July 28, 2006
You may recall (if you have a long memory ;-)) that when we took the “Been There Done That” class, the Shepherd alum had said that after leaving the hospital one had to find the new normal. Gary dryly remarked this evening, “I hope this isn’t it.” I thoroughly agree.
It was a tough day. We had planned to start the discharge process about 9am, but when I got to the hospital, Gary was still in bed. I thought maybe the nurses had left his bed bath for last since the others in his room would have to be gotten ready for their therapy sessions. But that wasn’t it. When they’d turned him from his prone position at 6:30, he’d had a large, very red spot on his thigh, and at first they thought it signified a first stage pressure sore, that he’d somehow put pressure on that area during the prone. But then they noticed a large bump there, about three inches in diameter, and the nurse thought it might be a bug bite . By the time I got there, the area was only slightly pink, and in feeling the area, I wondered if it could be a torn muscle (not that I know what one feels like – that just popped into my head). Gary’s doctor came in and examined it but didn’t offer an opinion, just told us to put ice on it. He was going to have an ultrasound done on it, but the person who does the ultrasounds for Shepherd isn’t qualified to do it for muscles. Then we heard they were thinking of doing an MRI on it, but those people (from Piedmont hospital, I think) were booked for the morning. Finally the resident who works with Gary’s doctor told Gary they thought it was a torn muscle and to basically ignore it unless it got worse. I asked for clarification, and the doctor said that at this point Gary wouldn’t need to modify any of his activities or therapies. I asked if Gary’s occasional leg spasms might have caused it, but they didn’t think his spasms were strong enough to have done it. So basically it is a mystery why this has happened.
That set us back about an hour and a half – not that we had big plans for the day, but I wanted to get settled into our apartment as soon as possible. The next glitch was the right brake on Gary’s loaner chair. Somehow overnight it had tightened so much that Gary couldn’t get it locked or unlocked without practically giving himself a hernia. Plus, in the locked position, the wheels still easily slipped along the floor. I went to the room where Gary had had his seating clinic, hoping to find our supplier there. He wasn’t, but I got his phone number, and Gary left him a message about the brake, and also about the call we’d received on our home phone about equipment being delivered, including a hoyer, which we didn’t need. Soon after, we transferred Gary to his chair, and during his weight shift a half hour later, his wheel nearly fell off! His nursing tech for the day happened by at this time, and she tilted the chair (Gary still in it) while I pushed the wheel in. These incidents did not give us supreme confidence in this chair. The next thing that happened was a bladder accident, which had never happened before (it happened a couple more times over the next eighteen hours, so now we have to have him checked for a bladder infection). We were like, why are all of these things happening today? I told Gary we should transfer him back into bed and then transfer him out again on the other side, because the side he’d gotten up on was obviously the wrong one.
Our supplier arrived at about this time, and he and the nurse did a two-person transfer on Gary to get him into his old chair. The supplier worked on the loaner chair, the nurse cleaned the seat cushion and cover, and Gary and I took care of him.
All throughout this I had been packing up Gary’s room; I know he would have liked to help, but there really wasn’t much he could do except pack his multitude of pillows into plastic bags (and talk to his roommate, who is obviously going to miss us and wanted to talk a lot! Other staff people came by to say goodbye to Gary as well – he is well-regarded around here). Gary went off to lunch in the cafeteria and I continued with the room. By the time he returned, I had almost finished – I ended up filling two hospital carts, one with the must-haves, one with stuff we could come back and get tomorrow, if need be (I had planned on returning for the second load right away, but other things intervened). Gary went down to the apothecary to pick up his supplies (unfortunately we found out later he forgot to get the ones that hadn’t been on the list given to him by Shepherd – they were necessities, but insurance wouldn’t pay for them, so they hadn’t been put on the list; we were able to improvise for the time being), while I went and got the car and Gary’s head nurse rolled down our cart of essentials. Then it was time to help Gary transfer into the car – we didn’t want to fill the car with other stuff until we could make sure his chair fit in. Naturally, because other people were watching, the transfer took a little longer than our trial runs, but it went fairly smoothly. Then came the trick of packing the stuff in the car while still allowing me to see out the rear window. With a lot of pushing and shoving (of the stuff in the car, not each other ;-)), the nurse and I accomplished this goal. The nurse, who has been great throughout Gary’s stay, gave us big hugs :-) – even though we’d probably at the latest see her when we came back for Day Program on Monday, since Gary will still go to the third-floor gym for it, only now he’ll be on the side opposite where he has been up to now.
