Larry has been sort of "not himself' the last few days. I've had a pretty crazy work schedule this week, but saw him early yesterday AM and after work, then the same today. He seemed kind of out of it. When I went to visit tonight he was sound asleep at 6PM, and when he work up he was groggy and lethargic. Dinner came, and he wouldn't eat anything (in fairness, I would not have eaten it either).
I went to look at his chart, because something told me this was related to medication. Su
In many ways, bringing Larry home feels like what I assume bringing home a new baby must be like...I don't have kids, but it has to be the same mix of joy and fear. I'm so glad he's finally getting out of the SNF, but worried that I won't know what to do, will do it wrong, will make mistakes, and all of that. I'm not happy that Larry's coming home the Friday before the bathroom remodel starts, but even if I had been able to get Kaiser to agree to a couple more weeks I'm sure there would still
Happy Father's Day!
Larry enjoyed seeing family this weekend - Cynthia, and Eric, Nicole and Lea. He has lots of balloons and cards and such, and seemed to like being made a fuss over.
I'm feeling like I knocked a major item off my "to do" list today, since I was able to hire a caregiver for Larry. Although it is tempting to go "under the table" and maybe pay less, I went through an agency, so there is insurance, and Workers Comp in place, and they do background checks. The price wa
There's a lot going on right now, and I am trying not to freak out (as we say here in California - I have to remember that expressions like "freaking out" and "bitchin!' are not part of the normal patois in other parts of the country!).
I got a call this afternoon from Kaiser, and they told me that they have set a discharge date of Friday 6/20 for Larry. They apparently did an evaluation yesterday (which nobody even told me was happening). The physical therapists, speech therapist, and
Being back to work is good in a way. It forces me to focus and to stay on track with all the things that I have to get done, and I needed that discipline. On the other hand it is tough to juggle my schedule along with Larry's needs. I've been at work since 7:00 AM, had a pretty high-stress meeting at noon (so no lunch break), and I have my last meeting of the day set for 7PM. I won't be home until probably 9:30 tonight. It's unusual that I would have this much packed into one day, but it do
Larry's doing OK. He had a slight fever yesterday, but it's gone today and he was in good spirits.
I'm concerned about the Lovistatin that he's been taking for high cholesterol. He was on this before the stroke and was taken off it because he had a bad reaction. The same thing happened to my mother - severe leg pain. My mom has permanent muscle damage because of it; fortunately, because of her experience, we knew enough that when Larry started having leg pain we got him off it right a
Well, I was about half way through this post and somehow lost what I was typing, so I hope this doesn't show up twice.
My dear step-son, Eric, was here all day helping me clean out the garage. There is now law and order in what was previously an anarchist arachnid heaven, but the down side is that there's a trash pile about 25 feet long that extends from the front of the garage out to the back gate and down the driveway. I have a dumpster scheduled for next weekend, so I will have to dea
Well, I did make some headway today. I called the liaison from the Acute rehab center, who evaluated Larry a few days ago, to find out what's going on. She told me that she thinks he's not yet ready for Acute (I agree), but thinks that he has made a lot of progress in the SNF. She'll continue to monitor him over the next few weeks, and her goal is still to get him back to Acute eventually. She said that she will push to keep him in the SNF, as opposed to sending him home, and that she thinks
Larry's been in the SNF since Mother's day, so it's been several weeks. I have been trying to find out what the next step is - is he a candidate for acute rehab again (that's my hope), or are they going to cut him loose and send him home? If they send him home, how much notice will I be given?
I've been told by people in the community that you're typically given a couple of weeks' notice before they send someone home. Is that true? The social worker told me that their protocol is more l
It is hard being back to work. I see Larry from 6:30 AM until 7:00 AM, when I have to leave for work, and then again from about 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM, when I have to go home and feed the animals, water the plants, and deal with all the other high-maintenance stuff that seemed like such a good idea at the time! Thank goodness my main plant fixation is succulents and cacti, and they don't need much fussing over.
Larry was feeling OK this evening, no more back pain. He had hot dogs and chili
I am pretty confused about this one. When Larry first had the stroke he was able to urinate on his own, but not able to manage a bed pan. They had him in diapers pretty quickly, but not a catheter. A few days post-stroke, and suddenly he was needing a catheter - he was retaining urine and couldn't "go" on his own. The worked with the in/out catheter for a while, but eventually that because too unwieldy, and they went with the Foley. While they were deciding about switching over, there were
So, today is the first day that I went back to work...I took off 5 weeks and got used to that in a hurry - it was tough to go to work and act as though everything is "normal" - which it is anything but.
It was a welcome distration from Larry's issues, but I hate that I can only see him in the very early AM or the late afternoon. I totally missed all of his therapy sessions and have no clue how he did today. I emailed the case manager and asked how I can get a daily status report. We'll s
Before I say anything else, I'd like to express my gratitude to everyone here. I don't know how I would have endured the last 6 weeks since Larry's stroke without this site. The people here, especially those who have already walked this path, are so caring, generous and wonderful - I was thinking about all of you today and wishing that we could have met under less traumatic circumstances, but I am SO GLAD you are here!
