Jon was transferred to Specialty Select Hospital late afternoon today. Within an hour of arriving, while still getting settled, Jon's oxygen saturation level dropped to the 60's (above 92 is ideal). Therefore, he is back on a ventilator and as a result can not use the Passy Muir which enabled him to speak. Hopefully this will not last very long. He is stablized just not doing all the breathing himself. This is the lowest his oxygen saturation has gone so far. He does not have the fancy bed yet for the bed sore but hopefully will soon, as Mom said, he does not like to be rolled manually.
Please continue to pray for Jon and the family, for healing and everyone's strength. Thank you for checking in.
The new hospital information is:
Select Specialty Hospital-Columbus
1087 Dennison Ave
Room 240W
Columbus, OH 43201
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Another step backwards?
It's been a relatively calm week. It has been frustrating to see so little progress in healing the bedsore. He has a marvelous air bed which works by activating air coils and turns him all by itself! He finds the turning process rather painful and voices his objection adamantly when it's done manually. With this bed you push a couple of buttons and the bed deflates on one side and pumps up on the other and walah...there you are!
To speed the healing process they have installed a VAC on the bedsore and it pumps out the infection as it forms. So far there has been little collected which they inform me is a good sign. It also protects the bedsore from contamination. I've managed to talk them into discontinuing the stool softener and including some fiber but he's still on the tube feeding. His cultures came back negative for pneumonia which is also a good sign although they thought they would continue with the antibiotic for a few days more.
On the disappointing side-- since his physical therapy has been limited both in time and the amount of activity-- he's rather weak. Too weak, in fact, to go back to Dodd. They want to transfer him to an entirely different facility...another Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH)like the one in Green Springs, only about a mile away. They also use the VAC on bedsores which is a plus since I was quite upset since we had just started him on a process that seemed to me to be a sure cure...and the bedsore is a problem for Dodd also.) We're just waiting for an open bed. We'll let you know when that actually happens. In the meantime check with us if you think you're coming this way.
Thanks for looking in....
To speed the healing process they have installed a VAC on the bedsore and it pumps out the infection as it forms. So far there has been little collected which they inform me is a good sign. It also protects the bedsore from contamination. I've managed to talk them into discontinuing the stool softener and including some fiber but he's still on the tube feeding. His cultures came back negative for pneumonia which is also a good sign although they thought they would continue with the antibiotic for a few days more.
On the disappointing side-- since his physical therapy has been limited both in time and the amount of activity-- he's rather weak. Too weak, in fact, to go back to Dodd. They want to transfer him to an entirely different facility...another Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH)like the one in Green Springs, only about a mile away. They also use the VAC on bedsores which is a plus since I was quite upset since we had just started him on a process that seemed to me to be a sure cure...and the bedsore is a problem for Dodd also.) We're just waiting for an open bed. We'll let you know when that actually happens. In the meantime check with us if you think you're coming this way.
Thanks for looking in....
Friday, February 13, 2009
Darn, Darn, Darn, Drat! In other words #$%&*#$@
Jon settled into Dodd Hall nicely, had one full day of therapy and whammo!
I left him at 4 or so to take Carol to meet her friend, David, who was taking her back to Defiance. Had a quick supper with them and then thought I'd stop back at Dodd Hall to see how he was doing since neither Barb or Bill would be with him. He was subdued and had his passy muir valve off. I looked at his oxygen saturation level and it was a little below 90 which requires some monitoring. We were having a difficult time conversing so I asked if we could have it put back on for just a few minutes. Whether that was a mistake or coincidental to the way his oxygen level had been rising and falling his oxygen went way down, as did his heart rate. He needed several more sets of suctioning to clear his lungs. (He had had several sets of suctioning before I arrived.)
To make a long story short it was back to the E.R. again and more suctioning using a saline solution, more blood samples taken, chest x-ray...the works. He had EKGs at both Dodd and the emergency room.
X rays showed some collapsing of the right lung again and signs of pneumonia. They couldn't tell if it was a chemical pneumonia or the regular kind(?) So he is back in Rhodes Hall. Again we've cleaned out his room at Dodd with the understanding that when he's well and they have room he'll be back.
In the meantime we are still encouraging visitors but you probably should call Marj, Carol, Barb or Bill to find out exactly where you should go.
I left him at 4 or so to take Carol to meet her friend, David, who was taking her back to Defiance. Had a quick supper with them and then thought I'd stop back at Dodd Hall to see how he was doing since neither Barb or Bill would be with him. He was subdued and had his passy muir valve off. I looked at his oxygen saturation level and it was a little below 90 which requires some monitoring. We were having a difficult time conversing so I asked if we could have it put back on for just a few minutes. Whether that was a mistake or coincidental to the way his oxygen level had been rising and falling his oxygen went way down, as did his heart rate. He needed several more sets of suctioning to clear his lungs. (He had had several sets of suctioning before I arrived.)
To make a long story short it was back to the E.R. again and more suctioning using a saline solution, more blood samples taken, chest x-ray...the works. He had EKGs at both Dodd and the emergency room.
X rays showed some collapsing of the right lung again and signs of pneumonia. They couldn't tell if it was a chemical pneumonia or the regular kind(?) So he is back in Rhodes Hall. Again we've cleaned out his room at Dodd with the understanding that when he's well and they have room he'll be back.
In the meantime we are still encouraging visitors but you probably should call Marj, Carol, Barb or Bill to find out exactly where you should go.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Back on track!
All the roadblocks back to Dodd have been hurdled: pneumonia, diarrhea, methadone...all cleared up. Thyroid test came back normal and the only problem at this point was with his echo cardiogram. Normal is 50% or better and he had a score of 45%. The doctor recommends another test in 3 months and make a comparison and then a decision if something is needed.
SO we've just traveled back through the tunnel to Dodd Hall, Room 3147 and therapy!! He is more upbeat and this time looking forward to therapy instead of fighting it...we hope this continues. It's time for some serious work which he's been trying to gear up for.
When Carol and I got to his room yesterday he announced he had been awake for 30 some hours. Whenever anyone came in to the room he updated the count until he was finally at 34 hours straight. When we left last night his eyes were getting droopy. Since he wasn't counting the hours when we arrived this morning we're assuming he did get some sleep. He will probably miss all the young student nurses that took care of him first thing in the morning.
He's happy, talkative and very entertaining to all the staff. He's really working on calling everyone by name and getting his memory back. It takes less prompting for him to remember an event. Meanwhile, there won't be a soul who doesn't know our entire family history by the time he leaves.
SO we've just traveled back through the tunnel to Dodd Hall, Room 3147 and therapy!! He is more upbeat and this time looking forward to therapy instead of fighting it...we hope this continues. It's time for some serious work which he's been trying to gear up for.
When Carol and I got to his room yesterday he announced he had been awake for 30 some hours. Whenever anyone came in to the room he updated the count until he was finally at 34 hours straight. When we left last night his eyes were getting droopy. Since he wasn't counting the hours when we arrived this morning we're assuming he did get some sleep. He will probably miss all the young student nurses that took care of him first thing in the morning.
He's happy, talkative and very entertaining to all the staff. He's really working on calling everyone by name and getting his memory back. It takes less prompting for him to remember an event. Meanwhile, there won't be a soul who doesn't know our entire family history by the time he leaves.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Loopy and loopier
Angelique sure had that last title correct! Evidently Jon has been requesting pain medication too often and really by now I would think that he shouldn't be having much pain at all. However, his new bed, which is doing wonders for the bedsore, does not look like it would be comfortable for sitting. It is like a giant air mattress, but it seems to act almost like it was filled with water, in that there is no support when he's sitting up. At least an air mattress tends to bounce up behind you and remains stiff; this one just seems to envelope him making him look like he's in a U shape, only not that pronounced. They've tried to adjust it so that it doesn't look quite so bad as it did the first few days.
At any rate, methadone is supposed to be a good replacement for any opiate based drug. They had given him a dose Wednesday evening (and then another one early Thursday morning.) Jon and I had not had a good relationship Wednesday. He was back on just a trach without the passy muir speaking valve and had to rely on using short bursts of air to get words out which gives him a brusque commanding sound since he also "gets to the kernel" of the message he is conveying. He also gets your attention with the same kind of "kissing" sound that fellows use to get dogs' attention. Couple that with his need to direct you through every component of a task and you have an idea of how exasperated I was that day. Anyway, Barb spelled me that evening and left me a note in the morning that said Mike, the night nurse, had been reviewing the "please" and "thank you" necessity as well as helping him work through the process of putting his his arms down to his side. (For some reason he seems to think they lock up half way down--Mike told him to turn his wrist inward and then they go down easily on his own.) So when I went in Thursday morning and Jon gave a big grin and greeted me with "Mom, come... here! I...want... to... hug... you!" I was absolutely ready to worship Mike. I was so overwhelmed I had to go out to the hall for a few moments to compose myself. When I went back into the room and that request was repeated as if it had not been made before I was suspicious. It seems he had been in that happy state for a couple of hours. As the day wore on happy went downhill to fighting with demons. I hardly left his side the rest of the day and evening trying to get him calmed and reassured his world was not coming to an end.
The next day the speech therapist said he could have his passy muir valve put back onto his trach. He was so used to speaking so forcefully that for the first 10 minutes or so he yelled instead of talking. Silly me, I finally suggested that perhaps he should sing his answers instead. The singing never stopped! Most of the time I didn't recognize the songs and quite often he was just singing monotonous phrases--over and over and over. Occasionally it was interrupted by sudden fearful looks at the clock. I did however, get a chance to read quite a bit of my book "Three Cups of Tea" that my book study group is reviewing. (It's quite a good book about an American mountain climber who decided to build schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan.)
As Angelique put it this week-end the best that could be said was that Jon was loopy. Barb reported to me this morning that he was still talking well into the night but that it was much calmer. I came home Saturday afternoon and will be going back down tomorrow (Tuesday) and taking Carol with me so Jon is in the hands of Barb and his dad. Before I could get home Saturday Barb called with a question about Jon's blood pressure. It seems that it had been extremely high at one point in the day and then dropped to just about half both numbers. I haven't been keeping the kind of records I did for her last January and they haven't been volunteering that info so I didn't really know what normal for him has been--needless to say we are starting to take copious notes--Bill's notes the last few days have been far better than mine. He's now on high blood pressure medication. I'm not sure I like the fact that he has different nurses every day. The continuity in care just isn't there.
