I got a call from St. Luke's about 3 -- they think dp's cognitive skills have been going down, so they called UIHC, talked to the (a?) neurosurgeon, and then called me to say they the neurosurgeon wanted her back.
At present, I'm sitting in the ER waiting room, waiting for dp's ambulance. I'm thinking/hoping that it's probably hydrocephalus, which should be repairable with a magnet -- adjust her shunt valve, and that's that... I hope.
St. Luke's has officially discharged her, I guess -- the nurse said they had packed up all her stuff and sent it along on the ambulance.
Time passes...
Sitting in the ER now -- we've been here for a couple hours, while they took labs and x-rays. The neurologist on call says that they don't see anything wrong with her shunt. He's thinking possibly the UTI and/or some of the meds she's on could have been messing with her.
dp was surprised to hear that St. Luke's was worried about her cognitive skills -- they didn't talk to her at all, until they told her they were loading her up on the ambulance. She was a little disoriented about the time of day, but seemed otherwise on top of things.
More time passes...
Here we are, back on 6JCW. The food is better here than UIHC, so dp's chowing down on fish, cheese sticks, a chocolate shake and a banana. They've stopped the new muscle relaxant (skelaxin) St. Luke's gave her, as well as one of the anti-emetics we've been doing for quite a while, and maybe a couple of others. He tripled the antibiotic to go after the UTI. They'll monitor for a couple days, and we'll see what happens next.
There is an advantage to being VRE-colonized -- we get a single room, which is way better than the double (Not any more plush, just quieter).
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14 comments:
Oy. That Chinese "interesting times" curse again! I know DP has always had a lot on her mind, but this is something else entirely.
I'll be in town tonight for band practice so at least will call to check in. Still a little mucousy, so regards to DP and I'll visit when I'm sure we won't add a virus to the exciting mix she already has.
Moving Mom this weekend. Keep us in your prayers, or whatever you do.
Hey Guys!
I'm still lurking. I can't believe how many times I have written something only to delete it. I don't wanna say the wrong thing and once it's written it's out there. Suffice it to say, I keep you ALL in my prayers, no matter how unorthodox those prayers may be.
I would like to contribute more to the blogging, but I think I'm a little gun-shy with the medical stuff since my 2 sisters passed away over the past 2 years, with Andrea (younger sis)being admitted to the hospital over 200 times in her last year.
All the years I spent working (6JCE)in hospitals and going to Nursing school, all prepared me well to deal with medical stuff, as long as it applies to people I do not know very well.
So forgive my holding back, I'm just scared.
One thing though, the way you all support each other, and care about each other makes me want to be there with you because you ALL have given me so much that helped me grow into a man I honestly am ok with.
Thanx friends in Iowa!
I love you guys.
-Best,
Rodney
Kev- Has the vertigo issue resolved itself or does it remain? We're thinking of you and waiting for better news. Love, Katie
Nicely put, Rodney..
Katie, the vertigo has really been better since about a week after the tumor was removed. She still feels light-headed sometimes, and nausea isn't that uncommon, but the vertigo isn't an issue anymore.
Not much else to report this morning. Her back and legs are pretty painful -- da St. Luke's people thought that was over-worked muscle pain. I hope they're right.
The medical stuff mostly makes sense to me. I had wondered about the UTI having an effect on overall fluid balance myself. Do you see a change in cognitive skills, Kevin, or the the folks at St Luke's just not get Diana's sense of humor? In any case I think it's better to have her where the neuro folks can check in on her and get the UTI under control.
Good luck with the move, c-man.
I just reread your post and remembered I wanted to muse about why they had dp on a muscle relaxant????
Doesn't make sense for someone trying to build strength and the one time I took one it made me spacier than a stereotypical blonde.
My bad Kev- I meant to ask about the double vision not vertigo. xxoo Katie
He also serves who only stands and lurks.
So did DP get home? Sounded last night like you thought she might be discharged today.
Yah, we're back. dp's still got a lot of pain running around her left leg and back, which is why St. L was giving her the muscle relaxant. I spent some time trying to convince neurosurgery that should be looked into, but they don't think it's a big deal. Diana is in poorer shape now than she was two weeks ago, but nothing was happening there, so we left.