It was now about two-thirty. Gary took his first car ride since the accident – we went across the street! The apartment we have is that close to Shepherd, which is nice. I put the wheels, arm rests, and tip bars back on his wheelchair and angled it next to him in preparation for the transfer, but we noticed the tires were slipping badly. Somehow, the brake (wheel lock, actually), had angled itself to the side and so was no longer in position to grip the tire. I wasn’t strong enough to realign it. Fortunately, we got help from the housing guy, who was right there, having just finished checking out our apartment to make sure the last people had cleaned it up properly. (Shepherd only leases four apartments in this complex; they own another building a few blocks away in which most of the Day Program people live.) The housing guy realigned the brake, showing us how to do it should it come out of place again – I hope we remember. This took a half hour, and Gary was getting hot in the car, even with the AC going, so I got him in the apartment ASAP. We were disappointed with how the place was stocked. At the hospital there are tons of towels and washcloths, etc., but here there weren’t enough to hold us through one day. We asked for more of those, as well as blankets. The housing guy wasn’t all that gracious about our requests, IMHO. Perhaps he felt he had done his duty by us (and more, with helping us out with the wheelchair), or perhaps he had a lot more to get done that day and we were delaying him. Anyway, he brought back a few more washcloths and a couple of thin blankets. Fortunately I would have my bed warmer and comforter, once I got them from the hotel, but as for washcloths and towels, it looks like we are going to be running the washing machine a lot – good thing there is one right in the apartment.
After I got Gary’s stuff unloaded, it was nearly time for the massage I had previously arranged for – my reward! It was the same guy I had used the previous Sunday, and he came to the apartment. After the massage, I decided to go get my stuff from the hotel, rather than go back to Shepherd for the second load of Gary’s stuff. While in the hotel room packing up what I would need for sleeping and cooking, Gary called with another personal emergency, so I threw my stuff in the car as quickly as I could and came back and took care of that.
He had ordered take-out pizza for dinner, and I had had my rice going in my slow-cooker in the hotel, so at least we didn’t have to worry about that meal (I forewent making zukes). By now it was almost 7:30, time to get him into the bed and do our evening routine. I was tired and seemed to be moving in slow motion, plus there was the added complication of us figuring out how for him to maneuver in the bed, as it is much smaller that the hospital bed he has been in. At one point Gary started crying, saying he was mostly okay with “this” (meaning what life after his accident entails), but that he hated seeing me run myself ragged because of him. So then we both cried some and held each other in a hug. He promised that things would get better, and I told him I knew they would. Then we got on with the routine. We finished after nine, and I still had to go to the grocery store to get him breakfast supplies. I also picked up paper towels and soap – things not supplied in the apartment. I decided we both cheering up, so I brought back a bouquet of pretty flowers as well. But I had to save my surprise, as he was fast asleep by the time I got back at 10. I knew he had to do an IC at 11, after which I would need to help him get proned, so I didn’t bother to lie down. Close to 11 I got a worried call from him – he hadn’t been aware I had returned. He did his IC, we got him positioned, and then it was time for bed (after we said some mushy stuff
;-) and joked that maybe we should try to get him checked back into the hospital). It was close to midnight. I needed a relaxing bath, so I didn’t get into bed until about 12:30. I woke several times during the night, thinking he had called my name – his hospital bed was out in the living room area, and I was in the small bedroom next to it. I woke again at about 5:15 and couldn’t go back to sleep – I knew his alarm would go off at 6 for an IC, and the possibility he would need me then didn’t allow me to settle back down – so I meditated. He did need me at six; we finished with that at about seven, I put a load of laundry in, and then I wrote some of this. Now I am going to get back into bed and see if I can sleep a little!
Oh, and his leg is looking better, so perhaps we at least won’t have to worry about that.
Thanks to Janet Rogers for sending us the Plainsman article and the editorial. I forwarded it to those who get this report by email.
