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October 31, 2007
I HATE TAILGATERS!
If there's one thing that annoys me on the road more than anything, it's tailgaters. I had this guy in a green Honda Element tailing me on the way home from work today and he was a REAL JERK!! He was tailing me some as I was driving on I-275 toward M-14. I let it go. I saw him tailing other people as we both headed down M-14 West and I was annoyed for those people. But I let it go.
Then, somehow, through the traffic, I got ahead of him. And through his weaving and bobbing through cars, he got right behind me again and tailed me some more. I let it go for a while, but I started getting really tired of him being so close on my ass that I sometimes lost sight of his lights.
Now, the traffic was moving at a very good pace. I noticed people these days are driving 80 or more. Normally, I wouldn't go that fast, but in order not to feel like I'm gonna get slammed from behind, I figure it's a good idea to keep with the majority of the flow. So we're traveling about 80 at this point and the guy is STILL on my ass. And this while there's 4 other cars in front of me. There's really nowhere I can go--there's people in the right lane, and the people in front of me aren't going to go any faster (which was fine by me). So I didn't see ANY reason for this guy to be tailing me so much. Guess he was just so antsy, he couldn't stand it. But if he wanted to pass me, he should have, but he didn't. Besides, I don't see why I should have to move for a guy who's being such a jerk anyway.
So I tap my brakes a little. He doesn't stop. I tap them again, slightly more. He still doesn't stop. I let up on the accelerator so that I slow down at a gentle pace until I'm only going about 65. He gets even CLOSER. At that point, I figure I'll try to get away. I tried to get into the right lane hoping he'd just pass by in the left lane, but he gets into the right lane at the same time, staying right behind me. WTF?! I tap on my brakes again, this time a little harder. Still there.
Finally, at about 6pm, I get to the part where the highway splits going US-23 south and M-14 West. He stays on M-14, I get on US-23 to head toward the dojo. Thank God he was no longer behind me. GRR! And you know what? I reported that bastard to the cops just after it happened. I told the dispatcher that he wouldn't stop tailing me and she said she'd tell her officers. I sure hope they caught his ass!
Posted by Amy at 11:17 PM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2007
Home at Last! Home at Last!
So she came home last night about 6:30. She had a long 2 1/2 hour trip home which she seemed to weather ok. I left work about 15 minutes early so I could go to the store. I wanted to cook dinner for them since she hasn't had any home-cooked food in 9 weeks. Dad's been mostly eating the hospital food, and tried to cook for him whenever I visited.
Plus, I wanted to buy a ton of flowers so they'd be waiting for her when she got home. I was hoping to get a couple dozen roses, but the Kroger's (which is normally a very good florist) didn't have any except single ones. So I bought some other flowers--purple lillies and some yellow flowers I can't remember the name of. I had to rush to get them in vases before she arrived and even then, she got there just as I was finishing my display (didn't have a chance to throw away the wrappers till after she saw them). She thought they were gorgeous. :-)
She's still very weak in terms of using her muscles. Surgery and nine weeks of laying in bed will atrophy your muscle tissue quite a bit. Especially when you can't eat much because your belly is so distended from fluid buildup like hers was. She had some trouble getting up the two steps to the door from the garage, but Dad and I helped her in. She also has trouble standing up, especially when she uses the toilets in her house because they're a bit lower than a regular toilet. And she still needs help getting out of bed.
But she looks fantastic! Her trach tube's been removed and all that's there now is a regular band-aid. Plus, she ate a good meal for dinner. I cooked boiled chicken with rice, Thai style. Dad was going to get noodles from the restaurant, but I thought it was better for me to cook. I really enjoy cooking for Mom and Dad. Mom promised me that she'd teach me more of her Thai recipes. I joked that if she does that, I can open up my own Thai restaurant (her recipes are SOOOOO good!).
Poor Dad was extremely tired. He hasn't been getting any sleep since staying with her at the hospital the last week because of all the interruptions during the night--having to help Mom to the toilet and nurses coming in and out of the room. They only used the patient sitter twice because Mom preferred to have Dad there. Plus, he wanted to make sure that she was ok sleeping without any oxygen support. So as soon as I left, he closed the garage door behind me and went straight to bed. I hope he slept ok. Mom too.
