BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 09:08 AM

Sounding a bit more hopeful there Linn.
kieep the chin up, and soldier on lassie.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 09:16 AM

Keep on, keeping on -- that's the best I can do at this point.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: gnu
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 09:22 AM

Good to hear about the progress.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: GUEST,Warped one
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 09:25 AM

Hey Linn,
Thanks for the updates. It does sound better today. I am familiar with the Edgewood Center, they have an excellent reputation. It would be easier for you if he can be closer than Portsmouth, which is where Edgewood is located.
Please give Tom my best wishes when you talk to him.
Dianne

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Noreen
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 09:27 AM

Hugs for you both, Linn xx

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Charley Noble
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 10:13 AM

Linn-

Sounds like slow but steady progress. I'm sure the medical staff appreciate having more information from you.

Maybe we'll ship you a "rusty nail" via UPS.

Charley Noble and JudyB

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: fat B****rd
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 10:16 AM

Still thinking of you both in Dunfermline.
Best as usual from Charlie. fB

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 10:35 AM

Good timing! The bread pudding is out of the oven just as I discover I need to make a quick store run to get flour for the zucchini bread (which I'll put in the freezer for future breakfasts). And when I come home, it'll be the right time to call Noonie, Tom's 90-year-old cousin, and let her know of Tom's recent adventures in modern medicine.

Dianne, I work in Portsmouth, so that's not a problem (although it's about 5 miles from Fox Run). St. Ann's on Dover Point Road, though, is only a mile and a half out of my way coming home from work, and is actually closer to home than Wentworth-Douglass.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: katlaughing
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 11:48 AM

Glad to hear things are going a bit better, Linn. Take good care of you and get plenty of rest, as others have said. Since it's the surgical wound the doc is concerned about, I still highly recommend Amerigel.

Jeri, yes, it is for wounds/skin lacerations, etc. and also works well on closed wounds when they get itchy. For actual bone healing, I am never without Zheng Gi Shui which translates to "bone setting water" and has been used for a LONG time in China to help heal bones. Kendall, it would do your wrist a world of good!

Take care, everyone!

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: SINSULL
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 12:16 PM

Just spoke with Tom who answered the phone with Hi Sweetheart!
LOL Wrong sweetheart.
He sounds good, better than I expected. Was mid-breathing exercises so our call was brief. He says he is probably going to St. Ann's for rehab in Dover.
I suggested books on tape for him - anyone have suggestions or experience with them?
SINS

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 12:46 PM

When I called Tom after I got home from the store, he was asleep. Then when I called him after Jeff fixed the cellar door, he was having a breathing treatment. Maybe I'll get through to him this time!

(Mary, you're a sweetheart anyway!)

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 04:07 PM

Well...

When I walked into the house after seeing Tom this afternoon, the phone was ringing. It was my boss (manager). The district manager has decreed that I am off the schedule for this week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday -- which is more than the 18 hrs/week I'd been cut back to), and next Saturday he and my manager will confer to decide whether I'm to be fired or not. (In other words, to let me know if I would be working next Sunday as usual or not.)

The reason for this is I called in sick on Tuesday -- I could neither walk nor talk. I'd hobbled around the shop on a borrowed cane -- I was ALONE as usual on a Monday which is a very busy day -- and also kept losing my voice all day. I did $1200+ in sales, BTW, in 5 hours while answering the constantly ringing phone, repairing multiple pairs of glasses, making the insurance calls and reminder calls for the Tuesday exams, and dealing with all of the Monday crises while trying not to damage my knee any more than it was and having to apologize to customers, etc. when my voice would disappear and the tears would involuntarily run down my left eye. (Why just that one?)

Anyway, I called in sick because I just couldn't do that again, and what use am I to make pre-Expo phone calls if I can't talk?

Wednesday was my scheduled day off -- and Tom slipped on the deck that evening and wound up in the hospital. I called my manager before I went to the hospital to give her a heads up. I got home from the hospital around midnight. Tom had surgery the next day. I called my manager early the next morning to say that I wouldn't be able to work my noon-8 pm shift. I was next scheduled to work today (Sunday) during the big weekend Eyeglass Extravaganza. With Tom still in the ICU, I let my manager know Saturday that this wasn't going to happen.

