That is what her family wants I am told when I inquired about my roomie with the horrible cough. They came in and took a chest x ray and then did one breathing treatment but then no one came back to do anything. She drinks but refuses food. I heard it was painful teeth when I first came here months ago.
She had a stroke and has been here over a decade. Her family is far away in Mexico and came once with birthday balloons but said the birthday was the next month.
She is in bed everyday. Her T
○I can eat in bed if I want to
○Someone helps me with all the meds I take around the clock
○Someone makes the bed with fresh soft sheets very often
○I am getting medical treatment at the large teaching hospital for things I suffered from for years and other docs failed to address
○I get transported door to door in comfy van and I usually ride alone and if not then I get to go on a mini ride
○My hope is renewed because I am in therapy. It is outpatient and I had to make it happen for myself
Ok for the record I love hospital food. I like it in the rooms and in the Cafeteria. I have never been considered a picky eater and I like to try new foods..as long as a glass of water is handy.
I find the food here nauseating. I have sent it away quickly. I like homemade mashed potatoes and the kind made from flakes in a box. I do not know what was mashed up to put under this gravy. It Does Not taste like potato. All meat is some kind of processed loaf. My roomie calls the chicken sawdust.
I went to pain clinic today. Doc is increasing Effexor to max dose for max benefit. So far I cannot stop norco just because I take Effexor if that is the plan. So doc wants me on methadone. Images of heroin addicts in withdrawal hit me. I said is it really better than little ol norco. She said I was already down the opiate path and a long acting may give me more relief. Wowee. Adding 2 more drugs to get off 1 drug or hoping I do not slip into a drooling stupor,or Will this cocktail work to soot
I am driven crazy overstimulated with the noise,sounds here. My roomie's tv is on from 7am to midnight. She loves sitcoms with laugh tracks. I am afraid that my love of comedy is ruined now by my dislike of laugh tracks that seem unusually loud to me.
I had to be taken out of the dining hall fast when a singer used a microphone. The sound echoed all around me,crushing me physically like a star trek episode.
The ward is full of sounds. It puts me on edge. I long for solitude and silence. Well I
My sore throat improved when I gargled with warm salt water,but I had to get a doctor order to be allowed to do it. It helped get rid of the swollen sore throat thing. I had plenty of fresh oranges for vitamin c naturally. I wiped down with a washcloth dipped in ice water to cool down when I felt hot and kept it on my forehead. I drank ice water to cool inside. I drank hot tea to sooth my throat. I ate a salty pickle so I was thirsty and could flush my system with plenty of fluids.
Everyone is
Taking time to remember 9/11 and what it means to be an American. We expect rights and freedoms and we fight for them. We respect diversity. We recognize we are a work in progress so we value our court system and democracy.
As much as I complain, I am proud to be and thankful to be an American.
Thank you to all Veterans,police,firefighters,
first responders.
Thank you to the ones who came to my home and took me to the hospital where my life was saved.
I believe 9/11 pulled all of us togeth
I woke with a sore throat,hard to swallow,burning,feels like swallowing marbles. Nurse saw me cuddled up with a roll of toilet tissue and said it looked like I was snuggled up with a teddy bear but it was TP and said how cute. Actually it is pathetic.The kleenex is not kleenex.It may sand furniture ok. So my nose runs endlessy. I must have dozed off. So I explained my symptoms. She said she would look for lozenges. She brought me meds all day but never addressed my illness even though I was in b
I woke shaky,sweaty,ready to vomit, rambling about Complaints,so irritable anxious,but this time knowing it was lo blood sugar so I rang for nurse. She wordlessly checked it and reported it was 60,told me to eat a soggy pbj but I asked for orange juice. In the meantime I nibbled on fresh oranges my roommate got for snack and passed to me because she does not eat them. Thank heavens for such a nice roommate. The juice had me feeling better quickly. So did the zofran.
On top of it all it was pai
I am awakened all night for pain meds and vitals. I have given up make up and I generally feel sloppy. Well last night a woman cna was taking my blood pressure in the middle of the night. I was so sleepy. She mentioned that I have lost weight.Then she said I had a nice face,a pretty face. I said oh no, I am too lazy to even wear make up. She said I did not need any. Well,I do not agree that I should live without eye liner,mascara,and lipstick! But the compliment made me feel pretty and good enou
Bossynurse has been quite cheerful and on time with pain meds. On the other hand when I suffered another sudden drop in blood sugar after taking insulin,she said it was not that,it was taking pain meds without food. I had the list of symptoms for lo blood sugar. Orange juice fixed me. I talked to doc and he said I am on way too much long acting insulin. Oh those episodes are horrible. I feel emotional during them.
Effexor dose increased. Immodium is my bestie. I am going to adjust they say.
I had a most vivid dream that I was running with family and then I was in a shop walking around and I bought a teal teddy bear.
It was so real.
I woke confused a moment.
Does anyone dream like I do?
