Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Yet Another Fall
Just got this from Liz:
Just a short report here - Mom apparently had another fall last Fri. morning. I got a message from the nurse, but it was too late to get hold of them for any details. The message said they had found her sitting on the bathroom floor, checked her over, she looked OK, no head-bumping this time. When I mentioned it to Mom, she said it wasn't a fall, that she was sitting on the toilet, having summoned them to help her with changing her pants. Today when I was over there, I said to her that she seemed to be having much more trouble moving around than usual, and she admitted that her side hurt quite a lot. So I looked, and she has a large blackish bruise (with a bit fading to yellow) over her left ribs under her arm, right under the bra line. We went to the nurse's office, and they think the looks of the bruise matches the timing of the Fri. fall, which Mom apparently doesn't remember. We made arrangements for her to have some Tylenol regularly for a few days (and they gave her the first dose), then we went to CVS. But she was having trouble moving her limbs well again. It reminded me of her condition the morning of Uncle Tom's funeral service, when she was coming down with bronchitis. Remember how her limbs didn't seem to move "on command" and she was so-o slow? It's very worrisome. The walker got a bit too far out ahead of her a few times, and she got "frozen" and couldn't make her legs catch up. I was sorry we had even gone anywhere - I didn't let go of her arm the whole time. She did say that "things had gone downhill" recently, which presumably means "since last Fri. morning," but she doesn't really know. She said the bruised area was causing her difficulty with many actions, like lying herself down on the bed and standing up from sitting on the bed, so I hope that pain and stiffness is the cause of all the sluggish movement. I went back to the nurse's office later (by myself) and told them I was worried and asked them to keep a closer eye on her than usual for a few days. Because of the fall, she is already having her vitals checked daily, so they will notice if her temp rises (if she's starting some other infection). They also said that if she is still complaining of pain tomorrow or so, they may see about a rib xray.
Just a short report here - Mom apparently had another fall last Fri. morning. I got a message from the nurse, but it was too late to get hold of them for any details. The message said they had found her sitting on the bathroom floor, checked her over, she looked OK, no head-bumping this time. When I mentioned it to Mom, she said it wasn't a fall, that she was sitting on the toilet, having summoned them to help her with changing her pants. Today when I was over there, I said to her that she seemed to be having much more trouble moving around than usual, and she admitted that her side hurt quite a lot. So I looked, and she has a large blackish bruise (with a bit fading to yellow) over her left ribs under her arm, right under the bra line. We went to the nurse's office, and they think the looks of the bruise matches the timing of the Fri. fall, which Mom apparently doesn't remember. We made arrangements for her to have some Tylenol regularly for a few days (and they gave her the first dose), then we went to CVS. But she was having trouble moving her limbs well again. It reminded me of her condition the morning of Uncle Tom's funeral service, when she was coming down with bronchitis. Remember how her limbs didn't seem to move "on command" and she was so-o slow? It's very worrisome. The walker got a bit too far out ahead of her a few times, and she got "frozen" and couldn't make her legs catch up. I was sorry we had even gone anywhere - I didn't let go of her arm the whole time. She did say that "things had gone downhill" recently, which presumably means "since last Fri. morning," but she doesn't really know. She said the bruised area was causing her difficulty with many actions, like lying herself down on the bed and standing up from sitting on the bed, so I hope that pain and stiffness is the cause of all the sluggish movement. I went back to the nurse's office later (by myself) and told them I was worried and asked them to keep a closer eye on her than usual for a few days. Because of the fall, she is already having her vitals checked daily, so they will notice if her temp rises (if she's starting some other infection). They also said that if she is still complaining of pain tomorrow or so, they may see about a rib xray.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Dad is Home
Talked with Liz. He came home yesterday afternoon. Doing OK on the major things, but his bedsore is worse. Sounds like is was very tired and went right to sleep.
On another note, Mom had another fall yesterday morn. I think nothing too serious, but she banged her knee and head again. Sounded like it may have had to do with the fact that her bed is kind of high so she can't sit on it with her feet on the floor. The PT folks are going to see what they can do to remedy that. Mom did get out for a long day with book club friends after that and was pretty shot by the end of the day according to my sources.
On another note, Mom had another fall yesterday morn. I think nothing too serious, but she banged her knee and head again. Sounded like it may have had to do with the fact that her bed is kind of high so she can't sit on it with her feet on the floor. The PT folks are going to see what they can do to remedy that. Mom did get out for a long day with book club friends after that and was pretty shot by the end of the day according to my sources.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Dad Doing OK
The doctor just called Liz and said that Dad is improving. They plan to keep him in the hospital over the weekend and hope to send him home Monday.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Dad Back in the Hospital
Got this from Liz yesterday morn:
"The nurse at Willowbrooke called me last night at 2:30AM to say that they had just sent Dad to the hospital. She had called Mom also. It seems that Dad started with a hard, moist cough yesterday (Sun.) morning, which led to a temperature of 101.8 at 6:00PM. They called his doctor, gave him breathing treatments, and put him on oxygen. The doc ordered antibiotics and an xray (for Mon.). At 2:30AM or so, Dad was very agitated and his temp didn't respond to Tylenol - went up a bit, in fact. So they sent him to Riddle Hospital - Sophie said the antibiotics would take some time to be effective, and they didn't want to wait for that."