So...the district manager, whom I'm convinced is trying to get rid of me anyway (for no reasons that are provable) is pissed off because I've effectively called out 3 shifts in a row during the biggest sales week of the year.

I'm calling NH Employment Security tomorrow (plus I'll be able to make all the phone calls to Tom's other doctors, etc. that I was afraid I'd have to put off til my day off on Wednesday) to ask for advice (and whether I can/should apply this week). I HAVE been looking for an alternative job, but right now I don't know how much Tom will need me when he comes home after rehab.

Again, this may actually work out for the best, but I'm a bit angry right now.

Think I better call Tom...

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 06:33 PM

it never rains, but it pours ...

sending good wishes & love & hugs

sandra (who would be more than a bit angry in a similar situation)

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 10:22 PM

Linn, after reading you most recent post, I was thinking exactly what Sandra wrote!

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 10:52 PM

I'm hanging in there, but, alas, still moving a million miles an hour at 10:38 p.m.

Just put the braised lamb shank in the fridge (with wonderful garlic from Jeri, beef stock and chopped tomatoes with the juice). Tomorrow will add carrots and potatoes and try to reduce the stock a bit. It's really good.

I've had a very productive day. Besides seeing Tom and talking to him several times, I've also made 3 loaves of zucchini bread for the freezer, entertained a friend while he fixed the cellar door (and rewarded him with shortbread), done some cleaning (which I can't do when Tom is around), saw how the ice in most of the ponds on Young and Merry Hill Road have disappeared, actually remove some of the leaf mulch from the flower beds, talked to my sister, talked to Tom's ex-wife (whom I think of as a friend...and who is definitely a friend of Tom's), done some serious cat petting, and I'm wrapping up the book "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" along with another brandy. Yes, I'm self medicating to fall asleep tonight -- benedryl, clonazapam (anti-anxiety), and brandy.

Tom was confused when I talked to him earlier, but I think it was because he had been dozing and dreaming. I'm sure he's still on pain meds. I know what state I was in after my similar surgery (and installation of similar hardware) four years ago. But I was at home in familiar surroundings and with Tom at my beck and call. He's in the ICU with different nurses and attendants every few hours. He did so much better yesterday after I gave him a timeline and explanation of what happened. It helped him to piece it together in his head along with his sporadic and disjointed memories.

Now, back to my brandy and book. Hey! I don't have to go to work tomorrow.

Linn





Other than that I haven't done a damned thing.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Mar 12 - 11:48 PM

your glass definitely is half-full

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 06:29 AM

Sometimes (like now) I wish I could cry more easily than I do. I think I could use a really good bawl right now.

Tom woke me up with a phone call at 4:30 this morning. This is the first time he's called ME since he was admitted to the hospital. (It's 6:00 now; I couldn't get back to sleep. I wish I could just turn my brain off.) He's very paranoid right now. His immediate question was how much progress I've made at clearing out the living room which will be his bedroom for a few months after he gets home from rehab. He wants me to come to the hospital, pick him up and bring him home so he can see. That his doctors want him to see so he can tell them.

My first thought is he's still in a dream he was having. When I talked to him about 7:30 last night, he had evidently been dozing and dreaming. (He was concerned about some sort of board controversy going on with a folk organization he's on the board of. I suggested that he couldn't know if anything was going on as he doesn't have access to his email and he's not getting phone calls about anything. "Oh, yes -- THEY (meaning his nurses, etc.) are getting calls." I think he understood by the time we hung up that it was a dream. Now I'm not so sure.)

His nurse came in to draw blood and he adamantly refused to let him draw blood. I asked to talk with his nurse at the time, which he let me. When I got back on the phone with Tom, I tried to suggest he cooperate. He was like a 6-year-old: "No. No. No." and "I don't trust them." Anyway, I reassured him that I would call a little later this morning and come to see him -- but right now I really needed more sleep. (I didn't get to sleep until almost midnight.)