Don and I are going to visit tonight and cook dinner again for them. I'm also going to visit Saturday and Sunday during the day.
I know she has a long road of recovery ahead of her, but I can't tell you how RELIEVED I am that her hospital ordeal is over with! And thank you again to all my readers who have kept my mom in their hearts and prayers during this grueling time!
Posted by Amy at 02:45 PM | Comments (1)
October 18, 2007
MOM'S HOME!!!
Or at least, she will be by about 6:30 today. The doctor discharged her and I got a message from my sister saying they'd left Kalamazoo at about 4pm and that they should be back at their Bloomfield home by 6:30.
I'm going to meet them there after work and I'll have flowers waiting for her when she gets there.
HOOOORRAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Amy at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2007
Almost Home!
I got an email from my sister today saying the doctors took out her trach tube yesterday (Tues). That means she's been doing well not having to breathe with the assistance of the ventilator. They'll need to ween her off the oxygen for a few days. They'll see how she does breathing oxygen through a nasal tube for a couple days, then see how she does without it. If all goes well, she could be home by the end of this week, maybe Saturday.
Dad will take her home to my sister's house temporarily. She'll have lots of help there, but we'll have to make sure the kids don't make too much noise and that they keep their toys completely off the floor so she doesn't trip on anything (though she'll likely still have the walker).
Not sure if she'll have any other in-home help, such as a physical therapist. But we'll all help her as best we can. It'll be really good to see her this weekend at home, instead of in the hospital!! I may go there Friday evening after work.
ADDENDUM: Just talked to Dad on the phone. He says they've even taken her off the oxygen and she's breathing completely on her own now with no support. He plans (tentatively) to take her home in a couple days to their home in Bloomfield. He says Mom is really homesick. She could be home by FRIDAY maybe!! So they're just waiting for the doctor's ok to take her home (he has to get the ok from many people such as the respiratory therapist, physical therapist, nurse, etc.). She won't need an in-home physical therapist because he's just going to take her to Beaumont Hospital 3 times a week for outpatient PT.
OH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER AT HOME!!!!
Posted by Amy at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2007
Close to Going Home
So I visited Mom this weekend at the rehabilitation facility. I guess it's still part of Bronson Hospital. Nothing seemed really different about the room--it was still a hospital room, just not in the ICU.
Mom's looking very good. A lot more like her normal self. She still has the trach tube, and that's it. They're talking about taking out the trach this week. All she really need to do is be weened off the oxygen. They took her off the ventilator (she was on it during the night) and they'll see how she does today. (She seemed fine yesterday.) Then, they'll take out the trach tube and give her oxygen through the nasal tube, then see how she does. If she does ok, they'll take her off the oxygen altogether and then go home.
Poor Dad, though. He's been staying with her every night for the last week. He has to get up to help her use the commode to make sure she doesn't fall. And she gets up every hour on the hour, so Dad (and Mom) aren't getting good sleep. But last night, they got a patient sitter to give Dad a break. I had offered the other night, and he was going to take me up on it, but there was confusion with her medication schedule which he wanted to make sure didn't get screwed up again. But I told him that since the hospital offers the patient sitter as one of their (free) services, he should take them up on it and he can get some rest at least till they get home.
She's been talking great, pretty much like normal. Her throat secretions have been decreasing steadily and there's no sign of infection. She's taken some walks as well. Though she has to remember to take it easy and slow. The other day, she did a whole round around the corridor and though asymptomatic, her heart rate increased to about 150. Took a few minutes to calm down, but she said she wasn't winded or dizzy, so that's good. Yesterday, we just went to the elevators and back--just one stretch of hallway, so as not to alarm the nurses.
She's also been getting up and back into bed pretty well. Though the fact that she's very anxious to go home sometimes means she'll take the risk of getting up when there's no help around which scares us because we don't want her to fall. She still needs her walker or something to stabilize her as she stands and that's not necessarily something she can reach right away when she gets out of bed. The "General" came out and had to scold her about that this weekend.