You may recall (if you have a long memory ;-)) that when we took the “Been There Done That” class, the Shepherd alum had said that after leaving the hospital one had to find the new normal. Gary dryly remarked this evening, “I hope this isn’t it.” I thoroughly agree.
It was a tough day. We had planned to start the discharge process about 9am, but when I got to the hospital, Gary was still in bed. I thought maybe the nurses had left his bed bath for last since the others in his room would have to be gotten ready for their therapy sessions. But that wasn’t it. When they’d turned him from his prone position at 6:30, he’d had a large, very red spot on his thigh, and at first they thought it signified a first stage pressure sore, that he’d somehow put pressure on that area during the prone. But then they noticed a large bump there, about three inches in diameter, and the nurse thought it might be a bug bite . By the time I got there, the area was only slightly pink, and in feeling the area, I wondered if it could be a torn muscle (not that I know what one feels like – that just popped into my head). Gary’s doctor came in and examined it but didn’t offer an opinion, just told us to put ice on it. He was going to have an ultrasound done on it, but the person who does the ultrasounds for Shepherd isn’t qualified to do it for muscles. Then we heard they were thinking of doing an MRI on it, but those people (from Piedmont hospital, I think) were booked for the morning. Finally the resident who works with Gary’s doctor told Gary they thought it was a torn muscle and to basically ignore it unless it got worse. I asked for clarification, and the doctor said that at this point Gary wouldn’t need to modify any of his activities or therapies. I asked if Gary’s occasional leg spasms might have caused it, but they didn’t think his spasms were strong enough to have done it. So basically it is a mystery why this has happened.
That set us back about an hour and a half – not that we had big plans for the day, but I wanted to get settled into our apartment as soon as possible. The next glitch was the right brake on Gary’s loaner chair. Somehow overnight it had tightened so much that Gary couldn’t get it locked or unlocked without practically giving himself a hernia. Plus, in the locked position, the wheels still easily slipped along the floor. I went to the room where Gary had had his seating clinic, hoping to find our supplier there. He wasn’t, but I got his phone number, and Gary left him a message about the brake, and also about the call we’d received on our home phone about equipment being delivered, including a hoyer, which we didn’t need. Soon after, we transferred Gary to his chair, and during his weight shift a half hour later, his wheel nearly fell off! His nursing tech for the day happened by at this time, and she tilted the chair (Gary still in it) while I pushed the wheel in. These incidents did not give us supreme confidence in this chair. The next thing that happened was a bladder accident, which had never happened before (it happened a couple more times over the next eighteen hours, so now we have to have him checked for a bladder infection). We were like, why are all of these things happening today? I told Gary we should transfer him back into bed and then transfer him out again on the other side, because the side he’d gotten up on was obviously the wrong one.
Our supplier arrived at about this time, and he and the nurse did a two-person transfer on Gary to get him into his old chair. The supplier worked on the loaner chair, the nurse cleaned the seat cushion and cover, and Gary and I took care of him.
All throughout this I had been packing up Gary’s room; I know he would have liked to help, but there really wasn’t much he could do except pack his multitude of pillows into plastic bags (and talk to his roommate, who is obviously going to miss us and wanted to talk a lot! Other staff people came by to say goodbye to Gary as well – he is well-regarded around here). Gary went off to lunch in the cafeteria and I continued with the room. By the time he returned, I had almost finished – I ended up filling two hospital carts, one with the must-haves, one with stuff we could come back and get tomorrow, if need be (I had planned on returning for the second load right away, but other things intervened). Gary went down to the apothecary to pick up his supplies (unfortunately we found out later he forgot to get the ones that hadn’t been on the list given to him by Shepherd – they were necessities, but insurance wouldn’t pay for them, so they hadn’t been put on the list; we were able to improvise for the time being), while I went and got the car and Gary’s head nurse rolled down our cart of essentials. Then it was time to help Gary transfer into the car – we didn’t want to fill the car with other stuff until we could make sure his chair fit in. Naturally, because other people were watching, the transfer took a little longer than our trial runs, but it went fairly smoothly. Then came the trick of packing the stuff in the car while still allowing me to see out the rear window. With a lot of pushing and shoving (of the stuff in the car, not each other ;-)), the nurse and I accomplished this goal. The nurse, who has been great throughout Gary’s stay, gave us big hugs :-) – even though we’d probably at the latest see her when we came back for Day Program on Monday, since Gary will still go to the third-floor gym for it, only now he’ll be on the side opposite where he has been up to now.