I've started to ramble so I'll just say--Thanks for tuning in....
P.S. He passed another swallowing test so he is allowed to eat but he either acts likes he's falling asleep in the middle of a bite or is asleep and we haven't felt comfortable with pushing food. I think he was doing better Saturday when I left so hopefully he's doing better in that regard.
At any rate, methadone is supposed to be a good replacement for any opiate based drug. They had given him a dose Wednesday evening (and then another one early Thursday morning.) Jon and I had not had a good relationship Wednesday. He was back on just a trach without the passy muir speaking valve and had to rely on using short bursts of air to get words out which gives him a brusque commanding sound since he also "gets to the kernel" of the message he is conveying. He also gets your attention with the same kind of "kissing" sound that fellows use to get dogs' attention. Couple that with his need to direct you through every component of a task and you have an idea of how exasperated I was that day. Anyway, Barb spelled me that evening and left me a note in the morning that said Mike, the night nurse, had been reviewing the "please" and "thank you" necessity as well as helping him work through the process of putting his his arms down to his side. (For some reason he seems to think they lock up half way down--Mike told him to turn his wrist inward and then they go down easily on his own.) So when I went in Thursday morning and Jon gave a big grin and greeted me with "Mom, come... here! I...want... to... hug... you!" I was absolutely ready to worship Mike. I was so overwhelmed I had to go out to the hall for a few moments to compose myself. When I went back into the room and that request was repeated as if it had not been made before I was suspicious. It seems he had been in that happy state for a couple of hours. As the day wore on happy went downhill to fighting with demons. I hardly left his side the rest of the day and evening trying to get him calmed and reassured his world was not coming to an end.
The next day the speech therapist said he could have his passy muir valve put back onto his trach. He was so used to speaking so forcefully that for the first 10 minutes or so he yelled instead of talking. Silly me, I finally suggested that perhaps he should sing his answers instead. The singing never stopped! Most of the time I didn't recognize the songs and quite often he was just singing monotonous phrases--over and over and over. Occasionally it was interrupted by sudden fearful looks at the clock. I did however, get a chance to read quite a bit of my book "Three Cups of Tea" that my book study group is reviewing. (It's quite a good book about an American mountain climber who decided to build schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan.)
As Angelique put it this week-end the best that could be said was that Jon was loopy. Barb reported to me this morning that he was still talking well into the night but that it was much calmer. I came home Saturday afternoon and will be going back down tomorrow (Tuesday) and taking Carol with me so Jon is in the hands of Barb and his dad. Before I could get home Saturday Barb called with a question about Jon's blood pressure. It seems that it had been extremely high at one point in the day and then dropped to just about half both numbers. I haven't been keeping the kind of records I did for her last January and they haven't been volunteering that info so I didn't really know what normal for him has been--needless to say we are starting to take copious notes--Bill's notes the last few days have been far better than mine. He's now on high blood pressure medication. I'm not sure I like the fact that he has different nurses every day. The continuity in care just isn't there.
I've started to ramble so I'll just say--Thanks for tuning in....
P.S. He passed another swallowing test so he is allowed to eat but he either acts likes he's falling asleep in the middle of a bite or is asleep and we haven't felt comfortable with pushing food. I think he was doing better Saturday when I left so hopefully he's doing better in that regard.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Methadon't
Joey and I made the trek to see Uncle J this weekend. At first, I thought we had walked into the wrong room. Uncle J is completely clean-shaven! No goatee, no mustache...I don't think I have ever seen him without at least a mustache! He also has a new short do and didn't have his glasses on, so it was all a lot to take in. He had been given some methadone a few days before, which he didn't react very well to, and he was acting quite loopy the entire visit. I am hoping the next time we get to see him, the "methadone effect" is gone and he is back in Dodd hall for rehab. I'm sure there will be a posting coming from Barb or Grandma soon with more info, I just wanted to post a little bit. Thanks!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
When Will I learn?
Nothing is ever set in stone! Either the anesthesiologist was in the wrong room or was misinformed. There is no surgery scheduled for today. There is a CAT scan and I can say that with some certainty because he just left the room and was headed to radiology! When the doctors are through looking at the scans and checking out the possibilities they will let us know what is going on.
Jon had his feeding tube disconnected this noon and had his first meal since the choking incident. He ate 4 or 5 smaaaallll bites of hamburger, a few bites of what they called cornbread dressing but tasted a lot like Carol's corn souffle, almost all of 2 slices of peaches, a fourth of a slice of apple pie and all of his carton of milk. The nurse said that wasn't too bad for the first meal.
A physical therapist was in today (and yesterday) to work some on Jon's hands and arms. His shoulders are very tight. Therapy would be a lot easier if we could just get him to relax his muscles--less painful, also. We've been slipping on the daily exercises of his hand. I did get to finish a manicure of sorts on one hand and will try to do the other one when he is shifted to a different side.
Student nurses have come yesterday and today. They have either participated in or watched some of his morning care. The male nurse last night teased Jon about having a harem when Jon wanted Barb and I to rub each eye in unison...asked him if he had any requirements: blond, brunette, age, etc. And then he found out about the student nurses and really razzed him.
That's all for now. I'll try my best to keep you accurately posted and in a timely fashion. If that's possible!
Jon had his feeding tube disconnected this noon and had his first meal since the choking incident. He ate 4 or 5 smaaaallll bites of hamburger, a few bites of what they called cornbread dressing but tasted a lot like Carol's corn souffle, almost all of 2 slices of peaches, a fourth of a slice of apple pie and all of his carton of milk. The nurse said that wasn't too bad for the first meal.
A physical therapist was in today (and yesterday) to work some on Jon's hands and arms. His shoulders are very tight. Therapy would be a lot easier if we could just get him to relax his muscles--less painful, also. We've been slipping on the daily exercises of his hand. I did get to finish a manicure of sorts on one hand and will try to do the other one when he is shifted to a different side.
Student nurses have come yesterday and today. They have either participated in or watched some of his morning care. The male nurse last night teased Jon about having a harem when Jon wanted Barb and I to rub each eye in unison...asked him if he had any requirements: blond, brunette, age, etc. And then he found out about the student nurses and really razzed him.
That's all for now. I'll try my best to keep you accurately posted and in a timely fashion. If that's possible!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Some Minor Surgery Scheduled
We'll take a step back for a moment. The process of going from ICU back to Dodd yesterday had an interruption. Jon had more problems with his lungs and needed more suctioning. This section of Rhodes Hall specializes in lung disorders so he was moved for a second time to Rhodes Hall, Room 824.
The neurosurgeons had stopped by yesterday to check on Jon and I asked about the problem which was developing with the thoracic vertebrae. They seemed to be shifting according to the MRIs...drifting might even be a better word. Since the only pictures they had were from the original and what they had the last few days they weren't sure when the movement started or if it had stopped. If it had stopped it would be considered frozen and there would be no remediation and I got the impression it would interfere with his ability to maintain an upright position, especially in a wheelchair. If it was still moving then surgery could be done to keep the spinal column in alignment.
I had spent the night with Jon since he was in considerable pain and doesn't seem to be able to use any of the call buttons here either (One plus for St Francis!) so I went home for a nap this morning and of course an anesthesiologist came to inform Jon's father that he was scheduled for surgery tomorrow. The nurse tonight informs me that this particular surgery is not the major one that was discussed yesterday but is a minimally invasive procedure which will cut into some of the muscle which is pulling on the spinal cord. They will take another CAT scan tonight so they know exactly where everything is at the moment. This will also allow more movement of the shoulder and make physical therapy more productive and possibly lessen the pain.
One other complication in communication involves the removal of Jon's old trach which had straight edges and the replacement which has a cuff which can inflate to seal around the trach opening and allows more of the oxygen to get to the lungs. They need one with a cuff when using a respirator. It also prevent unwanted objects, such as carrots, from going down into the lungs. That is great but the big BUT is that for the most part it prevents normal speech and we are back to guessing what he is trying to say, spelling important words etc. unless he is so perturbed he practically yells and the voice box reverberates!!!
And finally, since the halo has been removed the new strain put on neck muscles, especially during things like repositioning, has created new pain... sometimes quite intense.
Some plusses...the new room is quite large, has a new style flat TV, a nurse -patient ratio of 1:3 (with great nurses) and this computer which we can use to update the posts.
The neurosurgeons had stopped by yesterday to check on Jon and I asked about the problem which was developing with the thoracic vertebrae. They seemed to be shifting according to the MRIs...drifting might even be a better word. Since the only pictures they had were from the original and what they had the last few days they weren't sure when the movement started or if it had stopped. If it had stopped it would be considered frozen and there would be no remediation and I got the impression it would interfere with his ability to maintain an upright position, especially in a wheelchair. If it was still moving then surgery could be done to keep the spinal column in alignment.
I had spent the night with Jon since he was in considerable pain and doesn't seem to be able to use any of the call buttons here either (One plus for St Francis!) so I went home for a nap this morning and of course an anesthesiologist came to inform Jon's father that he was scheduled for surgery tomorrow. The nurse tonight informs me that this particular surgery is not the major one that was discussed yesterday but is a minimally invasive procedure which will cut into some of the muscle which is pulling on the spinal cord. They will take another CAT scan tonight so they know exactly where everything is at the moment. This will also allow more movement of the shoulder and make physical therapy more productive and possibly lessen the pain.
One other complication in communication involves the removal of Jon's old trach which had straight edges and the replacement which has a cuff which can inflate to seal around the trach opening and allows more of the oxygen to get to the lungs. They need one with a cuff when using a respirator. It also prevent unwanted objects, such as carrots, from going down into the lungs. That is great but the big BUT is that for the most part it prevents normal speech and we are back to guessing what he is trying to say, spelling important words etc. unless he is so perturbed he practically yells and the voice box reverberates!!!
