Hello,
The roller coaster we are on is picking up speed and increasing in intensity! Remember when I said that if you don't get an update that things are probably intense? Well, if you are into roller coaster rides, get your belts fastened and shoulder bars secured because the tight curves and upside down cork screw part of the roller coaster is coming up!
When I left the blog last, I believe I was telling you that our friend Mel was flying in from Phoenix on Wednesday morning. Well, since Don was not feeling well on Tuesday, he did not want to get washed up and get his hair done so we got up bright and early Wednesday morning so I could get him all washed up, bed changed, hair done and shaving job done so when Mel arrived he would feel as good as possible. Of course, Don did not know that Mel was coming and I wanted to keep that a big secret and surprise to cheer him up. I was able to get all of his personal care done and easily get out the door to pick Mel up shortly after 9AM. I told Don I had to run a couple of errands and that I would be back in a very short while. Just as I was finishing getting Don cleaned up and dressed his parents called. He only said a couple of words to them and attempted to tell them how badly he felt and how depressed he was and he started to cry and could not finish his conversation. As soon as he heard his Mom's voice he lost it completely and handed me the phone asking me to tell them he couldn't talk. He just sobbed and of course, I started crying too and explained that his emotions were just all over the place. I explained that it was probably due to the drug withdrawal and that he was just struggling right now. They quickly got off the phone and said they would talk with him later in the evening. I felt so bad that they had to end the call that way. I know they are suffering just knowing that Don is so far away and that he is hurting so badly. They told me that they don't sleep nights and that they shed a lot of tears just knowing Don is in such turmoil. Please pray for Junior and Dorothy Schirr as they too have a big burden to bear.
When Mel and I got back here I had Mel wait in the hallway until I was sure Don wasn't in the middle of something. Well, he was sitting up on the side of the bed which faces the door which was good and he was just finishing up a call. He was looking very depressed and down so I asked him if he would like a good surprise. He said he would so I told him I had one I would like to give him. So I stepped out in the hallway and got Mel my by the hand and brought her to him. He immediately burst into tears of joy and grabbed her and hugged her very tightly and for a long period of time and said, "Mel, it is so good to see you! I am so glad you came!" He just kept saying that and sobbing at length. It really made Mel's day and she realized how much we really needed her. Don could not believe that she would come and stay to help for a length of time but he was so glad that she would.
Just before lunch we got Don up in the wheelchair and got his new hoodie sweatshirt and sweat pants on and tried to go outside. It was only like 56 degrees and there was a strong cold north wind. Don could only stand it for a few minutes so we just sat in the nice sitting area in the Main Lobby for most of his wheelchair time. His emotions were so fragile and he would cry so easily about everything. While we were sitting in the Main Lobby Mel said she wanted to step in the gift shop and she came out with the cutest Ty black and white fuzzy puppy named "Bo" for Donnie and a beautiful bouquet of the most beautiful color of purple orchids and a praying angel for me. When Mel gave Donnie the puppy he just broke out crying and thanked Mel for the kind gesture. Don got a phone call from his daughter and they talked for at least 15 minutes while we were still in the Lobby. All of a sudden at the end of their conversation he got all teary and crying and handed me the phone to end the conversation for him. I was talking with Mel so I had no idea what they were talking about. I just apologized to Mindy for Don and explained that he just could not control his emotions and that he was probably experiencing withdrawal. Don immediately wanted to go back to the room and get put back in bed. So we hurried up and got him up there and back in bed without the help of the Physical Therapist. He just wanted to take a rest so I tucked him in and then Mel and I had to get a couple of errands done for Don and then I just dropped Mel back off here while I went to get a short nap and take a shower to get back here for the night. Don called me just as I was about to come back and explained that during the 3 hours I was gone that he had 4 very loose episodes which Mel had to get the nurses to help with 2 of the 4 episodes. I felt so bad for Mel that this happened especially since she just got here. Oh well, that's reality I guess. Also, the time came to remover the catheter which is a little stressful even under the best conditions. Mel also convinced Don to call his parent's back during the time I was at the hotel so they wouldn't worry about him and he did pretty good talking with them this time.
