# Mr. Shoe is in the hospital **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 12, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279 "2012-08-12T16:58:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/201 "2012-08-25T15:04:00Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > Well wishes as well. > > I’ve been checking the thread every day and hoping for you. > > It’s stuff like this that makes me yearn for production of this [lovely](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser) [product](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwyMuwNYKvI). That’s a real THING?!? :eek: 😃 His right lower lung is still no good. The pulmonologist (a different one this time - they work in teams) showed us the sequential progression - well, _ **re** _gression - on his lung X-rays from admittance until this morning. The left lung looks OK, but that right lower part is all cloudy (as opposed to dark i.e. filled with air) but he explained that they don’t want to suction too often because each time causes abrasions and further trauma, which can exacerbate the mucus further. Bah. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/202 "2012-08-25T20:12:31Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > Well wishes as well. > > I’ve been checking the thread every day and hoping for you. > > It’s stuff like this that makes me yearn for production of this [lovely](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser) [product](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwyMuwNYKvI). At my Mothers old house we could have used a dozen set up like the Navy’s CIWS. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/203 "2012-08-25T21:21:22Z")
{{{ **purplehorseshoe** }}} Lungs can be wonky and I’d say they don’t want to be too aggresive unless really necessary. He’s got a lot of things stuck in him and that’s uncomfortable, too. Is he getting some kind of pain meds and/or periodic sedation still? Sleep is a good escape. He could be having weird drug dreams, tho. You probably won’t know until later when he can tell you all about it. Keep telling him what’s going on; he may be forgetting from time to time. (I don’t know how groggy he is.) Slow and steady is good. “Marathon” is so right. He’ll have muscle weakness when he gets home…weak as a kitten for a while. You’ll get to wait on him to your heart’s content until he finally says Let ME do it—and you’ll know he’s getting better. 🙂 Wishing you all there as swiftly as possible. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/204 "2012-08-25T22:55:09Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Thanks for the kind words, Sarah, broomstick, flatlined, picu, whatsit, et al. \*\*I saw how long this rambling has been going and started to think I was being very grandiose and self-serving to keep re-bumping my own thread like this. \*\* > Oh, yeah, before I forget: your last post put a bit of a chill in me, **flatlined** , though that’s not at all your fault. **Shoe** is _stubborn_ if nothing else. When he was first admitted and starting to fade fast (and was having muscle weakness in his back and legs) he’d gotten it through his fool head that if he could just stand up and walk a few steps, he’d be allowed to go home. He kept trying to roll his legs over the side of the bed, not realizing - or acknowledging - that he would have collapsed before his second foot touched the floor. > > I’ve been afraid since I was there tonight that now he’s possibly internalized that if he can just \*\*not \*\*have to breathe through a machine’s tubes that he’ll be allowed to have ice water (and to go home!) and as tonight was the very first time his wrists have been untied I really really REALLY don’t want him to go yanking out his trach tube. May I be the first to tell you how silly you are being with the highlighted part? We care, if we don’t hear something, we will start nagging. Please keep us updated, OK? I’m sorry for worrying you. I was trying to be comforting. Now I’m worried about him yanking his trach tube out as well. I don’t know if this will comfort you much, but people can live with just one lung. AND…lungs recover. Remember all the public service ads about smoking that show lungs and how they can recover from the damage? More prayers and good thoughts on your way. ---
**Author:** ![slumtrimpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@slumtrimpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slumtrimpet)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/205 "2012-08-25T23:13:05Z")
Another stranger checking in to tell you there are good thoughts being sent your (and yours) way. Here’s hoping that the day you can reminisce about this chapter in your life comes sooner rather than later. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/206 "2012-08-25T23:24:16Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Thanks for the kind words, Sarah, broomstick, flatlined, picu, whatsit, et al. I saw how long this rambling has been going and started to think I was being very grandiose and self-serving to keep re-bumping my own thread like this. Please just get rid of that thought completely. As you can see from the view numbers, lots of people are keeping up with your husbands progress. Strangers from all over the world are keeping you and your husband in their thoughts. Post as often as you need to. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/207 "2012-08-26T02:30:47Z")
Thanks. Really. Roughly the same, but when we made noises about his thirst to a different orderly, he brought us ice water in a cup with this little toothbrush-sized sponge on a stick to go with it. **Shoe** was happy. The resp. tech said “give it to him three times” and his parents did, to his content, and then, when they left me alone with him for a few minutes, **I cheated like crazy** and gave him three or four more spongefuls, two of which had ice chips perched on top. _Crunch, cruch, **smile.** _ He kept breathing OK, didn’t sound raspy or gurgly, so I feel OK about cheating. I did, however, go to Catholic school long enough that giving a dying man a drink on a sponge on a stick has … connotations. Serious connotations. (Matthew 27:48 So one of the men ran off at once, took a sponge, and soaked it in some sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus a drink.) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/208 "2012-08-26T02:38:02Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > {{{ **purplehorseshoe** }}} > > Lungs can be wonky and I’d say they don’t want to be too aggresive unless really necessary. He’s got a lot of things stuck in him and that’s uncomfortable, too. Is he getting some kind of pain meds and/or periodic sedation still? Sleep is a good escape. He could be having weird drug dreams, tho. You probably won’t know until later when he can tell you all about it. Keep telling him what’s going on; he may be forgetting from time to time. (I don’t know how groggy he is.) Slow and steady is good. “Marathon” is so right. He’ll have muscle weakness when he gets home…weak as a kitten for a while. You’ll get to wait on him to your heart’s content until he finally says Let ME do it—and you’ll know he’s getting better. 🙂 Wishing you all there as swiftly as possible. Very, very groggy, probably not remembering much from hour to hour, let alone day to day. (I hope!) He is still receiving propofol to sedate him, plus a bit of morphine at night to help him sleep. However, he has been bitching about “being treated like a baby” since the night I brought him to the friggin’ ER in the first place, over two weeks ago. He is, I already know, going to be a BITCH of a therapy/rehab patient. I love him, but I know him. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/209 "2012-08-26T05:40:51Z")
Glad to hear that he got to have a (very small) drink, or at least have his mouth sufficiently cold and wet for a little while. Yay for the nice orderly. 🙂 Poor **Shoe**. He’ll probably be VERY determined to recover quickly - might not make him a _pleasant_ rehab patient, but he’ll probably be a successful one. Hope he continues to improve. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/210 "2012-08-26T18:06:25Z")
I hadn’t posted yet, but I’ve been following the whole thread and have been sending all sorts of positive things that direction. So, another stranger on the Internet caring, for what it’s worth. {{hugs}} ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/211 "2012-08-26T18:43:22Z")
[QUOTE=purplehorseshoe;15421640… I’m only awake and posting now because as I was lying down, congratulating myself on going to sleep early, _buzz buzz buzz_ **unknown local number** “… Hello … ?” Authoritative-sounding nurse identifies herself, says they were getting ready to move him down to the next floor for the scan and his oxygen numbers (saturation, etc) plummeted and he has _another_ mucus plug and they’re going in for another suctioning session. They’d already started giving him Mucinex to thin it but it either hasn’t kicked in yet or isn’t strong enough and am I okay with them starting the suctioning? Do they have my permission? Yes, YES, do what it takes to make him healthy and breathe better, yes, you have my permission. Yes. Yes.[/QUOTE] Huh??? they _phoned you_ to ask permission for doing what sounds like routine (for him) patient care??? Do they ask you if it’s OK to feed him or empty his bedpan??? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/212 "2012-08-26T18:58:44Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I did, however, go to Catholic school long enough that giving a dying man a drink on a sponge on a stick has … connotations. Serious connotations. (Matthew 27:48 So one of the men ran off at once, took a sponge, and soaked it in some sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus a drink.) Yes, the connotation that it’s been a way to give water to people who have problems drinking since forever. Crosses aren’t a requirement 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/213 "2012-08-26T23:28:26Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Please just get rid of that thought completely. As you can see from the view numbers, lots of people are keeping up with your husbands progress. Strangers from all over the world are keeping you and your husband in their thoughts. Post as often as you need to. Not to mention that many of us have kept similar vigil. We’re happy to be part of your support system. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/214 "2012-08-27T00:48:53Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Huh??? they _phoned you_ to ask permission for doing what sounds like routine (for him) patient care??? Do they ask you if it’s OK to feed him or empty his bedpan??? Not really routine. Sending a scope and a suction tube down his bronchial tubes is relatively invasive, and could actually cause further mucus production by irritating the linings. Not sure, however, what they would have done if they couldn’t reach me, or if I’d said “no.” :dubious: Third time seems to have been the charm, though. He’s been starting “spontaneous” breathing assistance, meaning he’s still got the trach tube and is hooked up to oxygen, but HE has to initiate each breath. He did that well for a couple of hours yesterday, and today they had already switched him over to that again when we visited at noon and he was STILL initiating his own breathing when we came back at 5. 🙂 And was sound asleep when we left. Plus, they are starting to make initial noises about possible thinking about maybe starting to plan for the possibility that he could be moved out of the ICU this week or early next week, and into a therapy facility. The same doctor who gave us, factually and honestly, the bad news that horrible Sunday two weeks ago exactly used the phrase “cautiously optimistic” today. 😛 No idea when he’ll come home, let alone be able to work, but for now, at least, I can banish nightmares of widowhood from my mind. Mostly. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/215 "2012-08-27T01:43:18Z")
Yay…sounds like good news. Keep it coming, purplehorseshoe! -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/216 "2012-08-27T01:59:11Z")
This is great news. Sending out more positive thoughts! ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/217 "2012-08-27T02:36:52Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > “cautiously optimistic” Hooray! That’s excellent news! Here’s hoping that he’s out of the ICU by the end of the week. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/218 "2012-08-27T02:54:49Z")
I’m so glad to hear the cautiously optimistic news!😃 Hoping everything continues to improve and he’s none the worse for wear once it’s over. Also hoping that him being out of work isn’t going to be too terribly hard for you guys and that if it is, you’ll reach out for what you need. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/219 "2012-08-27T03:09:06Z")
I am reading this thread and hoping for a quick recovery for him. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279/220 "2012-08-27T03:12:54Z")
I’m so glad to hear he’s making progress. Even though it seems like a snail’s pace, it’s still progress. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-shoe-is-in-the-hospital/631279.md?page=12)