And finally, since the halo has been removed the new strain put on neck muscles, especially during things like repositioning, has created new pain... sometimes quite intense.
Some plusses...the new room is quite large, has a new style flat TV, a nurse -patient ratio of 1:3 (with great nurses) and this computer which we can use to update the posts.
Update
Jon is still in the main hospital. He is going to be having an MRI because they think they may have to do back surgery. Will keep you updated as we know more...Thanks for checking in!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Out of Medical I.C.U.!!
Jon was given a swallow test earlier today and he passed!!! He has been breathing on his own and maintaining his oxygen saturation above 95% long enough that he is able to be moved out of I.C.U. However, they would like to keep a closer eye on him still so instead of going back to Dodd Hall, he has been moved to a regular room at Ohio State University Hospital Room S1120B.
(written by sister Barb, yes I can be brief!)
(written by sister Barb, yes I can be brief!)
Just when I thought all was OK
(written by sister Barb, sorry - this is actually the short version!!!)
Jon seemed to be resting peacefully but unbeknownst to me his oxygen saturation levels (sats) were dropping. I went to the nurses station at 11:15 to let them know that he was overdue to be turned and they were in the middle of a shift change. The new nurse would see Jon first. I came back and told Jon the nurse would be down to turn him soon. He cut me off “Hush. I’m testing." I don’t know what that meant but he was doing something with his breathing. She came at 11:45. Before turning him, she took his vitals. When she saw that his oxygen saturation was at 83% she immediately called the doctor.
The next hour and twenty five minutes was spent trying to get his saturation up to at least 92%. The respiratory therapist came down and did his standard treatment; that did not help. Then he “bagged” him. It is a mouthpiece with a bag that the therapist deflates. After the first time, Jon said “Can Steve do that again?” It seemed to help him, but not his saturation levels (sats). The nurse suctioned him after each bagging. The first time, the secretions were a thick white; the second they were yellow and a piece of carrot came with it as he had choked on some raw carrots at dinner time. The doctor ordered a chest x-ray to see if he had aspiration pneumonia (pneumonia caused by food getting into the lungs). The nurse drew blood and the respiratory therapist wanted to do an AGB draw (Arterial Blood Gas) which measures how much oxygen is actually in the blood itself to make sure the machine was working properly. The respiratory therapist (RT) would draw blood directly from the artery and therefore had to do it at the base of his wrist or through the groin. Jon was not happy at either option. The RT told Jon “I’m very good at this." After the first failed attempt Jon said “You’re right, you’re not very good at this.” The RT said “No, I said I am usually very good at this.” Jon replied “Well, you’re not now.” The RT apologized and said that if he couldn’t get it the second time, he would let the doctor do it. He asked the nurse for a Doppler to help find the artery. The second time brought some blood but not enough. When Jon replied again that the RT was not good at this, the RT replied “No, your artery isn’t good.” He told Jon he had to try a third time at which Jon was really rather upset. The third time was a charm. The RT said “I’ve got blood.” Jon said “Is it enough?” He said “yes.” Jon said “Are you happy?” (not sarcastically).
At 1:10 a.m. Saturday morning, the doctor came in-- the nurse was communicating with him on the phone for the first hour. He ordered an ambulance to take Jon to the main hospital for closer monitoring. The AGB results showed his oxygen levels really were at 84%. The paramedics put him on 100% oxygen through a closed mask and his sats went up to 99% in a matter of minutes. However, the hospital does not like to keep a patient on 100% oxygen for very long, it is only for “emergencies.”
Spent 5 hours in ER, then moved to 10th floor Doan Hall for “closer monitoring.” Barb was with him until 6 a.m. Then Dad was with him from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. After suctioning numerous times in less than 20 minutes, he was moved to the Medical Intensive Care Unit for even “closer monitoring.” (Like a 2:1 ratio.) He was put back on a respirator.
His cousin Dick and Linda came up for the 1:00-2:00 p.m. visitation. Linda asked him if he would like a face massage. His eyes lit up “Yes.” So she did. He really liked it. Later when I asked Jon about the visit he said “Dick made me laugh.” When I asked what Dick said, Jon said he was just “goofy.”
By Sunday morning, his sats had been consistently over 95% on the respirator.
By Sunday afternoon he was breathing on his own, but still hooked up to the respirator. His sats were still consistently over 95%.
At the 5:00 p.m. visitation Sunday the respirator was off, he still had moist air over his trach for extra pressure support but things were looking very good. He needs to have a swallowing test to determine when he can eat again and when he can have a talking trach again.
He will hopefully be back at Dodd Hall by the time you read all of this!!
Jon seemed to be resting peacefully but unbeknownst to me his oxygen saturation levels (sats) were dropping. I went to the nurses station at 11:15 to let them know that he was overdue to be turned and they were in the middle of a shift change. The new nurse would see Jon first. I came back and told Jon the nurse would be down to turn him soon. He cut me off “Hush. I’m testing." I don’t know what that meant but he was doing something with his breathing. She came at 11:45. Before turning him, she took his vitals. When she saw that his oxygen saturation was at 83% she immediately called the doctor.
The next hour and twenty five minutes was spent trying to get his saturation up to at least 92%. The respiratory therapist came down and did his standard treatment; that did not help. Then he “bagged” him. It is a mouthpiece with a bag that the therapist deflates. After the first time, Jon said “Can Steve do that again?” It seemed to help him, but not his saturation levels (sats). The nurse suctioned him after each bagging. The first time, the secretions were a thick white; the second they were yellow and a piece of carrot came with it as he had choked on some raw carrots at dinner time. The doctor ordered a chest x-ray to see if he had aspiration pneumonia (pneumonia caused by food getting into the lungs). The nurse drew blood and the respiratory therapist wanted to do an AGB draw (Arterial Blood Gas) which measures how much oxygen is actually in the blood itself to make sure the machine was working properly. The respiratory therapist (RT) would draw blood directly from the artery and therefore had to do it at the base of his wrist or through the groin. Jon was not happy at either option. The RT told Jon “I’m very good at this." After the first failed attempt Jon said “You’re right, you’re not very good at this.” The RT said “No, I said I am usually very good at this.” Jon replied “Well, you’re not now.” The RT apologized and said that if he couldn’t get it the second time, he would let the doctor do it. He asked the nurse for a Doppler to help find the artery. The second time brought some blood but not enough. When Jon replied again that the RT was not good at this, the RT replied “No, your artery isn’t good.” He told Jon he had to try a third time at which Jon was really rather upset. The third time was a charm. The RT said “I’ve got blood.” Jon said “Is it enough?” He said “yes.” Jon said “Are you happy?” (not sarcastically).
At 1:10 a.m. Saturday morning, the doctor came in-- the nurse was communicating with him on the phone for the first hour. He ordered an ambulance to take Jon to the main hospital for closer monitoring. The AGB results showed his oxygen levels really were at 84%. The paramedics put him on 100% oxygen through a closed mask and his sats went up to 99% in a matter of minutes. However, the hospital does not like to keep a patient on 100% oxygen for very long, it is only for “emergencies.”
Spent 5 hours in ER, then moved to 10th floor Doan Hall for “closer monitoring.” Barb was with him until 6 a.m. Then Dad was with him from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. After suctioning numerous times in less than 20 minutes, he was moved to the Medical Intensive Care Unit for even “closer monitoring.” (Like a 2:1 ratio.) He was put back on a respirator.
His cousin Dick and Linda came up for the 1:00-2:00 p.m. visitation. Linda asked him if he would like a face massage. His eyes lit up “Yes.” So she did. He really liked it. Later when I asked Jon about the visit he said “Dick made me laugh.” When I asked what Dick said, Jon said he was just “goofy.”
By Sunday morning, his sats had been consistently over 95% on the respirator.
By Sunday afternoon he was breathing on his own, but still hooked up to the respirator. His sats were still consistently over 95%.
At the 5:00 p.m. visitation Sunday the respirator was off, he still had moist air over his trach for extra pressure support but things were looking very good. He needs to have a swallowing test to determine when he can eat again and when he can have a talking trach again.
He will hopefully be back at Dodd Hall by the time you read all of this!!
Friday, January 30, 2009
All The Tests Paid Off!!!!!!
This is Barb, Jon's sister. I am having problems posting under my name. Anyway, Friday between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. the halo was removed!!!! The joy of having it removed was soon replaced by pain of his neck adjusting to a new position. Jon said "Surely it was removed and surely I am feeling pain but it is from the false sense that the screws are still in my head. But I would not trade the pain now for still having the halo". Jon wanted me to show a picture before (with halo) and now (without halo). He now has a neck brace but no halo!! Hallelujah!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The testing never ends!!
Once more Jon was trucked over to the main hospital for more CAT Scans on his neck. Still testing for his range of motion on his neck (they removed enough of the halo so that he could touch his chin to his chest and tilt his head backwards). There was a doctor in the lab that said things looked good but the final word would be given by the neurosurgeon. Carol asked about the thoracic area. "That part is not healing well and is all messed up". Apparently it is curved in areas that should be not be curved.
As a result of the testing, he missed all of his therapy today. He is tired and worn out from all the testing but his mood still seems to be pretty good. He ate 2 bite size Snickers bars and a piece of apple pie today so he apparently has his appetite for sweets back!! He typically eats only a bite or two of his meat however, today he ate 1/2 of the meat!
Dad was here in the morning until about 2pm. Mom, Carol and Barb came late morning and stayed until early evening.
As a result of the testing, he missed all of his therapy today. He is tired and worn out from all the testing but his mood still seems to be pretty good. He ate 2 bite size Snickers bars and a piece of apple pie today so he apparently has his appetite for sweets back!! He typically eats only a bite or two of his meat however, today he ate 1/2 of the meat!
Dad was here in the morning until about 2pm. Mom, Carol and Barb came late morning and stayed until early evening.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
What a Whirlwind!
More tests! It seems that Jon's halo is made of titanium so there is no problem doing an MRI afterall. Last night he was sent to have several MRI's of his head.If you've ever had an MRI you know what kind of noise they make--like a jackhammer out of control!! The last one I had I thought "I'll just take a nap.." yeah, sure! Anyway, Jon had a hard time laying still enough so they only could do one part of the test. He went down today after therapy and did the rest of it. They actually disconnected the halo from his chest brace to see how well everything in his upper spine was healing. We are looking forward to hearing the results later this week.