When I got back to the hospital Mel and Don were playing Phase 10 and Don seemed pretty content and normal. Well it wasn't very long before Don started taking a turn for the worse, as they say. He was very uncomfortable bladder wise and was stressing about not being to eliminate much. He would get super cold and i would put several blankets around him and hug and hold him while he would chatter his teeth and moan. Then within a minute or two he would throw everything off and be too hot. Then he would want to lie down on the bed. We would help and cover him up again and within a minute or two he would want to sit up on the side of the bed and he would try to urinate. This went on for 2 1/2 hours. We called the nurse and asked for his oral morphine because we were sure it was withdrawal. Well she had just got on duty and checked the records and Don had not taken any of his dosages for over 12 hours. She knew it was withdrawal then. She was alarmed at his drastic, aparent change and asked if he had any new pains or chest pains. He said no so she checked his breathing and listened to his heart. Well, Don was increasingly agitated and literally almost climbing out of his skin by all these weird gyrations and shivering, stomping his feet very rapidly, shaking his legs, etc. It was scary to watch and Mel and I were totally beside ourselves trying to help him. Mel just kept shaking her head in disbelief of what she was witnessing. The nurse got his nausea medicine ( which kinda calms him down) and his 20 mg. dose of morphone down . I of course got several oils on him that were relevant and tried to calm him down. He was so miserable. I told him to just cry out to God outloud. He did cry out and asked God to help him and that he was desparate for God to deliver him from this situation. Within 30 seconds he started to show signs of calming down. I was gently rubbing his lower legs and feet which he asked me to do and finally after about 40 minutes he started to drift off to sleep. I snuck out with Mel to get her to the hotel but it was already way past 10PM. I got Mel back to the hotel safely and flew back to the hospital. When I got back he was awake and said he finally was feeling a little better. He talked with the nurse and they agreed that every 3 hours he would get 20 mg. of morphine to keep from crashing by going off of it too quickly. About 30 minutes after I got back Don asked if I would play cards with him to help pass the time. I was shocked but I agreed to and so we played until about 1AM. We went to bed and Don only had to get me up one time during the night.
November 3, 2011
This morning we got up with the coffee run about 7AM. Neither one of us was moving very fast and so after the coffee we both decided to take a second nap. That felt pretty good! Around 9AM we hadn't heard from Mel yet so I called the hotel and Mel was still sleeping. She couldn't believe it. Well, she had had a very short night and a long day with packing at the last moment and having to get up so terribly early to get to the airport. Then to have all the stressful things happen here in the hospital while she was here, she was pooped! I went to get some more shopping done and picked up Mel about 11AM. I took Mel to Denny's since she hadn't gotten to eat yet then we went up to the hospital. Don was sitting up in a regular chair but he was already needing to get transfered back to the bed so we helped him with that.
The Pain Managment Team came back again and gave Don some words of encouragement and confirmed that he needs to take the morphine some to keep from crashing! Donnie agreed as he felt like he was in hell yesterday.
Later today Dr. Kim came in and confirmed that Dr. Silverberg is the doctor that wants Donnie off his feet. He also said that soon we would be moved to another facility soon as soon as the issue with Don's special bed.
Later in the afternoon the case manager nurse came in and told us that we were only approved to be in this hospital until the 4th which is tomorrow!!! Also, she mentioned that the Kindred Hospital did not have a bed for Don and that we would have to find another facility for him. She said that TLC Care Center could take him and that it would probably be tomorrow that he moves. If she couldn't get it arranged tomorrow it would probably be Monday. Well since it was almost 5PM Mel and I decided we better go check this place out before we actually have to go there. We jumped in the van and got the GPS loaded with the address. The facility is in Henderson and is 10.5 miles away from here. It is very nice but it is nothing like Sunrise Hospital. The visiting hours are from 10AM to 8PM so there will be no way I can be with him during the difficult, long nights!! This is going to be a major adjustment for him in many ways so please pray that he is able to get moving on his rehabilitation quickly. Of course, we still have 12 more days of no weight bearing and we hope we get the green light after that so we can get Don on his feet and back to Mesa. I have decided to just stay at the hotel where I am and travel back and forth because of the good deal I am getting for one and because I have so much stuff between Don's personal effects from the truck wreck and my Winter stuff that my sister gathered up from Tulsa and Kentucky and it is way too much work to move that many more times.
Well, if that isn't enough twists and turns for you in one day then you need to go to Six Flags or Disney World to get some more thrills. We have to get to bed earlier tonight so we can get up earlier in the morning to get everything packed up here to make the major move across the valley to another town. God will be with us and with your prayers we will make it, one day at a time.
Thanks for your prayers!,
Don and Carol Schirr (Mel too)
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