10 am 4/8/06 -- Good News and Good News
Good News: Aunt Edith has been discharged from the hospital and is now in a very nice rehab facility. It's just a 10 minute drive from Rick's house so that will be his 'second home' for a while... then Edith will come to live with Rick and Anthony after she is discharged from there. Rick and Anthony had some major battles with the physician, hospital, and the people at Humana Gold before this great victory was won. The hospital just wanted to dump her on the street, they didn't care; Humana wasn't going to pay them any more so they just wanted her out. The physician wanted her to be put in an awful place that was not a rehab facility at all, but a place where he earned a fee for placements. Besides that, it was filthy and the patient care was very obviously lacking. Rick and Anthony found a place that has a brand new rehab area; it's clean and well kept, and the patients there are obviously cared for with compassion and professionalism. She says she slept well last night in her new bed, and this morning did all her exercises -- they even had her climb steps!! If anyone wants to telephone her, there is a phone beside her bed, you can call 816-479-7019 to speak directly to her.
More good news: Dad (Tom) has been weaned off most of his tubes and lines, and they have decreased dramatically his pain medications, in preparation of waking him up. After removal of one of the lines, his fever went down and he is appearing to be able to fight the infection better... cultures are being done on the lines to see if one of them was the origin of the infection. He is still on the respirator and is still having problems with the sinus rhythm of his heart, but there is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. His toes are black from lack of circulation and a nitroglycerine paste has been applied to help open the capillaries and get some circulation going there. His fingers, which had been headed in the same direction, have got better color and circulation in them now, though. Dialysis continues. His liver is still having problems. There is also a question about gallstones now. But if his breathing and heart rate can stabilize, most of the other problems will self-resolve it is hoped. So keep praying, we are not out of the woods, but it seems we have at least found the correct path through the woods.
More good news: Dad (Tom) has been weaned off most of his tubes and lines, and they have decreased dramatically his pain medications, in preparation of waking him up. After removal of one of the lines, his fever went down and he is appearing to be able to fight the infection better... cultures are being done on the lines to see if one of them was the origin of the infection. He is still on the respirator and is still having problems with the sinus rhythm of his heart, but there is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. His toes are black from lack of circulation and a nitroglycerine paste has been applied to help open the capillaries and get some circulation going there. His fingers, which had been headed in the same direction, have got better color and circulation in them now, though. Dialysis continues. His liver is still having problems. There is also a question about gallstones now. But if his breathing and heart rate can stabilize, most of the other problems will self-resolve it is hoped. So keep praying, we are not out of the woods, but it seems we have at least found the correct path through the woods.
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