Carol has 3 days off this week and wanted to spend them with Jon so I met her in Findlay and brought her back down to Columbus.The snow was just getting started and we beat the freezing rain. When we left the hospital though the freezing rain had been at it for several hours so the 15 minute trip back to Barb's took more than half an hour. Today Columbus had at least 6 inches of snow--would have been more if they hadn't had so much freezing rain so it took awhile to shovel out a path and defrost the doors. We finally got here about 3:45 p.m. We'll be staying with sister Barb when we come down for visits. Barb and Jon's Dad are enjoying the opportunity to visit daily.
We've been trying very hard to keep Jon's fingers from curling but the physical therapist wants them to curl so that when he's leaning backwards on his arms he has more stability. He needs this position to help with transitioning from the transfer board to a wheelchair. We also were able to watch the occupational therapist make him a custom thumb brace. The therapy sessions have been interesting to watch. The therapist is working with him every minute of the half hour and seems to be tailoring his sessions toward specific goals. All his doctors, nurses and therapists had a team meeting meeting today to determine goals and a possible discharge date. Had Columbus not been under a Level 2 emergency status we might have made it over in time to sit in on the meeting.
Jon's attitude has changed dramatically. He is making great efforts to memorize names of the staff and greet them cheerfully...I must add that the whole atmosphere here is totally different. Jon has made more effort to try the food--we've suggested that it is a different set of cooks and menus so he's been willing to give them a try. One of the things he definitely likes is having real potatoes, not instant!
My apologies for the long times between postings. Between my computer being unreliable and the hour and a half trip home I've not always been capable of sitting down to write--one more reason to respect my friend's blog for her daughter. She'd be writing at one or two in the morning. (She also had her own laptop that went everywhere with her and is about half my age...)Last week I spent both Wednesday and Thursday night in Fremont...less than 24 hours notice on moving...the excuses could go on and on but the main point is I do apologize and I'm glad you're following Jon's progress.
Carol has 3 days off this week and wanted to spend them with Jon so I met her in Findlay and brought her back down to Columbus.The snow was just getting started and we beat the freezing rain. When we left the hospital though the freezing rain had been at it for several hours so the 15 minute trip back to Barb's took more than half an hour. Today Columbus had at least 6 inches of snow--would have been more if they hadn't had so much freezing rain so it took awhile to shovel out a path and defrost the doors. We finally got here about 3:45 p.m. We'll be staying with sister Barb when we come down for visits. Barb and Jon's Dad are enjoying the opportunity to visit daily.
We've been trying very hard to keep Jon's fingers from curling but the physical therapist wants them to curl so that when he's leaning backwards on his arms he has more stability. He needs this position to help with transitioning from the transfer board to a wheelchair. We also were able to watch the occupational therapist make him a custom thumb brace. The therapy sessions have been interesting to watch. The therapist is working with him every minute of the half hour and seems to be tailoring his sessions toward specific goals. All his doctors, nurses and therapists had a team meeting meeting today to determine goals and a possible discharge date. Had Columbus not been under a Level 2 emergency status we might have made it over in time to sit in on the meeting.
Jon's attitude has changed dramatically. He is making great efforts to memorize names of the staff and greet them cheerfully...I must add that the whole atmosphere here is totally different. Jon has made more effort to try the food--we've suggested that it is a different set of cooks and menus so he's been willing to give them a try. One of the things he definitely likes is having real potatoes, not instant!
My apologies for the long times between postings. Between my computer being unreliable and the hour and a half trip home I've not always been capable of sitting down to write--one more reason to respect my friend's blog for her daughter. She'd be writing at one or two in the morning. (She also had her own laptop that went everywhere with her and is about half my age...)Last week I spent both Wednesday and Thursday night in Fremont...less than 24 hours notice on moving...the excuses could go on and on but the main point is I do apologize and I'm glad you're following Jon's progress.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Dodd Hall has a New Resident!
Jon’s bone scan results came back Thursday afternoon with no indication that an infection had gone into the bone so his case manager called Dodd to see if he had the okay to be admitted. The answer: “If you can get him here before noon tomorrow we can admit him.” Mind you this was around 3:30 in the afternoon. She came to me and said if she could get an ambulance to take him around 9 the next morning would it be okay with Jon and me. We both said yes although I think we were both in shock at the suddenness of it all.
We set out at 9:35 and my first surprise was when they turned north. I thought we were going to take the bypass around Fremont and head south on Rt 53 but no--we turned east going through Clyde, Bellevue, all the way to Norwalk and then turned south to Ashland heading to I 71! All in all, what should have been a 2 hour trip at the most turned into an almost 3 hour trek.
Once here they really put him through the ropes. A 4 page inquisition, whoops, medical history and then 2 or 3 doctors all asking similar questions, poking here and there. They left and he was trying to get a nap and along came an x-ray machine and technician wanting a chest x-ray. I commented that he just had one yesterday and she went right on about her business--later it dawned on me that each place likes to have their own base line of information with their own equipment. Then supper came and half way through it 2 gals came with a gurney and announced he was going to get a CAT scan...now! at 6 o’clock or so… He was pretty much too tired to eat by the time he got back and only ate about a third of his chef salad and half a carton of milk.
Today he has had an evaluation by both the speech therapist and the occupational therapist. The physical therapist was in sometime during yesterday afternoon. Even though the therapists at Green Springs and I were disappointed in the amount of effort he gave and frustrated by the slow progress he was making the staff here seems pleased with what he can do. They are thinking of setting him up with a power wheelchair so he can drive himself where he needs to go. He is having trouble with their call buttons though. The call button at Green Springs was easy to use, the slightest tap sending a call for the nurse although the call wouldn't necessarily be acknowledged for some minutes. Dodd doesn't have one that sensitive. They tried every kind they had and he couldn't hit it hard enough to register. However, with their system a call is answered immediately by someone at the switchboard. In the meantime, they will have someone posted nearby to check on him regularly to see how he's doing. Jon has also had low blood pressure today and if they can't get more fluids in him they may start an IV. Nothing seems simple anymore.
It seems they weren’t through taking pictures yesterday. They needed an x ray of his spine and then several hours later they turned up with a gurney and hauled him off for a CAT scan of his spine! ..again at supper time. I went with him and we went through three separate clinics down through a tunnel, up to the second floor of another clinic and possibly another elevator and floor to the radiology department! This is only a slight exaggeration--and I do mean slight!
He has a phone by his bed that they will be teaching him how to use. My guess it will be best at least in the beginning for making calls out since it looks pretty much like a regular phone. He will have to use an adaptive hand piece with a pencil to dial and then he will be on speaker phone so no one has to stand there and hold the receiver. We will put the phone number with his other information as soon as we have it.
It’s a good thing we came on a Friday; he needs the rest and hopefully no one comes in on a Sunday to do more tests. The CAT scans and x-rays of his head and spine will be sent to a neurosurgeon on Monday so we should soon find out how the vertebrae are healing.
Thanks for tuning in and we’ll try to keep you posted more often. Keep those warm thoughts and prayers coming our way. We appreciate them.
P.S. Will change the address and list of phone tomorrow....
We set out at 9:35 and my first surprise was when they turned north. I thought we were going to take the bypass around Fremont and head south on Rt 53 but no--we turned east going through Clyde, Bellevue, all the way to Norwalk and then turned south to Ashland heading to I 71! All in all, what should have been a 2 hour trip at the most turned into an almost 3 hour trek.
Once here they really put him through the ropes. A 4 page inquisition, whoops, medical history and then 2 or 3 doctors all asking similar questions, poking here and there. They left and he was trying to get a nap and along came an x-ray machine and technician wanting a chest x-ray. I commented that he just had one yesterday and she went right on about her business--later it dawned on me that each place likes to have their own base line of information with their own equipment. Then supper came and half way through it 2 gals came with a gurney and announced he was going to get a CAT scan...now! at 6 o’clock or so… He was pretty much too tired to eat by the time he got back and only ate about a third of his chef salad and half a carton of milk.
Today he has had an evaluation by both the speech therapist and the occupational therapist. The physical therapist was in sometime during yesterday afternoon. Even though the therapists at Green Springs and I were disappointed in the amount of effort he gave and frustrated by the slow progress he was making the staff here seems pleased with what he can do. They are thinking of setting him up with a power wheelchair so he can drive himself where he needs to go. He is having trouble with their call buttons though. The call button at Green Springs was easy to use, the slightest tap sending a call for the nurse although the call wouldn't necessarily be acknowledged for some minutes. Dodd doesn't have one that sensitive. They tried every kind they had and he couldn't hit it hard enough to register. However, with their system a call is answered immediately by someone at the switchboard. In the meantime, they will have someone posted nearby to check on him regularly to see how he's doing. Jon has also had low blood pressure today and if they can't get more fluids in him they may start an IV. Nothing seems simple anymore.
It seems they weren’t through taking pictures yesterday. They needed an x ray of his spine and then several hours later they turned up with a gurney and hauled him off for a CAT scan of his spine! ..again at supper time. I went with him and we went through three separate clinics down through a tunnel, up to the second floor of another clinic and possibly another elevator and floor to the radiology department! This is only a slight exaggeration--and I do mean slight!
He has a phone by his bed that they will be teaching him how to use. My guess it will be best at least in the beginning for making calls out since it looks pretty much like a regular phone. He will have to use an adaptive hand piece with a pencil to dial and then he will be on speaker phone so no one has to stand there and hold the receiver. We will put the phone number with his other information as soon as we have it.
It’s a good thing we came on a Friday; he needs the rest and hopefully no one comes in on a Sunday to do more tests. The CAT scans and x-rays of his head and spine will be sent to a neurosurgeon on Monday so we should soon find out how the vertebrae are healing.
Thanks for tuning in and we’ll try to keep you posted more often. Keep those warm thoughts and prayers coming our way. We appreciate them.
P.S. Will change the address and list of phone tomorrow....