It was now about two-thirty. Gary took his first car ride since the accident – we went across the street! The apartment we have is that close to Shepherd, which is nice. I put the wheels, arm rests, and tip bars back on his wheelchair and angled it next to him in preparation for the transfer, but we noticed the tires were slipping badly. Somehow, the brake (wheel lock, actually), had angled itself to the side and so was no longer in position to grip the tire. I wasn’t strong enough to realign it. Fortunately, we got help from the housing guy, who was right there, having just finished checking out our apartment to make sure the last people had cleaned it up properly. (Shepherd only leases four apartments in this complex; they own another building a few blocks away in which most of the Day Program people live.) The housing guy realigned the brake, showing us how to do it should it come out of place again – I hope we remember. This took a half hour, and Gary was getting hot in the car, even with the AC going, so I got him in the apartment ASAP. We were disappointed with how the place was stocked. At the hospital there are tons of towels and washcloths, etc., but here there weren’t enough to hold us through one day. We asked for more of those, as well as blankets. The housing guy wasn’t all that gracious about our requests, IMHO. Perhaps he felt he had done his duty by us (and more, with helping us out with the wheelchair), or perhaps he had a lot more to get done that day and we were delaying him. Anyway, he brought back a few more washcloths and a couple of thin blankets. Fortunately I would have my bed warmer and comforter, once I got them from the hotel, but as for washcloths and towels, it looks like we are going to be running the washing machine a lot – good thing there is one right in the apartment.
After I got Gary’s stuff unloaded, it was nearly time for the massage I had previously arranged for – my reward! It was the same guy I had used the previous Sunday, and he came to the apartment. After the massage, I decided to go get my stuff from the hotel, rather than go back to Shepherd for the second load of Gary’s stuff. While in the hotel room packing up what I would need for sleeping and cooking, Gary called with another personal emergency, so I threw my stuff in the car as quickly as I could and came back and took care of that.
He had ordered take-out pizza for dinner, and I had had my rice going in my slow-cooker in the hotel, so at least we didn’t have to worry about that meal (I forewent making zukes). By now it was almost 7:30, time to get him into the bed and do our evening routine. I was tired and seemed to be moving in slow motion, plus there was the added complication of us figuring out how for him to maneuver in the bed, as it is much smaller that the hospital bed he has been in. At one point Gary started crying, saying he was mostly okay with “this” (meaning what life after his accident entails), but that he hated seeing me run myself ragged because of him. So then we both cried some and held each other in a hug. He promised that things would get better, and I told him I knew they would. Then we got on with the routine. We finished after nine, and I still had to go to the grocery store to get him breakfast supplies. I also picked up paper towels and soap – things not supplied in the apartment. I decided we both cheering up, so I brought back a bouquet of pretty flowers as well. But I had to save my surprise, as he was fast asleep by the time I got back at 10. I knew he had to do an IC at 11, after which I would need to help him get proned, so I didn’t bother to lie down. Close to 11 I got a worried call from him – he hadn’t been aware I had returned. He did his IC, we got him positioned, and then it was time for bed (after we said some mushy stuff
;-) and joked that maybe we should try to get him checked back into the hospital). It was close to midnight. I needed a relaxing bath, so I didn’t get into bed until about 12:30. I woke several times during the night, thinking he had called my name – his hospital bed was out in the living room area, and I was in the small bedroom next to it. I woke again at about 5:15 and couldn’t go back to sleep – I knew his alarm would go off at 6 for an IC, and the possibility he would need me then didn’t allow me to settle back down – so I meditated. He did need me at six; we finished with that at about seven, I put a load of laundry in, and then I wrote some of this. Now I am going to get back into bed and see if I can sleep a little!
Oh, and his leg is looking better, so perhaps we at least won’t have to worry about that.
Thanks to Janet Rogers for sending us the Plainsman article and the editorial. I forwarded it to those who get this report by email.
posted by Peg Daniels at 6:55 AM
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