I called the ICU back and talked to his nurse, wondering if it's meds that are making him paranoid. He said Tom's really only on his regular medications, not pain meds, but this paranoia is not unusual. They can wait until later for the blood and he'll be okay off the heart monitor for awhile. I'm wondering if the Wellbutrin he takes for depression may be causing the paranoia. We hadn't updated his meds list when his primary care doctor changed the dosage a few months ago and I just corrected that with the ICU people yesterday. I'll try to call his primary care doctor later this morning -- I don't think he knows about Tom's ankle yet. Got to call other doctors as well because his hospitalization, etc. will affect his ongoing treatment with Dr. Z and with his vascular and cardiac doctors.

Basically, I'm scared spitless right now. I desperately need some more sleep and I will go back upstairs and try again.

It would be really nice if something would go smoothly.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Charley Noble
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 08:02 AM

Linn-

Oh, dear!

That's not a nice turn.

Reminds me of my father's paranoia, which did not mellow with age.

I do wish we lived closer so we could be more supportive.

Charlie and Judy

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 08:08 AM

Wasn't able to get back to sleep, but a little while ago I had a lovely chat with his nurse, Cindy, who explained a bit about ICU psychosis. She says it's very common. Of her three patients this weekend, two have the syndrome. (Actually, in the article I just read, it said the occurrence is in 2 out of 3 patients in the ICU for 5 days or more -- Tom's only been there 2 days and Friday from late afternoon.

She said he's been very polite and hasn't yelled at her as some patients do. He's just refusing the blood draw and the heart monitor until I get there. She also hopes just daylight will help. Things ARE always darker when it's still night.

I feel a bit better now -- although extremely tired/sleepy. I almost fell, trying to climb one more stair that was actually there. I just ate breakfast and now have to let my hair dry before I drive to the hospital. Maybe I can make some phone calls before I go.

It's going to be a long day.

I think I'm very glad my district manager is "punishing" me by taking me off this week's work schedule. Hope I'm alert enough to drive safely.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: GUEST,kendall
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 08:08 AM

He feels helpless, not in control. He'll be ok when he comes home.
Tell him I said "Shape up, or I'll come down there and sing to him."

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 08:14 AM

You may not feel it, but you are a pillar of strength. My thoughts are with you and Tom.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 08:37 AM

beautifully said, Allison

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 10:01 AM

Heading over to the hospital in a few minutes. Hope daylight has brought Tom back to reality and is again cooperating with the medical powers that be.

I had time to leave information with his primary care doctor, his cardiologist, his vascular doc, and I actually got to talk to The Man Himself, Dr. Zeitels. (When I picked up the phone to call, there was a message from one of his associates who had some questions for Tom. So I called her back, explained the situation -- answered her questions, then asked to speak to Justin, Dr. Z's assistant, who said Dr. Z was available and would probably want to talk to me, which he did.)

I feel as if it should be lunch time, since I've been up since 4:30, and I was famished. I'm eating a roast beef and cheese sandwich (horseradish spread) and I'll pick up a large black coffee at "the Scottish restaurant" on my way to Dover.

Later!
Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: gnu
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 02:51 PM

Crap again! Wish I had words. I've been there and done that with a few relatives... my old man was the hardest. Thoughts and prayers. Hope you tell him what Kendall said.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 06:48 PM

Today has been one of the most difficult, stressful and exhausting days I've ever had through all of Tom's medical adventures including his heart valve replacement surgery in 2004.

But I think things are okay...for now.

When I got there, Tom had two (count 'em, two) security guards keeping watch to make sure he didn't get physically belligerent. Cindi, his nurse (she is one fantastic lady!!!) had closed the glass doors to cut down some of the constant ICU background noise. He was perusing the copy of our living will/medical power of attorney, even though I know he couldn't actually read it. It was as if Tom had regressed to age 6. The only word he knew was "No!" and he used it often. He didn't trust anyone, and, I think, only grudgingly trusted me. I think I'm now the officially responsible party. It took a bit of explaining (and some Haldol) to get him to understand that no one was trying to hurt him. ("She turned on me.") His doctor came in and the three of us had a good conversation. Tom said he would consent to his meds as long as he could read with a magnifying glass everything he was being given. (Actually, he ended up letting me confirm that the pills were what they are.) He responded best when I put the pills directly into his mouth and let him wash them down with water. He kept wanting to stand up and had to have it explained repeatedly that he had a broken ankle; he couldn't stand up. We finally were able to convince him he'd be more comfortable with both legs on the bed, and his right leg elevated. Eventually, he let Cindi make his bed more lounge chair-like and get him situated in it properly...and reconnect the heart monitor and his oxygen.