I'm not sure if, when she goes home, whether she'll be at my sister's house or at her home in Bloomfield. I think that depends on Dad's opinion. She may have an in-home physical therapist (not sure what the plan is for that). Though, if she goes to Ippie's house, she'd have a lot of help, but the kids can be noisy and often forget to put their toys away, so I'm afraid of her tripping over something. But if she goes to her own house, it's just Dad and occasionally me after work to help her out. That is, unless we hire someone like a personal care assistant until she gets strong enough not to have one. But that's a later discussion with Dad.
I'm really hoping that when I go to visit her this weekend, it won't be in the hospital, but either at Ippie's house or her house in Bloomfield.
Posted by Amy at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2007
GREAT NEWS!!
GREAT NEWS, EVERYONE!!! Mom's FINALLY out of the hospital! She's not home yet; she's now in a physical rehabilitation facility across the street from the hospital. I called Dad yesterday and they took her there about 3pm yesterday afternoon. This is a HUUUUUUGE positive step!
Dad said he'd stay the first night with her so she wouldn't be too lonely. I understand from Ippie that she still has the trach and will continue to ween off of it. I guess when she doesn't need it anymore, they take the tube out and it closes up naturally. And she'll continue to gain strength through physical therapy at this place. I'm going to see her this weekend and we can all start to relax our mind a bit.
I don't know how long it'll be before she's finally home. I suppose that's up to her and depends on how hard she works. In my experience with her, she can be a little stubborn to work (though out of depression). But if the physical therapists can get her to work hard, it probably won't be too long.
I AM SOOOOOOOOOO RELIEVED!!!! And I can't wait till this weekend to see how good I'm sure she looks. :)
YAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!
Posted by Amy at 09:25 AM | Comments (1)
October 08, 2007
Perked Up!
So two of Mom's friends came to visit her Sunday. They'd asked Dad a couple days ago if Mom was well enough to have visitors and at the time, she was. But she had problems expelling the carbon dioxide and her blood pressure fell the other night. So when they got here, she was very sleepy and had a hard time keeping her eyes open. I felt bad for her friends who couldn't see her in the fabulous condition she's been in lately.
However, after they left, the nurse came in and gave her some IV fluids. Her state of dehydration is what caused her blood pressure to drop, so once her fluids increased, she perked right up. We had her sitting in the chair and even took her for a walk. I was very pleased to see her in much better condition than that morning/early afternoon. She was much more alert and able to stay awake. And, in fact, she didn't need to be on the vent after that.
I'm kind of doubting she'll get out in a few days, but if she keeps doing well; if we can keep her blood pressure up and get her to eat more, I don't think it'll be much longer that she'll have to stay there. I know she's aching to get home and I'm aching to get her home. If it's not a few days, I don't think it'll be more than a week, but that's just my own non-medical guess.
Posted by Amy at 09:16 AM | Comments (1)
October 07, 2007
Oct. 7 Report
So we seem to have hit a bit of a snag. Last night, they had to put her back on the ventilator since she was building up too much carbon dioxide in her system. Apparently, because they decreased her liquid nutrition in hopes her appetite would be better today, her blood pressure dropped during the night. Dad thinks it did a little bit of damage to her kidneys and brain, so today, she's very lethargic and wants to sleep a lot. She's off the vent and back on the trach mask. This morning, her breathing was very shallow and we'd have to prod her to keep her awake so she'd breathe more deeply. We sat her up for a while and her blood pressure got better. We've also been trying to get her to drink more Ensure to increase the liquid volume in her body. That seems to have helped as her blood pressure is up more now. Her rate of breathing is decreased, but her breaths are deeper which is good.
We'd like her to go for a walk today and she's supposed to have a few friends visit, but we'll have to see how awake she can stay or we won't be able to walk her. Maybe now's a good time for a nap while she's sleeping.
Posted by Amy at 01:25 PM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2007
Half-Step Back
Well, I guess Mom's progress was so good, we had to have a half-step backward sometime. Today, she's still doing well, but she's had a bit of CO2 buildup in her brain. Dad noticed it because she wasn't expressing herself like she usually does. She seemed groggy and wasn't fussing much about anything. Plus, I noticed that when she gets like that and tries to write something, I can see confusion on her face and she can't spell out the words properly--she'll try to write a word and repeat letters over, then try to write the word over and still repeat letters. She was asking for her clothes in the closet and she wrote the word clothes as "clothe cllloththe s" or something like that.
