Hello Again,
What an action-packed, roller coaster day!
Last night was kind of long for Mom and I. We had to help Don with bathroom duties as we talked about on yesterday's update. I ended being here at the hospital until 1AM working on the update for you all and getting thank you cards sent out through the Internet. I got to bed at the hotel about 1:20AM and set the wake up call for 6AM so I could get Mom to the airport. Well, Sugar Bear called me at 5:20AM with a bright and cheery voice telling me I had to get up. I begged for another 30 minutes of sleep so he called me back in 30 minutes. I don't do real good with only 4 hours or so of sleep but today I just had to do it. I got up at 6AM and got the coffee going and got in the shower. Just before I got in the shower Don called me again to be sure I didn't fall back asleep. He knows me pretty well, doesn't he?
I hurried up and just left without eating anything and got up to the room by 7:10AM. Donnie still felt nauseated a little and not quite up to par. He had somewhat of a restless night and he still refused all of his pain medication. The nurse from last night was Alicia and she is a super sweet, awesome nurse. This is the first time we have had her and she loves oils and wanted to know more about NingXia Red so I had to bring her information about NingXia Red before she left at 7:30AM. I have Christmas Spirit going in our diffuser and everyone just loves how it smells and they always ask about it. I just got the new TheraPro Diffuser this week because it is so quiet and has so many more features. It is totally awesome and the nurses all want one now.
I whisked Mom out of here and to the hotel so she could take a very quick shower and get her suitcases to the van and off to the airport. We are only 3 1/2 miles from the airport so it is really easy and quick to get there. We got her to the airport in plenty of time so that was good. We booked her a nonstop flight and so it only took her 4 hours to get to Tampa, Florida. That is so amazing! She texted when she landed so we knew she was safe and sound. It was much easier to let her go this time knowing that Donnie is not in such a bad way and needing so much help at night.
When I returned to the hospital I had to quickly get Don's clothes on so he could get up in the wheelchair again with the Physical Therapist. Just before Physical Therapy came in Dr. Sohn flashed in for about 3 minutes to check out the wound and put on the new bandages. He let me take an updated picture and it looks pretty good. There are just two spots still that are taking more time to heal completely. The staples are still in and we don't know when they can come out. We asked about the possible updating of his activity level but we did not hear anything from the other doctors today at all about it so the orders are still "NO WEIGHT BEARING". We got Don into the wheelchair and off we went outside in the gorgeous weather. I walked him out in the sun across the parking lot and back. Then we sat for about 10 minutes in this really nice area that has a roof over it and nice benches. After that I decided to walk him through the hospital all the way to the Trauma Emergency entrance to show him how far we would have to come to see him if we came in after 8PM and where we used to be for the first 12 days here at Sunrise Hospital. Then I took him up the elevator to the Trauma ICU to show him where he started out. The wound nurse, Marcia was just coming out of the ICU door when we walked up. She was thrilled to see him in a wheelchair and we chatted for couple of minutes. We headed back through all the halls back to the Main Entrance where we got on the elevator to go up to Don's room. He was complaining of having a "Hot Flash" and was feeling quite uncomfortable and nauseated. I quickly got him back to the room and within 5 minutes he wanted me to hit the call button to get the Physical Therapist back in here to get him back to the bed. When he got laid down he said he felt dizzy. Then suddenly he was real chilled and wanted a double blanket on him. This is totally unlike him as he is usually very warm and complains of sweating all the time. He got real still and just did not want to talk or move for at least 2 hours. He was just not himself at all. His abdomen was very tender and his eyes looked like a child's eyes do when they are real sick. He just kept saying that he was having a down day and needed to rest. The Pain Management Team representative came in and we talked about if Don could get some other type of pain medication that isn't morphine. Well that didn't get anywhere. They just lowered the dosage again to 40 mg. instead of 100 mg. per dose. I just want him to have something that doesn't have the side effects of morphine.