He hadn't been eating. Somehow he was put on the cardiac menu and he just didn't like that. Cindi pulled some strings, but he still didn't want to eat. Finally he said he'd like some mashed potatoes with "real butter", but when they came, he took one bite and said they didn't taste right. She also brought some chocolate Ensure, but he took one sip, announced "chemicals" and refused any more. (I tasted it and thought it tasted pretty good -- chocolate malt, actually.)

He dozed a lot, and that was a good thing. I had a pillow on the rail of the bed and rested my head on it; I was pretty tired -- I never got back to sleep after his 4:30 phone call. Cindi made up the pull out cot for me and I actually got an hour and a half nap. Tom got some good sleep, too, I think. He slept a lot this afternoon. I figured he was touch-deprived and made sure I had my hand reassuringly on his arm while I read and he dozed. I massaged his good leg, and then when he said his right leg was uncomfortable, massaged that above the cast until he asked me to stop.

By later in the afternoon he consented to his breathing treatment. He's also getting an antibiotic because he has a touch of pneumonia. Then he actually let the lab guy get enough blood. (I hope he left some inside Tom...)

I don't know if it was the Haldol or me, but he was a lot calmer when I left.

A solution would be to get him out of the ICU and into a room, probably on the cardiac floor where he can be best monitored. But there are no rooms available, so he's stuck in the ICU.

Had a nice talk with Cindi giving her a history of Tom's medical problems, the Press Room session, his leadership of the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival, etc. Unfortunately she's not on tomorrow. I don't know which of us thanked the other more. I've been through a lot of medical stuff with Tom and I try to be as useful as I can. Today was pretty intense. I truly hope tomorrow (and tonight!) will be better.

I suppose I should pick up the phone and see if there are any messages. I just couldn't face that until I finished this update. Nap or not, I'm still pretty sleep-deprived. And, since I wasn't home all day, I still have things to do (and cats to pet).

I think it's a pretty good thing my DM is "punishing" me for calling out 3 times in a row by taking me off this week's schedule. I could NOT have worked today.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 07:22 PM

Oh, one of the nurses who helped Cindi rearrange Tom into a more comfortable position was named Sheila, so I, of course, mentioned Shel Silverstein's song, "Tequila Sheila". She'd never heard of it, so I had to sing it to her. It was a hit.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 07:22 PM

Linn.. is there any chance one of his meds is Prednizone? His mental state sure reminds me of what my wife went thru (for a short while) after her heart transplant. She was paranoid, afraid, wanted to have everything 'just right'. It was a scary period. Prednizone affects people differently, but it is common to have emotional episodes.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 08:08 PM

No, not prednizone.

I guess ICU psychosis/syndrome is incredibly common. Cindi, Tom's nurse this weekend and today, said yesterday that of her three patients this weekend, two were paranoid and showing all the symptoms of ICU syndrome.

Besides the Haldol which helps to keep him calm, the "cure" is getting him the hell out of the 24 hour light, voices, activity, etcet etcet of the ICU. And, unfortunately, right now there isn't another suitable room available.

I'm going to bed. I really hope I don't get a paranoid phone call in the wee hours...

'Night, all -- thanks for all your good wishes.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 08:15 PM

sleep well.... dream of better days

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: gnu
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 08:20 PM

Linn... paeace and love and strength to you... and to Tom.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: GUEST,Warped one
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 08:23 PM

Thanks for the updates. I hope you see this tomorrow, after a good night's sleep.
I'll bet the doctors and nurses failed to mention that a slight fever due to infection and dehydration can also be the cause of dementia. Whatever the cause, I hope this phase passes soon because it is very frustrating and scary. Antibiotics and Anti-psychotics should have him in a better space within 24 hours.

Hang in there and remember to take care of yourself.