Saturday, January 24, 2009
O-H-I-O!
Well all, Jon is actually IN COLUMBUS! I don't know all too much as I was not there, but I wanted to let everyone know that he had moved. I got a call from my mom Thursday night that Uncle J's bone scan came back good and he was going to be moved to Dodd Hall at OSU Friday morning at 9:00. I talked with Grandma yesterday and they had arrived safely, though she said that Jon was exhausted, what with the long ambulance ride and then being poked and prodded for testing once he arrived. It sounds like he will have the rest of this weekend to recuperate and then begin his therapy Monday. More posts to follow and we will get his new hospital info up soon. Thanks again!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
My Apologies!
I knew it had been a while since I had posted and had hoped Angelique would post Saturday after our visit with Jon. The cold weather has wreaked havoc with my computer at home--doesn't always want to receive or send due to ice and snow on the receiver.
There have been good days along with the discouraging ones. Jon's mental state is not always consistent. Sometimes we can work him out of his crabby state and sometimes not. He doesn't limit his arguments to just us, however, sometimes he argues with the doctor and more times than not, I hear, gives the nurses a rough time. (The doctor had to remind him during one interview that he, not Jon, was in charge...) He has finally just come out and said he's just plain depressed. I kinda think he feels deserted.
His eating is still poor although he scarfs down salads everyday...mostly iceberg lettuce and carrots so not much in the way of calories for all that effort. He has a chef salad almost every evening and usually polishes off everything--but the meat! Jello and peaches-combined or alone-are two other foods he readily eats. He has grown too used to fast foods in the past to recognize a good meal when he sees it but sometimes what looks good here is definitely not! Even his favorite foods that we bring in just don't seem to taste right.
He has one bedsore that is really causing some trouble and what looks to me like another one starting in the area where I would imagine the left pelvic bone is. While the larger one is getting better there is concern because it should be healing faster. Part of the slowness in healing is due to an inadequate supply of protein. Jon feels that it doesn't matter if he doesn't eat a good meal because they supplement with tube feedings. We've had to explain today that there just isn't enough protein in a can to do the trick. I really hoped that refried beans might be part of the solution but wouldn't you know, he doesn't like that! (I can't get the idea across that food is fuel not necessarily pleasure!)The situation might also have been different if he had some meat on his bones also!
Tomorrow morning he goes in for a 3 phase bone scan for the sore in the area of his tailbone. While they don't think it has gone that deep they want to make sure. If the results are good then there is a chance he can go to Dodd Hall in Columbus next week...how many weeks have I said that now?
Will try to do better-include in your prayers patience and strength for the rest of the family as well as for Jon.
Thanks.
There have been good days along with the discouraging ones. Jon's mental state is not always consistent. Sometimes we can work him out of his crabby state and sometimes not. He doesn't limit his arguments to just us, however, sometimes he argues with the doctor and more times than not, I hear, gives the nurses a rough time. (The doctor had to remind him during one interview that he, not Jon, was in charge...) He has finally just come out and said he's just plain depressed. I kinda think he feels deserted.
His eating is still poor although he scarfs down salads everyday...mostly iceberg lettuce and carrots so not much in the way of calories for all that effort. He has a chef salad almost every evening and usually polishes off everything--but the meat! Jello and peaches-combined or alone-are two other foods he readily eats. He has grown too used to fast foods in the past to recognize a good meal when he sees it but sometimes what looks good here is definitely not! Even his favorite foods that we bring in just don't seem to taste right.
He has one bedsore that is really causing some trouble and what looks to me like another one starting in the area where I would imagine the left pelvic bone is. While the larger one is getting better there is concern because it should be healing faster. Part of the slowness in healing is due to an inadequate supply of protein. Jon feels that it doesn't matter if he doesn't eat a good meal because they supplement with tube feedings. We've had to explain today that there just isn't enough protein in a can to do the trick. I really hoped that refried beans might be part of the solution but wouldn't you know, he doesn't like that! (I can't get the idea across that food is fuel not necessarily pleasure!)The situation might also have been different if he had some meat on his bones also!
Tomorrow morning he goes in for a 3 phase bone scan for the sore in the area of his tailbone. While they don't think it has gone that deep they want to make sure. If the results are good then there is a chance he can go to Dodd Hall in Columbus next week...how many weeks have I said that now?
Will try to do better-include in your prayers patience and strength for the rest of the family as well as for Jon.
Thanks.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Making Progress, Slowly but Surely
Carol and I had the opportunity to watch Jon at occupational therapy today. His task was to remove little blocks which were velcroed to squares on a "checkerboard" by their handles and hang them on rods. It was an excellent small motor exercise. He removed all 20 from the board hanging them carefully on rods and then discovered he was only half way through the exercise! He then had to remove them from the rods, one by one, and place them back on the board! It took 25 agonizing minutes-both for him and us but he completed the job! We were both very proud of him.
We have discovered how much he likes salads which he eats twice a day but lettuce and carrots don't exactly top the nutritional, or the caloric, scale. He does drink at least half of his milk and does well with fruit cocktail. We are still working on building up his confidence in his ability to feed himself.
He has had some problems with the muscles in his arm seemingly atrophying. At one point he could get his elbows back far enough that he could reach the pegs on the wheels of the wheelchair but now it hurts to even try to get his arms that far back. "Working through the pain" is not an expression that sits well on his ears!
The doctor was in at supper time for his daily rounds and told us that he would be getting a smaller trach--I had thought he was at the smallest one already but was mistaken. In a few days they will cap the trach during the day and he will be breathing through his mouth, and nose? During the night he will have the cap taken off so he will be breathing in the old, more familiar, way. The next step will be to remove the trach altogether.
The trach seems to be the last hurdle to being accepted to Dodd Hall in Columbus although the situation involving the mucous plugs was explained to them and it didn't seem as much a problem then. Dodd Hall has no available beds this week but probably will next week. They only do admissions on Wednesday and Thursday. The weather being as it is this week it probably is best to wait another week anyway.
Mental confusion and stubbornness seem to be the biggest problems for his family. We can't seem to get the concept of practice, practice, practice through to him--just working during the time allotted for physical therapy seems to satisfy him. (However, I was extremely pleased to see that he was using a combination of movements in the occupational exercise.) He has days when he "talks" motivated but it doesn't carry through.
We have discovered how much he likes salads which he eats twice a day but lettuce and carrots don't exactly top the nutritional, or the caloric, scale. He does drink at least half of his milk and does well with fruit cocktail. We are still working on building up his confidence in his ability to feed himself.
He has had some problems with the muscles in his arm seemingly atrophying. At one point he could get his elbows back far enough that he could reach the pegs on the wheels of the wheelchair but now it hurts to even try to get his arms that far back. "Working through the pain" is not an expression that sits well on his ears!
The doctor was in at supper time for his daily rounds and told us that he would be getting a smaller trach--I had thought he was at the smallest one already but was mistaken. In a few days they will cap the trach during the day and he will be breathing through his mouth, and nose? During the night he will have the cap taken off so he will be breathing in the old, more familiar, way. The next step will be to remove the trach altogether.
The trach seems to be the last hurdle to being accepted to Dodd Hall in Columbus although the situation involving the mucous plugs was explained to them and it didn't seem as much a problem then. Dodd Hall has no available beds this week but probably will next week. They only do admissions on Wednesday and Thursday. The weather being as it is this week it probably is best to wait another week anyway.
Mental confusion and stubbornness seem to be the biggest problems for his family. We can't seem to get the concept of practice, practice, practice through to him--just working during the time allotted for physical therapy seems to satisfy him. (However, I was extremely pleased to see that he was using a combination of movements in the occupational exercise.) He has days when he "talks" motivated but it doesn't carry through.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Down in the Dump Days
Not a whole lot of good news to report lately. Jon had a terrific day on Saturday--good company, good conversation in general, first shower in 10 weeks--but as usual good days have been followed by down in the dump days and this week has been no exception. He continues to be extremely picky about eating as he has no appetite and complains about the physical therapy regimen. I can hardly wait till he’s in Dodd Hall with other spinal injury folk so he can’t complain about his injuries being special!
Along with specialized therapy for spinal cord injuries Dodd Hall also has specific programs for closed head injuries which can affect cognitive thinking, attitude, and physical capabilities--I think; group and individual therapy and “cheerleading”; and counseling for reconciling with what life has thrown their way.
Medically Jon has just one problem standing in the way...the spot on his lung that doesn’t seem to clear up with normal therapy. A pulmonologist will be looking at the CAT scans and chest x-rays tomorrow to decide if he wants to go down into the lung to see what is actually going on. Once that is taken care of he is cleared for the trip to Columbus, if accepted by Dodd Hall.
In physical therapy Jon is working on getting his thumbs hooked on the knobs of the wheels and moving his hands forward. His right arm does not move backward quite far enough for a comfortable reach yet. He may find himself literally going in circles! Today in occupational therapy he practiced using the adaptable spoon, which can be strapped to his hand, to scoop objects out of a container and place them on the lid of the container. This is a good exercise which will make eating by himself possible. Once he got items out of the container he had to use his thumb and forefinger to pick them up and place them back in the box. He can do 3/4 inch blocks fairly well but slim objects are much harder. This exercise takes a lot of concentration on his part...some of which I am not sure is hard work or just stubbornness. He still goes to the beginning point of pain and stops whatever activity he's involved in and we can't convince him to at least hold at that point for any number of seconds.
I was able to trim up his hair on the back of his head since he was sitting in his wheelchair when I arrived today. The top part of the chair which gives extra support to his halo had not been placed on the back of the chair so it was much easier to get at...also easier when he asked for his head to be scratched. He also noted that with shorter hair the head scratching felt "different."
He seems to be enjoying his new mattress which was delivered last night. He has developed another bedsore--makes 2 now--and his most frequent nurse is quite concerned. Thanks to her there is a more rigid following of the turning schedule which is supposed to be every 2 hours and no more than an hour in his chair at a time with the exception of the time he is in physical therapy.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers; both Jon and I can use all the positive support you send our way and many, many thanks for that.