Then the substitute for the case worker came in and asked what our plan was because, "Don doesn't really fit the criteria for the hospital anymore." Well, that was music to our ears in one way for sure. We explained the bed situation and the fact that he cannot have weight bearing and she flew out the door to see what she could find out. We waited for about 30 minutes or so and then I decided to go out and look at some of the places we could possibly be sent to for the LTAC (Long Term Acute Care). Our case worker is on vacation this week (of course) and this other lady was taking her place. I got a list of 5 different places from her. She could not legally tell me which places she would pick over another and just said I would have to look them over and make a judgment call. Well on the way out the front door, here sits the lady that came in saying we didn't fit hospital care criteria. I stopped and talked with her at length and asked her recommendation on a place. She at least gave me the different categories that the places were and I headed out the door. When I just got my van started and put in reverse my cell rang and it was Donnie!!!! I couldn't believe it. He said someone was in the room that wanted to talk to me. It was Iris, the substitue for our case worker. She just found out that we were accepted to Kindred Hospital for the LTAC. She said to come back to the room. I came back up and she told us that Blue Cross Blue Shield is holding up our case because they have a back log of patients right now that need approvals and they couldn't look at our case for a couple of days. Well we found out that they are paying $5000.00 per day base rate on this room before the nursing care and drugs, food and everything else are added on! That is a ton, I think. She also told us that Dr. Sohn has orders in for a contiunation of no weight bearing. We will have to verify that with him in the morning. Maybe he feels the wound would come open or something if he stood up. We definitely need clarification on that with him in person.
Well, a little while later I took off again to go to check out Kindred Hospital which is only about 2 1/2 miles from here. Don was feeling terrible and looked sick and did not want any lights or sounds in the room so it was a perfect time for me to go there. It is really nice and kinda reminds me of an updated hospital with a slight nursing home feel. It will work out just fine until we can get him home. I stopped at the mall to pick up a sweat jacket and some tee shirts for Don and then went to the hotel for about 1 1 /2 hours to nap and rest a little. Don called just as I was getting into the hotel room and said he had another serious BM that the nurses had to come help him with. He said, "No wonder I have been feeling sick today."
When I returned about 6PM he looked so sick. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. They checked his temperature and everything was normal so it wasn't that he picked up a bug or anything. My feeling is that he may be experiencing some withdrawal from the pain drugs since he is just skipping them altogether and with the combination of all the laxatives, stool softeners and such he is just getting too much of that and his bowels are totally upset. I had a long talk with the nurses and said for them to cut out the senicot pills and let his bowels get settled down. I told Donnie that he was probably having withdrawal and that we would just have to work through this and to get off the senicot. I put Frankincense and JuvaFlex oils over his liver area and then put Valor, Frankincense and Lavender on his feet and massaged them. He is just completely irritable and not real cooperative even with the oils which he normally loves and begs for. He is just not himself at all! Of course, this would happen the day Mom leaves...ugh!
He wanted to get up on the side of the bed for a change of position so I helped him with that. Then he wanted to play Skip-Bo to try to get his mind off of his misery. He called for his morphine and nausea medication and the night nurse, Alicia came in and she really feels that his problem today is more the excessive bowel management meds more than the withdrawal issue. However, we both believe they are both part of the problem right now. When she went to get the meds suddenly Donnie had to have another very loose BM which it is so good to get this poison out of him. I got everything back together before the nurse returned with the meds.
After this very long roller coaster of a day, Don fell asleep by 9:30PM and is sleeping soundly. I have chosen to stay the night here because he is just not feeling well enough for me to go to the hotel tonight. I feel he is like a sick little boy that needs a lot of TLC and comforting so I am in for the night. I am looking for a much better day tomorrow and for the return of my Sugar Bear!
Please continue to uphold us both in prayer not only for health and healing but for the many, many decisions and changes we must face during the remainder of this week and into next month.
Thank you for all the cards, gifts and prayers,
Don and Carol Schirr
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