Mom's wound is healing nicely, though it is still there, and it's still painful. They are looking for a rehab facility that can give my mom the care she needs (IV, changing the bandages, etc.) and also give her the physical therapy that she needs. There are a handful of facilities that offer that service, but an available bed is few and far between.
Unfortunately, my mom is suffering from cabin fever which she got the last time she was in the hospital so long) and sometimes she is incoherent. That will pass once her surroundings are changed.
My Dad is doing well. I visited him last week, and he smiled when he saw me, and did not in any way seem distressed or upset. He is adapting very nicely, which is a weight off my shoulders. I'll visit him again on Tuesday.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Update October 18, 2009
Mom's healtlh has not changed significantly. The doctors are saying her wound is healing, slowly, but healing. They are having trouble finding the right anti-biotic. Her hip is healing, but they are now saying they might need to do another surgery sometime in the future.
We admitted my Dad into the assissted living facility last Wednesday. I visited him today, and he seemed comfortable, and calm. Bev made her prune cake, and I brought some for my Dad. He smiled from ear to ear and cleaned off the plate.....it's one of his favorite cakes. He didnt' know who I was, but did recognize me as someone he knew. Its heartbreaking.
Steve~~~
We admitted my Dad into the assissted living facility last Wednesday. I visited him today, and he seemed comfortable, and calm. Bev made her prune cake, and I brought some for my Dad. He smiled from ear to ear and cleaned off the plate.....it's one of his favorite cakes. He didnt' know who I was, but did recognize me as someone he knew. Its heartbreaking.
Steve~~~
Saturday, October 10, 2009
I haven't updated this blog in a few days. I'm sorry for that, it just slipped my mind. Mom is doing well in the hospital. She is still there because of the bed sore she has on her back. They are treating it the same way they would a burn, and debriding it every few days. This allows the wound to heal becuase the dead, infected skin is being removed. Her hip is healing fine, and if that was the only ailment, she would be in rehab today.
My Dad's condition is worsening every day. This is a fast acting dimentia, and it's horrible to watch him disappear before my eyes. We have found a place that can provide him with the care that he really needs. There is alot of paperwork that needs to be done.
So overall, not much has changed.
Steve~~~
My Dad's condition is worsening every day. This is a fast acting dimentia, and it's horrible to watch him disappear before my eyes. We have found a place that can provide him with the care that he really needs. There is alot of paperwork that needs to be done.
So overall, not much has changed.
Steve~~~
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Update 10/04/2009
Mom looked goood today, though she had a panic attack when they came to clean and re-dress her bed sore. He BP, heart rate, oxygen levels, temperature are all good. The pain in her hip is subsiding and pretty soon, depending on her bed sore, she will be transferred to rehab again. However, the earliest they can do that would be late next week...I spoke to the surgeon and he said they wanted to go in and debride the wound again some time next week.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Update 10/01/2009
Mom looked much better today, she was awake, and talking. She even ate some tomato soup for lunch.
I spoke with one of the doctors there who said they did NOT remove the hardware in the hip, they only made minor modifications.
The would in her back responded very well after the surgery yesterday. The doc said they would probably release her to a medical rehab facility where they will continue to administer IV antibiotics and other meds.
The doc said the would is so deep you could put your fingers into it. He said this type of wound could take months to heal.
I spoke with one of the doctors there who said they did NOT remove the hardware in the hip, they only made minor modifications.
The would in her back responded very well after the surgery yesterday. The doc said they would probably release her to a medical rehab facility where they will continue to administer IV antibiotics and other meds.
The doc said the would is so deep you could put your fingers into it. He said this type of wound could take months to heal.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Update 9/30/2009
My mom looks good, though she is exhausted, and was sleeping most of the time while we were visiting.
There are now teams of doctors caring for her various problems. I spoke with the wound care specialist today, and they were happy with the progress she is making. They were going to do another examination when the other teams are there because they will have to turn her to see her back. That hurts so much, they only want to do it once.
There are now teams of doctors caring for her various problems. I spoke with the wound care specialist today, and they were happy with the progress she is making. They were going to do another examination when the other teams are there because they will have to turn her to see her back. That hurts so much, they only want to do it once.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Update 9/29/2009
Mom went into surgery on schedule at 3:30pm. She was in surgery for about 3 hours and I got to see her just after she came out of recovery. She looks good, tired, but good.
The surgeon removed the hardware from her hip to help in the fight against any infection. They also debrided the dead skin around her bed sore.
The surgeon removed the hardware from her hip to help in the fight against any infection. They also debrided the dead skin around her bed sore.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Update 9/28/2009
My mom's bedsore has gotten worse and is now down to the bone in her back. They are still not sure what the cause of her infection is, but believe (to be confirmed after surgery) its coming from the bedsore.