Along with specialized therapy for spinal cord injuries Dodd Hall also has specific programs for closed head injuries which can affect cognitive thinking, attitude, and physical capabilities--I think; group and individual therapy and “cheerleading”; and counseling for reconciling with what life has thrown their way.
Medically Jon has just one problem standing in the way...the spot on his lung that doesn’t seem to clear up with normal therapy. A pulmonologist will be looking at the CAT scans and chest x-rays tomorrow to decide if he wants to go down into the lung to see what is actually going on. Once that is taken care of he is cleared for the trip to Columbus, if accepted by Dodd Hall.
In physical therapy Jon is working on getting his thumbs hooked on the knobs of the wheels and moving his hands forward. His right arm does not move backward quite far enough for a comfortable reach yet. He may find himself literally going in circles! Today in occupational therapy he practiced using the adaptable spoon, which can be strapped to his hand, to scoop objects out of a container and place them on the lid of the container. This is a good exercise which will make eating by himself possible. Once he got items out of the container he had to use his thumb and forefinger to pick them up and place them back in the box. He can do 3/4 inch blocks fairly well but slim objects are much harder. This exercise takes a lot of concentration on his part...some of which I am not sure is hard work or just stubbornness. He still goes to the beginning point of pain and stops whatever activity he's involved in and we can't convince him to at least hold at that point for any number of seconds.
I was able to trim up his hair on the back of his head since he was sitting in his wheelchair when I arrived today. The top part of the chair which gives extra support to his halo had not been placed on the back of the chair so it was much easier to get at...also easier when he asked for his head to be scratched. He also noted that with shorter hair the head scratching felt "different."
He seems to be enjoying his new mattress which was delivered last night. He has developed another bedsore--makes 2 now--and his most frequent nurse is quite concerned. Thanks to her there is a more rigid following of the turning schedule which is supposed to be every 2 hours and no more than an hour in his chair at a time with the exception of the time he is in physical therapy.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers; both Jon and I can use all the positive support you send our way and many, many thanks for that.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
One Fine Day
Got to visit Uncle J today. It was most definitely the best visit I have had in a long time. I worked on his hands: soaked them in warm, soapy water, trimmed his nails, and worked on the excess skin and lotion build-up he had going on. He did really good with that. I also fed him his dinner. I am very gung-ho on the whole eating food thing and he hasn't been eating much. He did really well, eating almost half of everything! That was encouraging. Visitors today included: his mom and dad, siblings Barb and Greg, friends Greg and Jimmy, and me. We had a few laughs throughout the day and that was nice. They told us he was going to get his first shower tonight and he is excited about that. We are a little curious as to how it is going to work, but know after 2 1/2 months of sponge baths only, it will most likely be very good for him!
During conversation with Grandma and myself, he mentioned something about his truck. We told him that even with modifications (hand controls, etc.), if they could be made, we didn't think it would suit him. His eyes got really big and alarmed and he said, "You mean I'm not going to get my legs back?" Grandma told him they've said not, but that you never know what can happen. Then we told him more in depth about his injuries and the prognosis. He told me he was concerned about being a burden to us, and I told him to not even think like that, we are his family and would be there no matter what! Then I talked to him about some friends and family who are in similar situations and how well they have done. He acknowledged that and I think will definitely be looking forward to talking to them, sharing experiences, and receiving advice.
I do know that Grandma had a chance to show him the blog, read him comments, and show him who follows it. So keep checking in and posting comments, we will do our best to make sure he gets them. Thanks for checking in. We hope to continue with many more good posts!
P.S. My mom (Carol) just called me and told me that he did, in fact, enjoy his shower and that the nurse said he was very talkative. :)
During conversation with Grandma and myself, he mentioned something about his truck. We told him that even with modifications (hand controls, etc.), if they could be made, we didn't think it would suit him. His eyes got really big and alarmed and he said, "You mean I'm not going to get my legs back?" Grandma told him they've said not, but that you never know what can happen. Then we told him more in depth about his injuries and the prognosis. He told me he was concerned about being a burden to us, and I told him to not even think like that, we are his family and would be there no matter what! Then I talked to him about some friends and family who are in similar situations and how well they have done. He acknowledged that and I think will definitely be looking forward to talking to them, sharing experiences, and receiving advice.
I do know that Grandma had a chance to show him the blog, read him comments, and show him who follows it. So keep checking in and posting comments, we will do our best to make sure he gets them. Thanks for checking in. We hope to continue with many more good posts!
P.S. My mom (Carol) just called me and told me that he did, in fact, enjoy his shower and that the nurse said he was very talkative. :)
Friday, December 26, 2008
...and a Merry Christmas was Had by All
The week started out rather rough for Jon. Early Monday morning he had a difficult time breathing and after having several attempts to clear his lungs was sent on an emergency run to the hospital at 5:30 a.m. By the time I got there at 8 he had been sent home since he was alert, chipper and in the doctor’s view didn’t have any problem that needed to be dealt with. (They did, however, schedule a CAT scan for Wednesday to see more clearly what was going on in the left lower lobe of his lungs. Everything else is clear and healthy looking.) He’s not fond of therapy in the first place so he was not happy to find that we were insisting on therapy that afternoon.
Tuesday was a relatively calm day. I made it to St. Francis in the afternoon with Carol and I watched his physical and occupational therapy sessions. He has some cognitive problems that are slowly getting better but while he seems to understand what is being told to him it takes several seconds to process that information and then carry out the task. The next day he may need to be told the same information with the same degree of thoroughness as the day before...and again, with the same amount of processing time. When asked his address he usually gives mine since that’s where he’s always had his mail sent and he had been living there for several weeks before the accident. Instead of saying 191 he said 119. After much thought he gave Watson Road. He’s never lived on that road. When I told him he had the right numbers but in the wrong order he thought about it and then put the numbers in order and the street name just popped right out.
He seems to need to have his day follow a certain order and does not do well with changes. If he’s supposed to have a respiratory treatment and the other therapists come to get him for their therapy he is very vocal in his resistance. He doesn’t understand that the staff is very flexible and whoever is available at a certain time has priority over those who haven’t made it to his door yet.
Wednesday it was off to Fremont Memorial Hospital again for the CAT scan of his chest. Getting loaded onto the stretcher and taking the 15 minute ride to the hospital and back again is a big deal and he was quite disappointed to find that it still didn’t get him out of therapy. We told him that with Christmas on Thursday and then only meeting with them on Friday and then the week-end would leave him mighty stiff and a step or two backward without therapy and he finally agreed. He likes the machine that looks rather like bike pedals but work with your hands. His hands have to be strapped to the pedals since he hasn’t developed a grip yet. The machine has an odometer of some sort that shows how much energy has been expended. The next exercise had a similar charting capacity also. I’m hoping he can start competing against his last session’s numbers to get things going faster.
Today, we all packed up our presents and Christmas dinner and made the hour and a half trip to St. Francis for Christmas. Barb took a decorated tree and put it in his room. He was put into his wheel chair and came out to the dining hall to eat with us. Barb had set the tables in a “u” configuration and put him in the middle but when he was finished eating he asked to be moved back several feet. I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hear everything that was going on but he said that was okay...moving that far back made it easier to see everyone since he can’t move his head from side to side due to the halo. Home cooking and good company makes it easier to eat and while it wasn’t a lot by any means it was the most he has eaten since passing the swallowing test last week. After clearing the table we passed out presents and opened them. Jon got several sets of socks, a yo-yo from me and a giant set of playing cards from his grandmother, a fuzzy throw blanket, a pair of slippers, and a digital photo album. We got several fleeting smiles from him throughout the afternoon and that’s quite an accomplishment!
Before leaving Jon asked if I had had a good Christmas. I said I did and asked how his was. He said, “it was good...I really enjoyed seeing everyone.” And so, despite all the changes in the day’s plans, (and believe me there were way too many to enumerate) it seems we accomplished what we had set out to do. We all hope that you had a Merry Christmas, also.
Tuesday was a relatively calm day. I made it to St. Francis in the afternoon with Carol and I watched his physical and occupational therapy sessions. He has some cognitive problems that are slowly getting better but while he seems to understand what is being told to him it takes several seconds to process that information and then carry out the task. The next day he may need to be told the same information with the same degree of thoroughness as the day before...and again, with the same amount of processing time. When asked his address he usually gives mine since that’s where he’s always had his mail sent and he had been living there for several weeks before the accident. Instead of saying 191 he said 119. After much thought he gave Watson Road. He’s never lived on that road. When I told him he had the right numbers but in the wrong order he thought about it and then put the numbers in order and the street name just popped right out.
He seems to need to have his day follow a certain order and does not do well with changes. If he’s supposed to have a respiratory treatment and the other therapists come to get him for their therapy he is very vocal in his resistance. He doesn’t understand that the staff is very flexible and whoever is available at a certain time has priority over those who haven’t made it to his door yet.
Wednesday it was off to Fremont Memorial Hospital again for the CAT scan of his chest. Getting loaded onto the stretcher and taking the 15 minute ride to the hospital and back again is a big deal and he was quite disappointed to find that it still didn’t get him out of therapy. We told him that with Christmas on Thursday and then only meeting with them on Friday and then the week-end would leave him mighty stiff and a step or two backward without therapy and he finally agreed. He likes the machine that looks rather like bike pedals but work with your hands. His hands have to be strapped to the pedals since he hasn’t developed a grip yet. The machine has an odometer of some sort that shows how much energy has been expended. The next exercise had a similar charting capacity also. I’m hoping he can start competing against his last session’s numbers to get things going faster.
Today, we all packed up our presents and Christmas dinner and made the hour and a half trip to St. Francis for Christmas. Barb took a decorated tree and put it in his room. He was put into his wheel chair and came out to the dining hall to eat with us. Barb had set the tables in a “u” configuration and put him in the middle but when he was finished eating he asked to be moved back several feet. I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hear everything that was going on but he said that was okay...moving that far back made it easier to see everyone since he can’t move his head from side to side due to the halo. Home cooking and good company makes it easier to eat and while it wasn’t a lot by any means it was the most he has eaten since passing the swallowing test last week. After clearing the table we passed out presents and opened them. Jon got several sets of socks, a yo-yo from me and a giant set of playing cards from his grandmother, a fuzzy throw blanket, a pair of slippers, and a digital photo album. We got several fleeting smiles from him throughout the afternoon and that’s quite an accomplishment!
