I wanted to write over the week-end about Jon’s visit by Abby, the therapy dog, but somehow I just did some grocery shopping, attended church and puttered around the house. This is probably the third week that Abby has visited Jon’s room. I put the bed down as low as possible so Jon could see her well. He petted her and she decided to get a little closer and put her front paws up on the bed so she could lick his hands. I think Jon had forgotten her past visits as he said afterwards that he was a little concerned that she might bite. This from a dog that seems one of the gentlest I’ve ever seen--and therapy dogs have to pass rigorous tests before they’re allowed to visit. Her owner is a lady who I'm guessing is in her late seventies and I think she said this is her second therapy dog. I have a picture on my cell phone and hopefully I can get Angelique to put it up for me…there is a limit to my digital skills.
Jon has been enjoying his time with the speech therapist. She is the first to work with Jon on cognitive skills and he will miss her. Tomorrow is her last day in Columbus and she moves on to another assignment; one closer to Virginia where her family and friends are. She was on a 13 week assignment here and will spend another 13 weeks at her next assignment. Occupational therapy has Jon working with plastic pegs so that he will be able to maneuver his "boat" with a joystick. I finally found a way to soak his fingernails in warm sudsy water and gave him a very amateurish manicure. Mostly I cleaned the gunk out from under his nails and trimmed both hands. Usually he gets pretty tired by the time one hand is done but this time I could get both sets done. We finally received word from the neurologist saying our appointment was set for June 18 so we will finally get some idea about when the neck brace will come off and whether he will still need some kind of stiff foamy collar. You might pray for a coolish spring and early summer as he spends a lot of time sweating as it is. I can almost wring the moisture out of the pads of the brace when I change them for fresh ones. Another set is being ordered thank goodness.
As the day wore on I noticed that Jon was requiring more suctioning than normal and at first I wrote it off as the result of resuming milk to his menus. But as I was shaving him (electric razor) I noticed that that he was shivering--at that stage just seemed like a vibration. A little later he was downright shaking and I asked the nurse to take his temperature. 102.1--this from a guy whose normal temp runs around 97.8! We really got some action. An x-ray was ordered for his chest, blood was drawn for cultures, urine was taken for testing and he was given Tylenol and deprocote.
When we came in on Wednesday we were given the results from the x-ray which showed he has pneumonia in his lower lobe of the right lung. They also had an x ray taken of his stomach which had become quite swollen. The poor staff was kept busy with changes and they speculated that he was allergic to the medicine they started the previous evening. It was pretty apparent though based on the smell and the flow that he again has c diff, an infection of the bowels. He had just finished the last of the treatment 3 days ago and it is back again. This is unofficial but they’ve started administering flagel again which is what they used the last time. He slept most of the day. They stopped the feeding tube in the hope that that would slow things down, which it did and he wasn’t hungry at all at lunch or supper. He did eat some jello and sherbert.
Today he’s feeling much better. People who haven’t seen him for a week commented on how good he looks. The respiratory therapist felt he was in better spirits Monday and Tuesday than he had been for a while. He dictated a really nice note to Michelle, (speech therapist) great guy that he is. He even signed it and in cursive to boot! He was on the tilt board again today. Was in a standing position for 10 minutes which allowed the occupational therapist a chance to work his arms in all the positions that rails on a bed don’t allow.
I’m still working on the staff. Their idea of cleanliness is far different than mine and heaven knows I’m not nearly as picky as a lot of people I know! And they crossed the line way before they left soiled linens on the register for the air conditioning! I’ll continue to work on it…
So much for the ugly! I’ll take this across the street so I can post it while Jon is napping. Thanks for checking in.
Well I tried to post there but the internet connection wouldn't cooperate. I'm having difficulty with both Barb's computer and mine. On her computer I can read my mail but I can't reply, forward or compose. On my computer I can get the listings in the inbox but none of the messages show up!
Thanks again for checking in..g'night.
Jon has been enjoying his time with the speech therapist. She is the first to work with Jon on cognitive skills and he will miss her. Tomorrow is her last day in Columbus and she moves on to another assignment; one closer to Virginia where her family and friends are. She was on a 13 week assignment here and will spend another 13 weeks at her next assignment. Occupational therapy has Jon working with plastic pegs so that he will be able to maneuver his "boat" with a joystick. I finally found a way to soak his fingernails in warm sudsy water and gave him a very amateurish manicure. Mostly I cleaned the gunk out from under his nails and trimmed both hands. Usually he gets pretty tired by the time one hand is done but this time I could get both sets done. We finally received word from the neurologist saying our appointment was set for June 18 so we will finally get some idea about when the neck brace will come off and whether he will still need some kind of stiff foamy collar. You might pray for a coolish spring and early summer as he spends a lot of time sweating as it is. I can almost wring the moisture out of the pads of the brace when I change them for fresh ones. Another set is being ordered thank goodness.
As the day wore on I noticed that Jon was requiring more suctioning than normal and at first I wrote it off as the result of resuming milk to his menus. But as I was shaving him (electric razor) I noticed that that he was shivering--at that stage just seemed like a vibration. A little later he was downright shaking and I asked the nurse to take his temperature. 102.1--this from a guy whose normal temp runs around 97.8! We really got some action. An x-ray was ordered for his chest, blood was drawn for cultures, urine was taken for testing and he was given Tylenol and deprocote.
When we came in on Wednesday we were given the results from the x-ray which showed he has pneumonia in his lower lobe of the right lung. They also had an x ray taken of his stomach which had become quite swollen. The poor staff was kept busy with changes and they speculated that he was allergic to the medicine they started the previous evening. It was pretty apparent though based on the smell and the flow that he again has c diff, an infection of the bowels. He had just finished the last of the treatment 3 days ago and it is back again. This is unofficial but they’ve started administering flagel again which is what they used the last time. He slept most of the day. They stopped the feeding tube in the hope that that would slow things down, which it did and he wasn’t hungry at all at lunch or supper. He did eat some jello and sherbert.
Today he’s feeling much better. People who haven’t seen him for a week commented on how good he looks. The respiratory therapist felt he was in better spirits Monday and Tuesday than he had been for a while. He dictated a really nice note to Michelle, (speech therapist) great guy that he is. He even signed it and in cursive to boot! He was on the tilt board again today. Was in a standing position for 10 minutes which allowed the occupational therapist a chance to work his arms in all the positions that rails on a bed don’t allow.
I’m still working on the staff. Their idea of cleanliness is far different than mine and heaven knows I’m not nearly as picky as a lot of people I know! And they crossed the line way before they left soiled linens on the register for the air conditioning! I’ll continue to work on it…
So much for the ugly! I’ll take this across the street so I can post it while Jon is napping. Thanks for checking in.
Well I tried to post there but the internet connection wouldn't cooperate. I'm having difficulty with both Barb's computer and mine. On her computer I can read my mail but I can't reply, forward or compose. On my computer I can get the listings in the inbox but none of the messages show up!
Thanks again for checking in..g'night.
No comments:
Post a Comment