I called Dr. C when got home -- he's set up a bone scan MRI for Wednesday.
In the meantime, Diana is a lot happier in her own bed, and I can provide painkillers a lot faster than the hospital folks can.
Well I'm glad you're home then. Frustrating about the rehab experience.
Thinking a little more about what Rod said . . . it still blows my mind about Andrea. I remember her from the old days and it's hard to even fathom her decline. I didn't know your other sister, but I'm sorry about her, too.
My Dad took a really long time to die and while he was continuing to live (which is really what it was) I "protected" myself by skipping funerals and giving myself permission to avoid hospitals and nursing homes, so I can relate. Was it a good strategy? I'm not sure I can evaluate that. It's what I did. I still take breaks from my mother's own version of entropy, and I feel guilty about it. Sometimes I go see her when I don't feel like it, out of discipline or duty, and sometimes I feel bad about that, too. Other days are really good, and we connect, and I come away feeling that the effort was worth it. The lesson from Alzheimer's these days is that this next minute is the one that counts.
Don't worry about saying something wrong. Keith Demptster, the former owner of the Mill in Iowa City was known to give unwanted sage advice at inopportune times. He once told me, referring to the entertainment business, that "90% of it is just showing up."
We're glad when you show up.
Kev and dp:
Glad you are home, and I bet Trooley is too! All the extra snow passed us by, so we should spend the weekend raking the dirt from the yard back into the road. When is yard work scheduled for you? I believe there is a work crew ready to go!
Love you,
Else
Ok, Sam, well lemme just throw it out there:
When my lil sis Andrea walked on, she had been experiencing some mental deficits and when I went to back to Cincinnati to celebrate graduating with my masters degree and I found her in a coma. She had had her pancreas removed 2 yrs before, and she was a brittle diabetic. Her glucose could swing from normal to zero in a heart beat. Anyway, She awoke a few days later in ICU, but she was severely brain damaged. The rub was that I had medical power of attorney, at least I thought I did. However, this really manipulative woman somehow convinced Andrea that I was not to be trusted (with what?) and Andrea signed over POA to her a few months before all this happened w/o me knowing. While in hospice for a week, waiting for her to die, all kinds of shifty shit went down. My neice (Alex)lost control of her mom's house and they ejected her asap. The weirdest part was the traumatic context in which this transpired. We camped out at hospice (me and Andea's 2 daughters and their cousin)and the woman who had POA was not around. Andrea kept coming out of a coma state and rallying, even speaking some words, tracking people with her eyes, even mimicking smiling and crying if you did the same where she could see you.
The woman with the POA told the girls that Andrea was "brain dead" and they looked to me to tell them how a brain dead person could, speak, smile, and cry. New territory for me even though I have had plenty of Neurology experience.
I could not keep her sedated enough w/o POA, and the girls freaked out when the standing order was to keep her comfortable.
It became apparent that we were gonna watch them dehydrate her until she passed, and that's what happened. There was no way to soften the reality for the girls so I just stayed there to be there. To make matters worse, my mother, if anybody remembers her chronic ill will and insanity, was in collusion with the woman with the medical POA. All in all a bad scene from which no one was left unscathed.
Now I have become surrogate dad/uncle to Alex, and to my surprise she is flourishing and she has made all of this easier by keeping me connected. So I guess Andrea did me a favor by giving me a great kid, after she did all the hard work. Funny how things go!
I have kept this to myself for way too long and it feels good just to toss it out there in front of people who know me. Thanx!
Hope that wasn't too much for ya'll.
-Best,
Rodney
So what did the maninipulative woman get out of it? Money?
I'm glad you were there for those kids. s.
She got the moral highground and martyrdom as the only one that "really" loved Andrea or some such nonsense. She seemed to have some idea that I was a gangster or something. Maybe she saw my "religious mercenary" stuff from back in the deprogramming/Brandyberry/Detroit days. Who knows?
She was the real estate agent and got control of the property, and whatever $$ that came from it I guess. I was too busy dealing with Alex and Jenna, Andrea's daughters.
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