Tomorrow, 9/29/2009, at 3:30 in the afternoon they will peform surgery on her hip to see what is going on with the hardware they put in. They may remove it, and leave it out, remove it, and replace it, or do a half or wholle hip replacement.
At the same time, a different medical team willl be doing surgery on her bedsore to clear away the dead tissue in the sore. They will then take a sample of her bone to see if there is an infection in her bones, too.
She is in critical condition, and remains in the medical intensive care recovery (MICR) ward at Stonybrook.
My mom's bedsore has gotten worse and is now down to the bone in her back. They are still not sure what the cause of her infection is, but believe (to be confirmed after surgery) its coming from the bedsore.
Tomorrow, 9/29/2009, at 3:30 in the afternoon they will peform surgery on her hip to see what is going on with the hardware they put in. They may remove it, and leave it out, remove it, and replace it, or do a half or wholle hip replacement.
At the same time, a different medical team willl be doing surgery on her bedsore to clear away the dead tissue in the sore. They will then take a sample of her bone to see if there is an infection in her bones, too.
She is in critical condition, and remains in the medical intensive care recovery (MICR) ward at Stonybrook.
Barbara's Health Update
I can’t remember all the dates, but a few weeks ago, my Mom fell in my brother's kitchen and broke her hip. The ambulance took her to the closest hospital, Brookhaven. I can't stand that hospital, and sure enough they mishandled my Mom's case for a week...resulting in some bedsores, and not doing a damn thing for her hip. We finally had her transferred to Stony Brook. Stony Brook admitted her on a Thursday, and did exploratory testing to see how her heart was, and confirmed it was sound and functioning within her baseline standards. They did the hip surgery and released her into the rehab center on Tuesday. Her bedsores were well on their way to healing. We expected her to be out within two, maybe three weeks.
Not so much. The bed sores started to get worse, though the rehab staff did not tell us that...they kept telling us they were getting better. She was in constant pain, so they pumped her full of oxycontin. That made her very dopey, and she was cancelling her physical therapy sessions and simply laying in bed. The thing is, I trusted the rehab people because they had done so well when mom was in the same facility this past March.
When I visited her at rehab last week, she was completely unresponsive, and looked white as a sheet. Not one nurse or aid had been in to check her or they would have seen she had an infection and a fever. I got the charge nurse to check her out, and she had a fever of 102. Now they decide that she should be transferred back to the hospital. In hind site, that should have happened a week ago, but I trusted that they knew what they were doing.
Her first day in the hospital, her blood pressure plummeted down to 60 over 30, and sometimes even lower. The hospital was able to deal with that and bring her pressure back up. If she had stayed at the rehab center, and I hadn't gone to see her that day, there is a chance that she may have died at the rehab center. They have pumped her full of antibiotics, and meds to bring her fever down, and bring up her pressure. Ready for this? When they went to clean up my Mom's sores, they found that she was covered in dried fecal matter that the rehab staff never cleaned.
Stony Brook is looking to stabilize her so they can go in and do another hip operation. Her bones are very weak, so the screw they put in her hip in the first surgery is migrating, and will eventually split the femur.....hence the pain that everyone said should have healed. They had her scheduled (eventually) for a "half-hip" replacement where they will replace the top of her femur with a steel ball to fit into her existing hip socket. This should fix the hardware problem and put her back on the right track to recovery. That is of course after they have identified the source of the infection.
Not so much. The bed sores started to get worse, though the rehab staff did not tell us that...they kept telling us they were getting better. She was in constant pain, so they pumped her full of oxycontin. That made her very dopey, and she was cancelling her physical therapy sessions and simply laying in bed. The thing is, I trusted the rehab people because they had done so well when mom was in the same facility this past March.
When I visited her at rehab last week, she was completely unresponsive, and looked white as a sheet. Not one nurse or aid had been in to check her or they would have seen she had an infection and a fever. I got the charge nurse to check her out, and she had a fever of 102. Now they decide that she should be transferred back to the hospital. In hind site, that should have happened a week ago, but I trusted that they knew what they were doing.
Her first day in the hospital, her blood pressure plummeted down to 60 over 30, and sometimes even lower. The hospital was able to deal with that and bring her pressure back up. If she had stayed at the rehab center, and I hadn't gone to see her that day, there is a chance that she may have died at the rehab center. They have pumped her full of antibiotics, and meds to bring her fever down, and bring up her pressure. Ready for this? When they went to clean up my Mom's sores, they found that she was covered in dried fecal matter that the rehab staff never cleaned.
Stony Brook is looking to stabilize her so they can go in and do another hip operation. Her bones are very weak, so the screw they put in her hip in the first surgery is migrating, and will eventually split the femur.....hence the pain that everyone said should have healed. They had her scheduled (eventually) for a "half-hip" replacement where they will replace the top of her femur with a steel ball to fit into her existing hip socket. This should fix the hardware problem and put her back on the right track to recovery. That is of course after they have identified the source of the infection.
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