Before leaving Jon asked if I had had a good Christmas. I said I did and asked how his was. He said, “it was good...I really enjoyed seeing everyone.” And so, despite all the changes in the day’s plans, (and believe me there were way too many to enumerate) it seems we accomplished what we had set out to do. We all hope that you had a Merry Christmas, also.
Monday, December 15, 2008
More Progress, ...and appreciation
Jon had his old trach replaced with a new, smaller one and got permission to have ice chips today. The trach replacement was no fun--I got to watch--but it only hurt a few minutes. He couldn’t get enough of the ice chips though. He was supposed to let them melt in his mouth but he has a touch of his mother in him and he crunches them! So I doled them out 2 at a time :-) I can also attest to the fact that he can burp! He went through the first cup that I gave him so fast that he needed to have his shoulders covered. I’m thinking this is all preparation for the swallowing test on Wednesday.
The respiratory specialist says that his treatments are less intense and he doesn’t need much suctioning afterward. Another sign of progress. When talking with Carol on the phone on the way home she mentioned that he had a chest x-ray today but no one mentioned it at the hospital so I'm not sure why or what the results were.
Everyone else has gotten him to smile about something and today was finally my turn. I was relaying the children’s Christmas pageant at church. It was entitled the “Mixed Up
Christmas Story” narrated by an absent minded professor--I hope I’m recalling this correctly. When the narrator got a fact wrong, a child “in the audience” called out to correct him. There were such factual errors such as a hotel/motel sign outside the stable; elves came to see what was going on and when the correction was made the stagehands came out and replaced their caps with shepherd crooks; supposedly Mary had a baby girl and when corrected the stagehands came and traded the girl doll for a boy doll; the sky was lit by a UFO but was corrected by turning the board over to reveal a large yellow star. What brought the chuckle from Jon was when I mentioned that instead of 3 wise men there were 3 tourists who came to take pictures and they marched down the center aisle pretending to take pictures of the church and the congregation! There were more mistakes but you’ve got the picture..no pun intended.
Generally speaking, he seemed in a better mood and more like the old Jon. He did ask a lot for head scratchings and tolerated the leg exercises and the application of lotion on his feet and hands. When he got his voice back a few days ago I had suggested that he not forget his “please” and “thank you’s” -- he might get better service. When I left tonight he upped the ante and told me how much he appreciated what I did for him!
The respiratory specialist says that his treatments are less intense and he doesn’t need much suctioning afterward. Another sign of progress. When talking with Carol on the phone on the way home she mentioned that he had a chest x-ray today but no one mentioned it at the hospital so I'm not sure why or what the results were.
Everyone else has gotten him to smile about something and today was finally my turn. I was relaying the children’s Christmas pageant at church. It was entitled the “Mixed Up
Christmas Story” narrated by an absent minded professor--I hope I’m recalling this correctly. When the narrator got a fact wrong, a child “in the audience” called out to correct him. There were such factual errors such as a hotel/motel sign outside the stable; elves came to see what was going on and when the correction was made the stagehands came out and replaced their caps with shepherd crooks; supposedly Mary had a baby girl and when corrected the stagehands came and traded the girl doll for a boy doll; the sky was lit by a UFO but was corrected by turning the board over to reveal a large yellow star. What brought the chuckle from Jon was when I mentioned that instead of 3 wise men there were 3 tourists who came to take pictures and they marched down the center aisle pretending to take pictures of the church and the congregation! There were more mistakes but you’ve got the picture..no pun intended.
Generally speaking, he seemed in a better mood and more like the old Jon. He did ask a lot for head scratchings and tolerated the leg exercises and the application of lotion on his feet and hands. When he got his voice back a few days ago I had suggested that he not forget his “please” and “thank you’s” -- he might get better service. When I left tonight he upped the ante and told me how much he appreciated what I did for him!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
WOW! He can talk--oops, my bad, he commands!
The staff inserted a slightly different size trach yesterday and since he seemed to tolerate it better than the one previously tried they put the passy muir valve on it today and we could hear his voice. "Scratch my head--down lower--scratch harder--ouch! not that hard--over to the right--no, down to the left, etc." I finally reminded him that he might get farther with at least an occasional 'please' and 'thank you.'
Angelique has been so wanting to carry on a regular conversation with her Uncle Jon that Carol called her and without saying who she was putting on the line to talk with her, she put the phone to Jon's ear. They talked a bit and then we heard Jon say, "You don't know who this is, do you?" About that time Carol took the phone back and told her it was her Uncle Jon...Angelique's reply?--Jon Castanien???? (like she has more than one Uncle Jon.) So then they had to talk some more...you can read her reaction below.
At one point in the afternoon Carol and I set about exercising his legs to keep his muscles from atrophying. He looked down and said, "What are you girls, doing?" We said we were exercising his legs to which he informed us that wasn't what they were doing in physical therapy. We just nonchalantly explained that these were the exercises Parkview had suggested and we had been doing them almost everyday now for about 5 weeks and kept right on going.
They are now administering some lung medication in what they refer to as an easy pack. Jon hates it! It must interfere with his breathing drastically and yesterday he was physically fighting it, pushing away the therapist's hands, etc. I went to take his hand away and declared him almost ready to do some arm wrestling! He's developing some muscle in the left arm...wish his right arm was coming along as well. One of his arguments against the medication was that 'he knew what was best for him!' They'll have to change the name of that procedure--'easy pack' is a misnomer in his mind.
Must say though that it went better today--of course, a male therapist might have something to do with it, too.
I know it is a long drive but now that he is communicating aloud instead of in whispers it would be worth your while to make the trip. He misses you!
Angelique has been so wanting to carry on a regular conversation with her Uncle Jon that Carol called her and without saying who she was putting on the line to talk with her, she put the phone to Jon's ear. They talked a bit and then we heard Jon say, "You don't know who this is, do you?" About that time Carol took the phone back and told her it was her Uncle Jon...Angelique's reply?--Jon Castanien???? (like she has more than one Uncle Jon.) So then they had to talk some more...you can read her reaction below.
At one point in the afternoon Carol and I set about exercising his legs to keep his muscles from atrophying. He looked down and said, "What are you girls, doing?" We said we were exercising his legs to which he informed us that wasn't what they were doing in physical therapy. We just nonchalantly explained that these were the exercises Parkview had suggested and we had been doing them almost everyday now for about 5 weeks and kept right on going.
They are now administering some lung medication in what they refer to as an easy pack. Jon hates it! It must interfere with his breathing drastically and yesterday he was physically fighting it, pushing away the therapist's hands, etc. I went to take his hand away and declared him almost ready to do some arm wrestling! He's developing some muscle in the left arm...wish his right arm was coming along as well. One of his arguments against the medication was that 'he knew what was best for him!' They'll have to change the name of that procedure--'easy pack' is a misnomer in his mind.
Must say though that it went better today--of course, a male therapist might have something to do with it, too.
I know it is a long drive but now that he is communicating aloud instead of in whispers it would be worth your while to make the trip. He misses you!
Totally Freakin' Awesome!
As I was leaving work for lunch today, my cell phone rang. Caller ID showed it was my mom's cell phone and I answered. I was greeted by a (slightly) unrecognizable male voice who asked me what I was doing. I said I was going to lunch and the caller said where are you going for lunch. I said I had no idea. The caller kept talking to me, and I may or may not have said, "Who the he!! is this?" "You don't know who this is?", was the reply. Uh, no. I tried to guess, but I couldn't think and I had no idea where the heck my mom was, so I got an "OK" and the next thing I hear is my mom asking me, "You don't know who that was?" I said no and she said, "UNCLE JON! Do you want to talk to him again?" "Are you kidding me? YEAH!" I told him I was sorry I was a jacka** and talked to him for a few minutes. I said that his voice sounded different, but he thought it sounded kind of the same. Of course, now that I knew who I was talking to, I could pick out certain characteristics of his voice.
I know no information medically about his talking trach, I only know that that was the most awesome, unexpected thing to happen to me in a long time. I can't wait to see Uncle J and have a (out loud!) conversation with him. Yay!
I know no information medically about his talking trach, I only know that that was the most awesome, unexpected thing to happen to me in a long time. I can't wait to see Uncle J and have a (out loud!) conversation with him. Yay!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
No $#@!, Dick Tracy!
Today, Grandma and I went to visit Uncle J. This was my first time to see him at his new digs and since Thanksgiving. He was not in the greatest of spirits and at one point I told him he was pretty crabby, to which he replied, "Wouldn't you be?" I told him I probably would but that to get better he needed to get a more positive attitude and he had to really try to do the rehab exercises, to which I was greeted with, "No $#@!, Dick Tracy!" Grandma had never heard this expression and added it to the list of our goofy expressions, along with "My bad." I tried to ignore his sour mood and told him some of my funny moving stories, which got a few half smiles. At one point Aunt Barb called and I was trying to ask him a question, he would look at me, but make absolutely no move to speak. I asked if he was ignoring me and I still got nothing. Then he wanted me to scratch his chin. I said, you want me to scratch you chin and you are ignoring me! He said what did I want and I asked him again. He begrudgingly answered. I think at this point there is just FRUSTRATION all the way around. Though it's understandable that he's not Mr. Sunshine, please pray for a more positive attitude to help him get through this. Thanks again!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Also...
Please note the zip code for Jon's current hospital has been changed ----------------------->
Barb and Carol (Jon's sisters) are going to be added as posters to the site, but I have been the one in charge of that and haven't had the time. I have sent invitations to their e-mail and will wait for a response.
I have not been able to see Uncle J much lately (or do anything really!) because of school, work, and moving, so I haven't been able to do any postings lately.
Thank you for your continued support and checking in through the blog!
P.S. Aunt Eleanor- I did get your phone message and really meant to call you! I'm glad that you like the blog and keep updated. Love, Angelique
Barb and Carol (Jon's sisters) are going to be added as posters to the site, but I have been the one in charge of that and haven't had the time. I have sent invitations to their e-mail and will wait for a response.
