much back to being very sick. Dr Fedor popped his head in, because Dr Bower (cardiologist) came to see mom. The liver team can to see her (minus Russo) they were pleased with the paracentesis results 3.6 liters). Aunt Marlene and aunt Barbara came to visit, she slept most of the time while they visited. She seemed pretty good all day and while aunt Marlene and aunt Barbara were here (I went home for a bit to shower and be home) she started to go down hill -probably rundown from all the activity today.
I asked the on-call Dr. to see about changing her antibiotics as they seemed to have stopped working. They changed them over to 2 other antibiotics and gave her some Digoxin to regulate her heart.
Dr mike came to see us and saw what a whipper snapper mom is and yet now at the end of the night she is pretty much back to being very sick. Dr Fedor popped his head in, because Dr Bower (cardiologist) came to see mom. The liver team can to see her (minus Russo) they were pleased with the paracentesis results 3.6 liters). Aunt Marlene and aunt Barbara came to visit, she slept most of the time while they visited. She seemed pretty good all day and while aunt Marlene and aunt Barbara were here (I went home for a bit to shower and be home) she started to go down hill -probably rundown from all the activity today.
I asked the on-call Dr. to see about changing her antibiotics as they seemed to have stopped working. They changed them over to 2 other antibiotics and gave her some Digoxin to regulate her heart.
A tough climb up, she seems up for the challenge!
October 2nd
What a start! Mom got checked in, switched over, and bathed by the neurosurgical team! They started her on antibiotics at 5am. Attempted to put a tube down her nose to help with medicine administration and suck out contents of her stomach. They tried twice and mom was not having it nor helping with the placement of the tube.
Boy have I had some conversations this morning.
We are in a really critical place right now. If she doesn't show improvement that pretty much means she will not recover and then it's all about comfort.
A real nice doctor came in, first thing, to get a better understanding of mom and her/our situation. We talked for a bit in her room then I thought the conversation should be taken out of ear shot so we went to a conference room on the floor. When we came back mom was talking to me bit and was responsive-following the doctor with her head and answered a couple of his questions.
While in the conference room the doctor and I talked about what care here at the hospital is to look like. He posed a couple different options. Long story short I told him I wanted a hybrid of the two situations he mentioned.
He mentioned....1. Just controlling pain 2. Taking any means necessary to cure the infection and her possibly not making it out of the hospital. 3. A combination of both (which gets tricky).
Again I said I wanted both. I told him I think/thought she can/could fight this infection. I also said that because I know she doesn't want to end up on a ventilator as her last time on earth. I told him (as he is well versed in extremely sick people working in the ICU only) if he sees her decline to the point of her not getting well (from the antibiotics) we need to stop treatment and take her home for comfort.
They laid off the nose tube and gave her water then lactalose orally. We found out that she is no longer clogged up. She had two solid bowel movements. They continued her antibiotics, lactalose, and rufaximum, she seemed to show improvement in both her body and mind.
What a start! Mom got checked in, switched over, and bathed by the neurosurgical team! They started her on antibiotics at 5am. Attempted to put a tube down her nose to help with medicine administration and suck out contents of her stomach. They tried twice and mom was not having it nor helping with the placement of the tube.
Boy have I had some conversations this morning.
We are in a really critical place right now. If she doesn't show improvement that pretty much means she will not recover and then it's all about comfort.
A real nice doctor came in, first thing, to get a better understanding of mom and her/our situation. We talked for a bit in her room then I thought the conversation should be taken out of ear shot so we went to a conference room on the floor. When we came back mom was talking to me bit and was responsive-following the doctor with her head and answered a couple of his questions.
While in the conference room the doctor and I talked about what care here at the hospital is to look like. He posed a couple different options. Long story short I told him I wanted a hybrid of the two situations he mentioned.
He mentioned....1. Just controlling pain 2. Taking any means necessary to cure the infection and her possibly not making it out of the hospital. 3. A combination of both (which gets tricky).
Again I said I wanted both. I told him I think/thought she can/could fight this infection. I also said that because I know she doesn't want to end up on a ventilator as her last time on earth. I told him (as he is well versed in extremely sick people working in the ICU only) if he sees her decline to the point of her not getting well (from the antibiotics) we need to stop treatment and take her home for comfort.