I talked with Liz (and a little with Dad) later. After doing time in ER, he was admitted. He has pneumonia, which is not surprising. He also has a bedsore (which they had been tending at Lima). Liz and Mom visited him yesterday afternoon. Rebek also stopped by on her way to Maryland (with a car full of belongings since she is moving!). Dad's temp is down and he seemed in pretty good spirits. I think Liz said they are doing some cultures to determine further treatment. We are really hoping this stay is a lot shorter than last time.
"The nurse at Willowbrooke called me last night at 2:30AM to say that they had just sent Dad to the hospital. She had called Mom also. It seems that Dad started with a hard, moist cough yesterday (Sun.) morning, which led to a temperature of 101.8 at 6:00PM. They called his doctor, gave him breathing treatments, and put him on oxygen. The doc ordered antibiotics and an xray (for Mon.). At 2:30AM or so, Dad was very agitated and his temp didn't respond to Tylenol - went up a bit, in fact. So they sent him to Riddle Hospital - Sophie said the antibiotics would take some time to be effective, and they didn't want to wait for that."
I talked with Liz (and a little with Dad) later. After doing time in ER, he was admitted. He has pneumonia, which is not surprising. He also has a bedsore (which they had been tending at Lima). Liz and Mom visited him yesterday afternoon. Rebek also stopped by on her way to Maryland (with a car full of belongings since she is moving!). Dad's temp is down and he seemed in pretty good spirits. I think Liz said they are doing some cultures to determine further treatment. We are really hoping this stay is a lot shorter than last time.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Small Update
Well, it's been almost two weeks since I last wrote, so I feel like I ought to report something even though there is not a whole lot to say health-wise (mostly a good thing).
Mom has been doing pretty well -- seems back to her usual self.
Dad is doing OK, but he still is not back to walking after the stay in the hospital. I think he is back to daily PT, since the stay in the hospital resets the clock for Medicare with regard to paying for PT. He is of course on the soft food/thickened liquid diet that he doesn't really care for. Hope he is getting enough calories.
This past weekend was 'family time'. Saturday we moved everything out of the apartment (Liz and MB had packed it all in a marathon session last week). Most of it went into a rental truck that went to Dor's house. Then Sunday, we all got together for March b-day celebrations at Dor's at which time people rummaged through the truck-load of memories to figure out who wanted what. Josh and Lauren were able to come up and they picked up Mom and Dad on the way. It was fun and productive, but there is still a pile of stuff cluttering Dor's house. Although Mom and Dad were glad, as always, to see all of the family, I think the big get-together is kind of hard for them, especially for Dad -- too much going on and it goes too late for them.
Mom has been doing pretty well -- seems back to her usual self.
Dad is doing OK, but he still is not back to walking after the stay in the hospital. I think he is back to daily PT, since the stay in the hospital resets the clock for Medicare with regard to paying for PT. He is of course on the soft food/thickened liquid diet that he doesn't really care for. Hope he is getting enough calories.
This past weekend was 'family time'. Saturday we moved everything out of the apartment (Liz and MB had packed it all in a marathon session last week). Most of it went into a rental truck that went to Dor's house. Then Sunday, we all got together for March b-day celebrations at Dor's at which time people rummaged through the truck-load of memories to figure out who wanted what. Josh and Lauren were able to come up and they picked up Mom and Dad on the way. It was fun and productive, but there is still a pile of stuff cluttering Dor's house. Although Mom and Dad were glad, as always, to see all of the family, I think the big get-together is kind of hard for them, especially for Dad -- too much going on and it goes too late for them.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Dad's Back & More Mom News
Spoke with Liz tonight. (She had a busy day today -- seems to be par for the course.)
Dad was discharged from the hospital today. Yay! She drove him back to Lima. He's weak and tired, but back eating a bit. Hope he can get his weight up.
Mom fell again over night. They found her face down on the bathroom floor this morn. Sounds like she was there 3 hours -- not good. She went to the doctor who said she might have bronchitis. She had had a bit of a fever. She also had been having some trouble moving her limbs, worrying us that she might have had a small stroke, but the doctor thinks the bronchitis may have just made her weak and unstable. He has her on antibiotics, I think. Liz said she seemed to be moving better today than yesterday, so we are hoping the doctor is right and she will be back to 'normal' once she gets over the bronchitis. Meanwhile she has been told to call for help when she needs to get out of bed for any reason (such as going to the bathroom). She told Liz, 'yes, dear.' We'll see.
Dad was discharged from the hospital today. Yay! She drove him back to Lima. He's weak and tired, but back eating a bit. Hope he can get his weight up.
Mom fell again over night. They found her face down on the bathroom floor this morn. Sounds like she was there 3 hours -- not good. She went to the doctor who said she might have bronchitis. She had had a bit of a fever. She also had been having some trouble moving her limbs, worrying us that she might have had a small stroke, but the doctor thinks the bronchitis may have just made her weak and unstable. He has her on antibiotics, I think. Liz said she seemed to be moving better today than yesterday, so we are hoping the doctor is right and she will be back to 'normal' once she gets over the bronchitis. Meanwhile she has been told to call for help when she needs to get out of bed for any reason (such as going to the bathroom). She told Liz, 'yes, dear.' We'll see.
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