I went to a beautiful place to see the neurologist. There is a rock garden waterfall outside and the building is all glass. I sat in the waiting room and I was disappointed when they called me.
The neuroguy was older,straight shooter,informative, and normal. He called my stroke a lacunar stroke. He said the pain is typical and hard to manage but usually decreases and my leg may go numb eventually.He said keep walking for my balance problems. And he told me there is surgery for my eye proble
A woman on the ward died in her sleep. I did not know her well.
It reminds us all that every day is never guaranteed.
I forget about death. I avoid thinking,speaking of that foreign terrifyin thing. Perhaps because I have been sheltered from it really. I pause to it when I must,then living happens. My southern folk were closer to death,sitting with the passed in the parlor,big funerals with caskets. I have seen masses but my family went for cremation. Death is not a natural part of my life.
I went for a diabetic eye exam and had some nifty retina scan. Good news is all is alright and even my beautiful glasses are still working perfectly. Blessings today.
I mentioned I have nystagmus and double vision from stroke. The doc referred me to another doc who treats it. I have never seen a doc for this since my stroke.never knew I could,and I went to an eye dr right away. Thankfully I am at a huge university medical center with research and resources. So much better than the private do
Stroke is a thief. It robbed me of my life,my dreams,my goals,people in my life,my job,my home,my abilities. It threatens my hope,my joy,my life,my future. I do not get to do things I want to, which brings sadness and disappointment. Yes I recovered some things,and lucky I retained some things,I am grateful for life,But the recovery is not saving anything. This isnt a life anyone would settle for. I must work hard and hope more. I no longer cry. The pill numbs
And yet they keep saying in time,
I got up,dressed,breakfasted,and then transportation arrived to take me to the dermatologist. I had my pain pill tucked in my Betsy Bag. All I needed were morning meds to send me off. Psychonursie was there to provide them along with a glare and repeating the question why did I need to carry a pill was I going to be gone 4 hours. Her face was livid. I actually did return late,after pill time, and I had to deal with Bossynursie who demanded to know why my doc had ordered new meds,why change or a
I have taken pain meds with me to two doc appts. Because by the time I get there,do the thing,get picked up again in an hour window, allow for traffic,getting in...it could go past med time,depending upon when I take the last dose. So they packaged up meds including pain pill for me to take on time. But not today. Transportation came but they said it was not allowed to send the pill with me. I knew I would be gone when the time came for a pill. The nursing supervisor said no. So I walked slowly
I woke drenched in sweat,dripping in my eye,burning. Sheet soaked,gown soaked. Cold.
I hurt,felt odd,nausea waves,shakey. I felt afraid but familiar now as I pressed the call button. The cna came and I explained why I needed the nurse. She told me the nurse was on break and I was feeling the way I do because I take too many pain pills. I lost my cool and hollered an order to her to go get the nurse and dont stand there telling me ...and Here I stopped myself from cussing...but she had already l
There was a luau luncheon with Decorations and pineapple cake. But the staff got catered food with real pieces of chicken wings while the resident plates had some chicken loaf stuff. I guess some cant deal with bones but I was drooling. I enjoyed watching some dancers, and the festive drink with an umbrella. We had plastic leis and I got three in pink,blue,and orange. I brought one for roomies but they declined them so I put them on my walker to decorate it. Well, while I picked at my food,they
Ok, so the morning nurse talks about how she worked at a haunted nursing home,talks about seeing ghosts in the old empty rooms.
She is interesting...
I am not a big fan of the breakfast menu. I eat cereal and fruit in tiny portions. My blood sugar has been around 86 to 90 something. Yesterday morning after my breakfast, and insulins,I got a sweaty hot flash,felt faint with that darkening around the edges feeling, and I felt short of breath, so I cried out for help,and pushed call button. T
One morning I sat in the chair talking to my roomie after a phone conversation and I was crying a real water shed of tears. Roomie is so kind and relates to me. I feel a sisterhood with her and we prayed together. Just then a maintenance man came in because we had reported our sink was backed up again despite the work they had done twice already. He walked in the middle of my waterworks looking awkward and asked is everything ok. I quickly wiped my eyes and choked back a sob as Roomie blurted ou
I went to PT at the oupatient training medical center,state of the art place. The van came and got me at the home and took me there. I didnt ask them here. I made the appointment and went. I was told I couldnt go to outpatient PT because I was in a home and get it here. Well they cut me off after a few days,saying I walk so I dont need it. YES I Walk with a walker in a painful hobble in the dizziness and vertigo. Now I have been confined to this room and this bed. So I had the referral to go to
It has been a month since I left lost my home of 15 years. On a positive note, the place needed a cleaning so a move was needed. I parted with things that were "my precious" and painful. The saying is so true that be it ever so humble,there is no place like home. I miss my castle in my eyes.
It help to talk about it. Forget living in the moment for a minute.
I have an angel of a roommate right now. We immediately hit it off with things in common. We shared memories,losses, and she pointed