I have not been able to see Uncle J much lately (or do anything really!) because of school, work, and moving, so I haven't been able to do any postings lately.
Thank you for your continued support and checking in through the blog!
P.S. Aunt Eleanor- I did get your phone message and really meant to call you! I'm glad that you like the blog and keep updated. Love, Angelique
Overdue Update
My apologies for not keeping up with the posts. Barb had loaned Carol her computer so she could chime in once in a while and she’s only been there once this week. I have been there every day with the exception of Thursday but by the time I get back home I’m beat. Received a rather comprehensive report yesterday and unfortunately did not have my infamous notepad with me to take notes--didn’t realize how extensive they would be either. As of yesterday Jon has a passy muir speaking valve that can be put on his trach. This valve should allow Jon to talk again making communication so much easier. It seemed uncomfortable so he only had it in for a short time. (OSU has a short pdf. file on the Passy Muir valve but I don’t know how to incorporate it here.) It should help with the amount of secretions he has and improve his swallowing capability.
He has another “bug” or maybe a reoccurrence of an old one. Was running a fever on Tuesday which kept him down. My visitations have been late in the afternoon and he’s rather tired then. Loooooves to have his head scratched...harder comes through loud and clear even when just mouthed! On one visit he actually did have on a shirt I had brought. I should have know better than to bring one of his own button down shirts. He needed one much larger, but then I always wondered how they were going to get arms in and out of the sleeves. That was the only day--but then 2 days later I took all the shirts home, what the heck! Actually the nurses don’t seem to be in agreement. One will suggest dress shirt styles, others large V-neck tee shirts and one, bless her soul, even said she didn’t see how they expected to put any type of shirt on him! He has worn the jersey knit pants though. We joked about how he never in “real life” would have worn them.
He has been sitting in a wheel chair especially adapted for halos for 2 to 4 hours at a time. I believe one day it approached 6. He’s been out of his room several times. They may park him near the nurses station which would ruin my sanity. The patient call buttons sound a lot like the telephone ringing and “have to be loud so the nurses can hear them wherever they are.” Which is fine if it were possible for them to reach the patients a little speedier. A constant ringing sends me into a straight jacket condition and guessing from Jon’s attitude that day it doesn’t do much for him either.
They are using some hoisting device to get him out of the bed and when he masters sitting and balancing himself on the side of the bed they will start using a transfer board which is supposed to allow him to do more of the work(?)
Today, he has had a lot of company. Barb and her Dad were up to see him and their Aunts Ginny and Jeanne were there as well as their Uncle Dick. I’m sure his time was well occupied. His Dad said its time for another haircut, oh joy, oh joy. Trying to do a decent job working around the bars of a halo is really some trick. A shampoo of sorts is in order also.
Will try to get reports out in a more timely fashion in the coming weeks.
He has another “bug” or maybe a reoccurrence of an old one. Was running a fever on Tuesday which kept him down. My visitations have been late in the afternoon and he’s rather tired then. Loooooves to have his head scratched...harder comes through loud and clear even when just mouthed! On one visit he actually did have on a shirt I had brought. I should have know better than to bring one of his own button down shirts. He needed one much larger, but then I always wondered how they were going to get arms in and out of the sleeves. That was the only day--but then 2 days later I took all the shirts home, what the heck! Actually the nurses don’t seem to be in agreement. One will suggest dress shirt styles, others large V-neck tee shirts and one, bless her soul, even said she didn’t see how they expected to put any type of shirt on him! He has worn the jersey knit pants though. We joked about how he never in “real life” would have worn them.
He has been sitting in a wheel chair especially adapted for halos for 2 to 4 hours at a time. I believe one day it approached 6. He’s been out of his room several times. They may park him near the nurses station which would ruin my sanity. The patient call buttons sound a lot like the telephone ringing and “have to be loud so the nurses can hear them wherever they are.” Which is fine if it were possible for them to reach the patients a little speedier. A constant ringing sends me into a straight jacket condition and guessing from Jon’s attitude that day it doesn’t do much for him either.
They are using some hoisting device to get him out of the bed and when he masters sitting and balancing himself on the side of the bed they will start using a transfer board which is supposed to allow him to do more of the work(?)
Today, he has had a lot of company. Barb and her Dad were up to see him and their Aunts Ginny and Jeanne were there as well as their Uncle Dick. I’m sure his time was well occupied. His Dad said its time for another haircut, oh joy, oh joy. Trying to do a decent job working around the bars of a halo is really some trick. A shampoo of sorts is in order also.
Will try to get reports out in a more timely fashion in the coming weeks.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Day Two at Green Springs
Jon had a chance to meet with more of the staff today. The occupational therapist stopped by to assess Jon’s physical condition and was generally pleased with his arm and shoulder movements. She looked at the exercises he was doing at Parkview and was pleased with how everyone was doing them on their own with Jon, especially Carol and Joe. We were again impressed with their matter of fact approach to what Jon will learn to do and what his goals are for the stay. Getting him up and used to sitting in a wheelchair will be a big step as that allows him to go out of his room and “widen his world view.” We were impressed with Jon’s inventiveness in devising a method of using his finger with the oxygen measuring device to scratch his nose and chin (I believe the technical name for it is a pulse oximeter but not the kind that looks like a mini-clothespin.) Sometimes he has trouble making it to the desired spot but his reach is improving a lot. In fact, it seems his left arm has more range of motion. Maybe they ought to switch hands for measuring the amount of oxygen in his blood!
Carol was busy trying to post some of the many inspirational cards she has printed and laminated to put on the wall. Unfortunately, two sided tape isn’t as strong as she thought it would be and will have to go to the kind of “putty” teachers use in their rooms to put student’s work on the walls.
Jon has a way of putting family to work when they come to visit. Yesterday his Dad was working on messaging his hands and today I was scratching his head--his hair hasn’t been washed in over 5 weeks and I can only imagine what it feels like; Carol and Barb were doing leg exercises with him and he asked Carol’s friend, Dave, to message his arm...kinda looked like he was at an exclusive spa!
We got the TV set up so he can watch TV or listen to music. They had just moved him to his other side; they are changing his position every 2 hours as he already has a small bedsore....and we left him to have a quiet time to himself.
Carol was busy trying to post some of the many inspirational cards she has printed and laminated to put on the wall. Unfortunately, two sided tape isn’t as strong as she thought it would be and will have to go to the kind of “putty” teachers use in their rooms to put student’s work on the walls.
Jon has a way of putting family to work when they come to visit. Yesterday his Dad was working on messaging his hands and today I was scratching his head--his hair hasn’t been washed in over 5 weeks and I can only imagine what it feels like; Carol and Barb were doing leg exercises with him and he asked Carol’s friend, Dave, to message his arm...kinda looked like he was at an exclusive spa!
We got the TV set up so he can watch TV or listen to music. They had just moved him to his other side; they are changing his position every 2 hours as he already has a small bedsore....and we left him to have a quiet time to himself.
Friday, November 28, 2008
A Monumental Day
Jon could hardly wait for the move to begin. Poor guy thought that getting out of the hospital meant he could get all his hardware off. He was so disappointed when he was told all that "stuff" had to stay on. Barb and Dad got there as they were doing the respiration treatment. As a tube was being placed down the trach he was "talking" to Barb and all of a sudden she could actually hear his voice.
The EMTs got there around 11 and he was finally loaded and on the road about 11:45. His Dad got to ride in the front of the ambulance and Barb followed behind in his car. They had to stop once for suctioning and another time to calm Jon and cool him down. He was overly warm and panicky due to the length of the ride.
He continued to be extra warm once in his new room and was practically stripped. I noticed that the thermostat was set at 77 and felt a little warm myself. A little unusual for hospitals!
We met all the principals of the staff--case manager, admissions gal, respiratory gal, nurses and the doctor in a constant flow of paperwork and duties. Jon’s in insolation for 72 hours to make sure he has not brought any new germs to the building which only means you have to wear a gown and gloves while in the room. By Monday they might have him up and out of the room. He will be learning to dress himself--I want to see that--no working fingers and one big halo! It appears that his days will be full of occupational therapy as well as respiratory therapy. The projected line of progression is talking trach, no trach and eating real food instead of a food through a tube. Barb’s carrot dangling is promising him that when he can eat, it will be apple pie, his favorite!
St. Francis is located in a wooded setting with a small lake and at least 6 white ducks. His room has a nice large window, a desk and cupboard, a TV, and a bathroom. There is a large room that he can go to with visitors or just sit and enjoy the view.
We left him around six as he was exhausted and ready for a “long winter’s nap.”
The EMTs got there around 11 and he was finally loaded and on the road about 11:45. His Dad got to ride in the front of the ambulance and Barb followed behind in his car. They had to stop once for suctioning and another time to calm Jon and cool him down. He was overly warm and panicky due to the length of the ride.
He continued to be extra warm once in his new room and was practically stripped. I noticed that the thermostat was set at 77 and felt a little warm myself. A little unusual for hospitals!
We met all the principals of the staff--case manager, admissions gal, respiratory gal, nurses and the doctor in a constant flow of paperwork and duties. Jon’s in insolation for 72 hours to make sure he has not brought any new germs to the building which only means you have to wear a gown and gloves while in the room. By Monday they might have him up and out of the room. He will be learning to dress himself--I want to see that--no working fingers and one big halo! It appears that his days will be full of occupational therapy as well as respiratory therapy. The projected line of progression is talking trach, no trach and eating real food instead of a food through a tube. Barb’s carrot dangling is promising him that when he can eat, it will be apple pie, his favorite!
St. Francis is located in a wooded setting with a small lake and at least 6 white ducks. His room has a nice large window, a desk and cupboard, a TV, and a bathroom. There is a large room that he can go to with visitors or just sit and enjoy the view.
We left him around six as he was exhausted and ready for a “long winter’s nap.”
He's on his way!
Barb called at about 11:45 to say that Jon was loaded in the ambulance but they hadn't started out the drive yet but I think I can safely say that
"Jon has left the building!"
"Jon has left the building!"
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