But they've got her back on the ventilator again. I would have liked her not to be on it, but, of course, it's necessary again. She's been off it for 2 days now, which is probably why she needed it again. Her breathing isn't as deep sometimes as it should be. So she gets oxygen ok, she just can't always expel the carbon dioxide like she should. But the doctors are still talking about possibly sending her home next week. She's been up walking around which is much easier since there are no drain tubes, no IVs and they took the catheter and stool bag out. So she's been using the commode quite well.
They're reducing her nutrition intake through the feeding tube tonight in hopes that she'll have an increased appetite tomorrow, especially seeing as her activity has increased somewhat significantly in the last few days. Today, she took 5 walks, 4 of which were to the nurse's station down the hall. She's not shaky at all, but occasionally has to sit down to catch her breath. She ate some eggs, apple juice and some Ensure, though I'd like to see her eat more tomorrow. We'll see how her appetite is then and she should be more fresh and alert since she'll be spending the night on the ventilator.
Posted by Amy at 08:35 PM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2007
And Coming... And Coming!
Well, she's looking even better today. Doctors say she's doing extremely well. She took three walks today down the hallway to the next nurse's station and she's been off the vent for a while now. When I got here, the machine wasn't even in the room anymore! She's just on the trach mask and the feeding tube. No IVs anymore, just oral meds by pill. I can tell she's stronger too just by her handwriting. When she was weak, it was shaky and messy. Now, it looks nearly back to her old handwriting.
In fact, the doctor tells us that if she continues to do so well; if she can keep breathing on her own and eat on her own (right now, she's getting a little bit of soft/pureed food and feeding tube only at night), then she might be able to skip going to rehab. If this happens, she might be able to go home as early as next week. We'll order her an in-home physical therapist. But how soon she gets out is entirely up to her. She has to continue to do her physical therapy and get stronger. And I hear she sometimes gets stubborn and doesn't want to do it, but hopefully, General Amy can get her to do it. Today, she looks great and I am ABSOLUTELY THRILLED!!!
Posted by Amy at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2007
The Good News Keeps on Coming!!
Just a quick update today... have to run to a meeting really soon.
Saw Mom last night for a few hours (and to relieve Dad from watch duty for a little bit). They've taken out all her IVs now (though she still has the PICC line in her arm, but nothing attached), they removed her last chest tube and the rest of the drainage tubes in her belly. So the only things she's hooked up to is the trach, feeding tube, catheter and stool bag.
She seemed even stronger today. She stood up for me a few times and I didn't have to help her as much, plus she wasn't as shaky as the last time. She did keep wanting to go to the bathroom on her own and even tried pushing me away. I kept having to remind her that she didn't have to use the toilet.
Her medication is being fed to her through her feeding tube--they crush the pills and put it in liquid and shoot it through the tube. They've also got her on 90 cc's of the "steak in a bag," but it's only at night so that during the day, she maybe has more room in her stomach and more incentive to eat on her own. I saw a cup of yogurt and a half-drunk bottle of Ensure on her table. So still just soft stuff, but she'll graduate to solids once she's off the tube.
Her alertness is very good. Something about her disposition is a bit more like the mom I know, rather than the dulled and listless patient we've seen the last several weeks. Plus she has more of a normal look and expression in her face rather than the sallow, peaked look I've seen.
She's doing just great... better and better every time I see her. Her mental state still needs a bit of work, but it's not as bad as I've seen. Keep sending those cards and letters. I know she appreciates them!
ADDENDUM: Some of you may have heard Mom will have to go to physical rehabilitation after she gets out of the ICU. It's true. She'll need a lot of help from physical therapists. The doctors say for every day she spends in the hospital, it equals up to a week to regain her strength. It'll be a very long time till she's back to normal strength.
ADDENDUM 2: I forgot to mention also that she's able to talk if she has a cap over her trach tube. She doesn't talk much (probably not used to it after being speechless for a couple weeks), but it's REALLY nice to hear her voice again!! Plus, according to my sister, she took a WALK in the hall today!! Albeit short, but that's a big step in her improvement and recovery!!!
Posted by Amy at 09:11 AM | Comments (2)