Dianne

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: SINSULL
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 08:42 PM

One third of ICU patients suffer some paranoia after five days. Noise and light are the main culprits making it impossible to sleep soundly. Add a fever (pneumonia will do it), dehydration, poor respiration and it's call in the security guards time.
Poor Tom.
I recall a friend who was finally put in the Psychiatric Ward at Elmhurst Hospital. I went to visit him and could hear him calling me three corridors away. When I went in and said I was Mary, three people said "Thank God". Poor Jesse refused to allow his wife near him. He was convinced that the CIA had drugged him and locked him away. She was their leader. He kept asking me for a quarter. I thought that he wanted it for a vending machine. Instead he sidled up to an armed guard and offered him the quarter in exchange for his freedom.
It was heartbreaking to see him like this. He was a bright, well read man once a professional opera tenor. Sang at the Met.
I am getting off point...Tom's behavior is distressing both for him and for Linn but it is "normal" for the situation.

Bet the anesthesia has his taste buds all screwed up. I smelled and tasted mint for a week. Gross.

Best to hang in there and wait. He does have to do the breathing exercises. Pneumonia will prevent him from leaving the hospital.

Sounds like everyone needs to get some sllep tonight, nurses included.
SINS

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 09:20 PM

sleep well, Linn & Tom

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: GUEST,Lynn Noel
Date: 19 Mar 12 - 09:59 PM

Following the saga with love and admiration. I wish I weren't so far away. Hang in there and dream of squid.

Love,
Lynn and Phill

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 02:46 AM

One friend of mine calmed down when we brought him his banjo and played with him. I was afraid that hospital staff would object but they were admiring of him and asked him a number of music-related questions. Which not only helped him get through a difficult time but also put him in a different frame of mind.

Is there a chance of something like that for Tom?

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 07:16 AM

Gee, Ebbie, if they put up with a banjo, maybe even a concertina would be tolerated... ;-)

Last night actually ended on a high note. I answered the phone fairly late, hoping it wasn't the hospital (and not really wanting to talk to ANYBODY), and it was a real estate broker (one of my advertisers when I ran the Real Estate Guide four years ago) I'd been playing telephone tab with for the past couple weeks. She had inadvertently called me instead of another friend, but we were both SO glad to at last talk to each other at last. We commiserated with each other on life since we last talked and had a grand time. She would LOVE to hire me as an administrative assistant and thinks we would have a lot of fun working together, but, alas, she can't right how -- but will definitely recommend me to her friends and see if she can help me find a gig.

So on that most upbeat note of the day, I retired to my bed with a glass of wine to wind down while finishing up "Lies My Teacher Told Me" and petting a cat. Slept well and was awakened by cat Rufus at daylight rather than a paranoid phone call in the wee hours like yesterday.

Just finished a warmed up cup of coffee left over from yesterday's McDonald's stop and will go back upstairs with breakfast and call Tom.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 07:19 AM

I DO hope you'll forgive me the typos and lack of editing in my posts; you KNOW I have a lot on my mind... (But one of those things is, as usual, composing what I hope are well-written posts...)

Ach!

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: fat B****rd
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 07:41 AM

Linn if I had your circumstances I would be writing total gibberish -even more so than usual !.
Stay good and please accept my very best regards to you both.
Charlie.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Charley Noble
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 09:24 AM

Linn-

The real estate market is really picking up around here in Maine. So maybe there is hope that you can shift over to a different job.

Any maybe Tom would like to noodle around with his old friend the concertina. I can't imagine that the hospital staff would raise serious objections once they listened to a tune or two. Who knows, maybe they could write up the results for a new therapy procedure in one of their professional papers, "Concertina Rehabilitation."

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 11:20 AM

Tom's been asleep both times I've called this morning. I DID talk to his nurse and he's probably better today than yesterday, but she came on shift just before I called him the first time, so I don't know how much she's interacted with him.

Been catching up on the phone with a couple friends -- R&R while sitting in bed with a cup of Earl Grey and a cat (who wanted to eat my pen). I've got a couple more things to do here at home, then a few errands on my way to Dover, so I'm not sure what time I'll get to the hospital.

Maybe I can talk to the social worker today and find out what the plans are for rehab. I'm also trying to get a printout of an ankle x-ray showing the hardware in his ankle which I only saw in passing when I talked to Dr. Blitzer just after the surgery.

