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Ready for the P.E.G tube.

Bethanni

Entry posted by Bethanni

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Mom received a good bill of health today from her doctor. All the infections are cleared up and now we can get the N.G tube removed and the P.E.G tube inserted. The N.G tube has started to cause issues with her nose, so I can't wait to get rid of it. Makes me nerves having to feed her through the N.G. Every time she coughs I'm worried it's going down her throat or coming back up. Witch I know isn't possible with her being at a 90 degree angle when I feed her.

 

Mom is doing well as far as I'm concerned. Her Pt and Ot say she is not progressing to their standards and have put her case on hold. I say "to hell with their standards." Who are they to set standards on this type of thing anyways. I see progress in her everyday and will continue to do therapy and work hard with her. I know everything I need to do anyways. I don't need PT or OT in the house when I can do it with out them. I just think it is crap, cause they barely did anything with her anyways. Too quick to give up if you ask me.

 

She at least has a good ST. This woman is here twice a week for an hour and refuses to give up. Once we have the N.G tube out the ST hopes to have mom swallowing in the next month. She is already eating pudding once a day. Hopefully we will be adding more by mouth once the tube is out. I can't imagine what it must be like for her not to be able to have things by mouth. I can't imagine not having my cup of coffee in the mornings or not being able to eat ice cream or enjoy my strawberry smoothies.

 

Getting this tube out of her nose should start a chain reaction that will hopefully come with great progress. Please pray that the procedure goes good and mom is back home with her new P.E.G tube to enjoy the homemade mash-potatoes I plan to make for her that night.

 

 

Before I go this evening, I have a question about the site and I'm not sure where to post it. If who ever reads this can answer it for me then cool. If not, don't worry about it, I will figure it out eventually.

My question is:: Is there some where on the site we can go when we have questions? Weather it be about the site, or about caregiving.

 

Thank you for reading my blog. Will update you as soon as we have mom home with her new P.E.G tube.

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swilkinson

Beth, if your question is about a medical matter click on Homepage and there is a button for: "Ask an expert" that will get you an answer.

 

Questions on the site could be a PM to one of the moderators, not me as I am not an expert on anything much at all....lol.

 

Caregivers is a place to post a question that another caregiver might reasonably know the answer to, again as I live in Australia I don't know answers about your medical or social services issues.

 

But ask me a question about something like caregiver burnout, long term care problems etc and I will do my best to give you an answer from my own experience.

 

Sue.

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Ethyl17

Beth: congratulations on the good news. An NG is a terrible thing to manage: take this from a Nurse. At least with the PEG you know its in the right spot. Please, honey, don't set her up to eat after the PEG insertion. She has to undergo a full swallow evaluation and that will take time unless her Doctor is already OK with some things by mouth. As far as PT and OT, don't you do it. If it is covered by her insurance you call the supervisor in charge of her case with the home care agency-should be a nurse-and tell her you are unhappy with the PT/OT decisions and want another team. If another team is not available you want a referral to another home health care agency. As you know, documentation to the Insurance company is of the utmost importance. If it is not worded correctly the insurance company will cut Mom off. If her home health agency is not professional enough or caring enough to do the work, you want an agency that will. Quick example: Bruce's insurance paid for 60 therapy sessions. Didn't matter which they were; PT, OT or Speech. Speech was a bust. Therapist taught pre-schoolers and Bruce is a Master's in English. Not a good mix. Let her go and paid privately for Speech. He needed a pro anyway with his education, but gave the agency a shot. OT spent six sessions with him. Took me aside, explained that the arm was out of the socket and until it got back up, she could do nothing at home. He needed extensive Outpatient OT on the arm with Estims, machines, etc. The shoulder was out 3 cm and post stroke you will get back 1/2 cm per month on average. I was smart enough to be able to do the math and as she explained, with her bowing out, PT got more sessions and at that point Bruce was walking with a long leg brace, so that is where the focus was placed. These are the kinds of people you want on your team and they are out there. Do not settle. Mom paid for that Insurance and she deserves the benefits. Best, Debbie

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