They laid off the nose tube and gave her water then lactalose orally. We found out that she is no longer clogged up. She had two solid bowel movements. They continued her antibiotics, lactalose, and rufaximum, she seemed to show improvement in both her body and mind.
Back at it again...
Oct 1, 2013
Tough start to the October month, I have to believe it will get easier as the month progresses. We were up at 4 am this morning with a lot of confusion on how to get from the bed to the bedside commode. With help she got to the toilet, but she didn't relieve her bowels. She has been stopped up for days now, maybe since last Wednesday. A male nurse from hospice came out to give her an enema at 6:45 ish. Come to find out the enema route wasn't exactly the route we should have traveled down instead she was/is still a bit impacted. Her poop is there, but so compacted that its extremely difficult to move on its own....supervised extracting with fingers is the easiest removal method. She will mostly take a stool softener from now on just to make sure the impacting doesn't happen again or atleast lesson the chances.
Two cool things learned today....
1 the male nurse said its not uncommon for patients with ovarian cancer to have the actual tumor to obstruct the bowel-not good!
2 the nurse Michelle said the more you poop with lactalose the more ammonia is in the body. Lactalose binds to the ammonia forming soft stool. Most likely if mom doesn't poop as a result of the lactalose she didn't have an ammonia build up in her body.
Michelle the nurse extracted a good amount of poop and said mom might need to have extraction done again as late or around Thursday or Friday. She did poop small chunks on her own at about 5 which us progress.
Fast forward to 8 pm after her lift chair got fixed by husband. I asked her if she wanted to sit in her chair and she was prettying unresponsive. I got pretty worried. Eric and I decided to call hospice for advise on how to proceed. An on-call nurse came out to moms and accessed her-with the fact that I wanted to fix the problem that was/is aligning her, the best solution is/was to take her to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 11 we followed the same route as the ambulance. We pulled up right behind her and husband could tell that it was mom lying in the back of the ambulance. They accessed her a bit before we were allowed in the ER room. They listened to our description and her own behaviors or lack of. They deduced her body was becoming sepsis- she was shaking, running a temp, unresponsive, and unable to follow commands. The planned action was to draw blood and cultures, start antibiotics, and get her to ICU. She was headed up to the 9th floor ICU (the neurosurgical floor).
Tough start to the October month, I have to believe it will get easier as the month progresses. We were up at 4 am this morning with a lot of confusion on how to get from the bed to the bedside commode. With help she got to the toilet, but she didn't relieve her bowels. She has been stopped up for days now, maybe since last Wednesday. A male nurse from hospice came out to give her an enema at 6:45 ish. Come to find out the enema route wasn't exactly the route we should have traveled down instead she was/is still a bit impacted. Her poop is there, but so compacted that its extremely difficult to move on its own....supervised extracting with fingers is the easiest removal method. She will mostly take a stool softener from now on just to make sure the impacting doesn't happen again or atleast lesson the chances.
Two cool things learned today....
1 the male nurse said its not uncommon for patients with ovarian cancer to have the actual tumor to obstruct the bowel-not good!
2 the nurse Michelle said the more you poop with lactalose the more ammonia is in the body. Lactalose binds to the ammonia forming soft stool. Most likely if mom doesn't poop as a result of the lactalose she didn't have an ammonia build up in her body.
Michelle the nurse extracted a good amount of poop and said mom might need to have extraction done again as late or around Thursday or Friday. She did poop small chunks on her own at about 5 which us progress.
Fast forward to 8 pm after her lift chair got fixed by husband. I asked her if she wanted to sit in her chair and she was prettying unresponsive. I got pretty worried. Eric and I decided to call hospice for advise on how to proceed. An on-call nurse came out to moms and accessed her-with the fact that I wanted to fix the problem that was/is aligning her, the best solution is/was to take her to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 11 we followed the same route as the ambulance. We pulled up right behind her and husband could tell that it was mom lying in the back of the ambulance. They accessed her a bit before we were allowed in the ER room. They listened to our description and her own behaviors or lack of. They deduced her body was becoming sepsis- she was shaking, running a temp, unresponsive, and unable to follow commands. The planned action was to draw blood and cultures, start antibiotics, and get her to ICU. She was headed up to the 9th floor ICU (the neurosurgical floor).
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