Larry had a very full dance card today. Of course everyone comes to v
Whatever was wrong earlier this week seems to have cleared - Larry's been in a good mood the last several days and has worked hard on all his therapies. His sense of humor and personality are really shining through, even though he can't speak. It is wonderful to see him still in there somewhere, which gives me hope that his amazing brain will find a way to get him OUT of there somehow.
Today being Saturday, there's not much therapy going on. The PT came in and did maybe 10 minutes with
I walked into Larry's room this morning with trepidation, not sure if I was entering a peaceful room of healing or a bomb factory, and prepared for either eventuality. Fortunately Larry was feeling better this morning - he was half way through breakfast and ate a good part of it, after having eaten pretty much nothing all day yesterday. He smiled at me and did not point at the door or make loud sounds to indicate that I should leave. I did not bring up home repairs, car problems (there was on
Went to visit Larry this AM with the plan of sitting through all his therapy sessions. This is my last week off before I have to go back to work, and I am trying to absorb as much as I can.
Larry was still in bed when I got there, and seemed to be OK. I started talking about the bathroom remodel that we'll need to do, and let him know I'm getting estimates so that we can get started. I also talked about making arrangements for home care when he comes home. I want him to feel like he k
The ST finally put Larry back on regular food today. We've been giving him regular food for some time now, but she finally made it official. No more creamed spinach! Yahoo! Maybe now he will eat more. He's lost 30 pounds since 4/22, and although he certainly had them to spare (look who's talking - ahem!), that's a bit too fast.
He seemed in good spirits today, and he worked hard at all of his therapy sessions. He's definitely getting stronger on his "good" left side. The PT is tryi
Larry's son and his wife let us know today that they're expecting a new baby - this will be grandchild #3 for Larry, and for me as well since I consider them my kids too. Eric came to the SNF today to visit and told us the news, and I could see that Larry was really excited. As bad as things are right now, this has helped me to appreciate how lucky we are that Larry is still with us and didn't die on 4/22, even though there have been times that I wished that had happened instead of this. It's
Larry has been in the SNF since 5/13, and from then until now he's been in a bed that's unsafe (the wheels do not lock, so transferring is very dangerous). Today, finally, we got a bed that works. Actually, the first bed the gave us this morning did not work - only the foot would raise, not the head - by by afternoon they found a bed that seems to work, and I guess I can cross that off my worry list. Stephen Hawking should do a study on nursing home time, becuase it is definitely a whole diff
Larry was able to stand in the parallel bars twice today - with lots of help and for about a minute each time, but I was SO excited that he could do that!!!
The therapist put his right arm (the "dead" one into a sling, because otherwise it will just hang there and can cause subluxation of the shoulder muscle (don't I sound like I know what I'm talking about when I say that?! I don't actually quite know what that means, but I'm learning). They got him up out of the chair and between the b
All my life I've had problems with being assertive; it's very hard for me to express to someone when I'm not happy about something, and I'm one of those people who tends to let things build up without saying anything, until I can't take it any more and then there's an explosion. This is not my best trait, and I've worked hard to get better about learning how to have a confrontation without it being fatal. Something else that Larry's stroke has taught me is that I have to learn how to handle si
Yesterday and today have been pretty good days for Larry, and therefore for me as well.
I was able to spend about an hour with his OT yesterday, who was kind enough to give me some hands-on instruction on how to do the therapy on Larry's "dead" right side. It's interesting how different it is to watch vs. to do. I thought I could copy what the therapist was doing, but when I actually tried it I was doing it all wrong. He was very patient and walked me through it step by step. I felt like
One thing good that has come out of Larry's stroke is that I have a whole new appreciation for what it means to be in good health, something I have always taken for granted before. At age 50, I've piled on some extra pounds - lots of them, actually - I take medication for high blood pressure, and my last checkup showed that I was borderline diabetic. I work in a high-stress profession (who doesn't?), and I tend to sit at a desk for long periods without getting up, moving around, or doing anyth
There HAS to be a way to get Larry out of the SNF and home. I spent the whole day there today, and it is beyond horrible. The smell...the sounds...the staff that is totally institutionalized and does not care...the over-medication...the list just doesn't end. Despite my resolution yesterday not to be a victim of the stroke anymore, I sure feel like a victim today. How do you fight this? The system is so huge, and they seem to have all the power.
I'm going to make out a budget and see
I am really getting tired of listening to myself whine. Everyone here has been very kind and gentle, but there are people here who have been through so much more than I have, and they are getting on with life, and I'm starting to feel embarrassed by how needy this has given me an excuse to be. I've been leaning on my friends, my family, the people on this site, and anyone else who will spare me 5 minutes (or 30).
I visited Larry in the SNF early this morning, and again tonight, and I got
