We took the kids to go see Vernell yesterday afternoon.... it does a grandma good to see her grandbabies. She was pretty clear minded and we got to spend some time talking with her.
When we got her settled at rehab on Friday evening we made sure to have a conversation with the nurse to be SURE they are fully aware of her special diet. The paperwork that came with her from the hospital indicated that she is on a mechanical soft diet... grrrrr.... we had to explain that she is on a strict pureed diet. While visiting with her yesterday, Vernell told us that they have been sending her a regular food tray... uh, are you all trying to get her sent back to the hosptial?? Maybe we are too hyper-vigilent about her diet, but we KNOW what works for her. She spent from January through April this year going in and out of the hospital with gastrointestinal problems and we worked really hard to find a diet that keeps her from having vomiting issues. The medical staff really has no idea how very ill the worng foods can make her.
She had physical therapy on Saturday. She couldn't really give us many details other than she felt really dizzy.
So we are now waiting for the director of nursing, Kathy Wheeler, to see Vernell and compare how she is doing now compared to her last visit at rehab. We talked to Kathy this morning and she is going to talk with Vernell today. We are hoping for her honest opinion...
We still see such a different picture with Vernell than we did 3 weeks ago. She could get up on her own and walk with her walker (and one of us with her to monitor for safety), she could sit up in bed, we would fix her meals but she was completely able to eat on her own, she could walk to get to the bathroom and use the toilet, she wa able to dress herself and maintain personal hygiene (she had a cna for showers twice a week).
Upon seeing her yesterday, she still cannot sit up on her own ( no core strength), she is needing assistance to eat her meals, she cannot get out of bed. They took out her catheter and now she is having trouble feeling when she needs to pee. It is so hard to see her like this and she would probably skin me if she ever found out how many details I am sharing. I am not trying to steal her dignity... I am tryng to keep her loved ones current on her true condition. I am sharing everything we know as we know it. Some of our questions we are tryng get answered are: if she works her butt off in therapy, how much better can she expect to get; what quality of life can she expect; is she more sick than we are being told; how do we know when her body is just wearing out; what is her prognosis considering all of her diagnosis... (sigh) We will let you know when we get some answers.
No comments:
Post a Comment