Later,
Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 12:42 PM

Linn, you are a wonder woman. Thanks so much for keeping us posted. I don't remember any paranoia in ICU, but there was one day, in a regular room where I was alone, when I had a huge, blackout, full-out screaming scare, I was sitting in a chair paralysed with fear, after seeing the surgeon's partner, a woman. The staff all came running and I remember telling them to keep her away from me. I thought she had caused whatever it was I experienced. Fortunately, that never happened again. I do think her bedside manner was brusque and not very empathic.

Take good care of you and I hope you get a different job, pronto. Much love to you and Tom,

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: catspaw49
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 12:46 PM

Blitzer? Is that Wolf's brother or is he a partner in the orthopedic firm of Commer, Koopid, Donder, & Blitzer? I hear they charge deerly for their services.............


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: SINSULL
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 01:25 PM

Any way of finding out when his doctor is due in for a visit? Jacqui usually got up to date information directly from the doctor. Although they can be hard to pin down due to their surgery schedules and appointments at multiple locations.
Just a thought.
Hang in there.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: SINSULL
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 01:26 PM

Re: Tom's eyesight. A sign pinned to Tom's bed saying "I can't see" will help. He just has to point at it.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: gnu
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 01:38 PM

Glad to hear hopeful news on the job front. I still check this thread every time I see a new post and your updates mean a lot, as has been said by others.

Typos.... pffft. Don't be concerned about typos.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 05:07 PM

Home again, home again, lickety splish.

The good news is Tom Hall is Tom Hall again -- moreso than any time since he landed in the ER. THAT was a major relief.

Talked to the social worker -- they're working on both getting him a room outside of the ICU and getting him a bed in one of the local rehab facilities. No go on either front yet.

But he's got his appetite back (despite being on a cardiac low salt, low fat diet). As usual, the nutritionists restrict things that don't need restricting and what is allowed is saltier and fatter than necessary. For lunch he had a grilled cheese sandwich and a sugar cookie (plus coffee). He was denied carrot cake or chocolate cake. He said the cheese sandwich was salty and greasy -- not bad, but saltier and greasier than if had made it himself, but the cookie was good.

We had some time and I started making notes on his recollections of playing folk music in Boston in the '60s for "The Charles Street Chronicles". Also made notes for some of the financial duties I have to take over.

He really was much more alert than he has been and all the paranoia of yesterday has disappeared.

I left when the physical therapist came in to get him up and moving a bit.

Mary, the problem is he doesn't really have one doctor. I called his primary care yesterday, but haven't heard from him. Yesterday I talked to the doctor who was in charge of him in the ICU -- Friday it was the hospitalist.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 05:59 PM

Oh ye, gawds and gawdesses! A cheese sandwich on a low-fat, low-sodium diet?!? Whadda they nuts! Cheese always has too much sodium in it for a low sodium diet and fat, too. They tried to deny me a chocolate chip cookie until I nabbed the hospitalist who said he couldn't expect anyone to go without their daily chocolate as he had to have it, too. It was a low-fat cookie and perfectly delicious! The kidney doc I go to said anything over 200mg of sodium is too much. I average about 5-700mg per day, but am allowed up to 1000mg.

SO glad to hear the Tom Hall we all know is back!! Now, here's a thanks giving he is moved to a regular room, pronto, for the highest good of all concerned and may you get loads of deep, restful sleep, tonight.

My first daffodil opened, today.:-)

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: MaineDog
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 06:29 PM

I hope he (and you) are doing better now! Doctors etc, can be very scary! I know Gail would have fared better if she had trusted them a little more. (pls don't move this topic to facebook) Hope to see you at a session soon.

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 06:44 PM

No, no...I link from Facebook to this Mudcat thread.

Who knows, though, when he'll get out of the ICU and into either a regular room or rehab. There don't seem to be beds available anywhere.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 07:01 PM

All right, people, FOCUS. *See* that bed with Tom's name on it? It's all cushy, adjustable, soothing pillows, quiet room with no harsh lights, drapes to pull over the window or open and over the bed is a softly lit sign crawling across the screen:

This bed reserved for Tom Hall!