I’m still sending prayers. And wondering if I’m the only one who signed my rl name to the card I sent. Somehow, I didn’t think that I should use my screen name…
Lynn has graciously declined my request because she is at least 30 miles from the Shoes and has no idea which cleaning companies are good or even in the same area. If anyone else is able to do this, please speak up
I hope that everything is going well, and that you are able to rest up some today. I agree with Carnut…take care of yourself and Mr Shoe first. We probably won’t talk about you behind your back. Much.
Thanks, d/a. He’s in OK spirits today. Right lower lung is still a cloudy mess on his X-ray but otherwise he seems relatively allright. He’s been sipping at water, ice chips [del]I may have snuck in some iced tea, and mineral water with citrus juice[/del] and was futzing with his TV remote when I left tonight. He even lifted an arm to give me a half-hug when I was saying goodnight…
He has a new respiratory tech on his case who has some new ideas about possible ways to help clear out his lungs. She’s brought in this big percussive wand thingy to run over his lungs, and this morning tried doing that while keeping his bed tilted head-down so he was at almost 30 degrees, to get stuff moving up and out of his lung lobes. They’ll do that again a couple of times today; he did say he felt crud moving after the initial treatment this morning, and the nurse suctioned a bunch of gross thick stuff up afterwards as well.
He hasn’t had a fever in three full days, so they’re hoping that the adjusted antibiotic regimen is working …
(On the less-rosy side, I’m pissed as &*#$ at his mother for telling my mother where he is. I want nothing to do with her, HE wants nothing to do with her, and he sure as shit made it clear he doesn’t want her visiting. Dammit, woman, why must you be so spineless? My mother knows perfectly well that if she can’t weasel out what she wants to know from me that she can just do an end run and call his mom, and the cat’s out of the bag now. Grrrumph.)
Not so cool. Find your favorite nurse and let her know that Your Mother is persona non grata, not to be given information, including his room number. Yeah, yeah, HIIPA is supposed to prevent them from talking, but people are people, and if she says “my son-in-law” they might gab. Give 'em a heads up, and they’ll turn the place into a fortress for you.
Good to hear he has a new lung treatment that might work. Glad to hear he has enough energy to give you a hug, albeit one-armed.
Sorry to hear about your mom. I have gotten in trouble with my own mother for letting the cat out of the bag to her siblings before her initial cancer treatment 15 years ago. But she never told me not to tell them either.
Yay!! While I’ve never had a lung issue nearly as serious as Schmoopie has been going through lately, when I’m having a bad asthma flare it just seems like there’s so much crud clogging the lungs, that I just CANNOT bring up. And as vile as the gunk is, it’s sooooo satisfying to finally hork it up!!
I’d heard of percussion vests (that people with CF use multiple times a day), the wand thingy sounds like pretty much the same concept.
Are they doing any kind of treatments to help thin the crud? Again vaguely remembering CF treatments (inhaled saline? something else?) which I think aim to add moisture to the mucus and make it easier to get rid of.
He’s on massive doses of Mucinex, Mama Zappa, along with steroids that are, I believe, supposed to suppress and thin secretions as well. And yes, the wand thingy is a hand-held version of the percussion vest.
His legs are quite swollen and he says they’re sore. The doc says one of his antibiotics that he’s been on for a while now was causing kidney problems - hence, the swelling - so they’ve discontinued that particular antibiotic and given him some diuretics for the swelling. Part of the new treatment is percussive bed-shaking, every two hours. And I do mean every two hours. One in the morning? Bed shaking. Three in the morning? Another percussion treatment. So he is one tired puppy. On top of that, he’s been tube-fed for weeks now, which, I am told, means he feels constantly hungry even though his nutritional needs are being met, because he never has a tummy full of satisfying protein etc. So, in conclusion: he is underslept, in pain, and hungry. In other words, he is a very unhappy camper.
I swear, as soon as he’s approved to have clear liquids I’m gonna simmer up the richest, nommiest, most gelatin-rich chicken broth that ever was simmered.
When I was tube fed I did not feel hunger. I often felt cravings, but not hunger. After a while, you just want to *feel *something in your mouth, *taste *something, *experience *something normal…
Currently, my esophagus goes straight into my small intestine, so food never gets to my stomach. After a few bites, most days I feel full. Then in a half hour, I’m hungry again. IOW, I’m not convinced that the stomach is the main control of hunger.
Poor guy :(. The severely interrupted sleep is just the icing on the “I feel like hell” cake, isn’t it.
Make that soup now, so you have it at the ready when he needs it (it freezes well). Also, if you’ve got a good pho restaurant near you, they’ll often sell you plain broth (I do that whenever I have to go on clear liquids for a day).
What are the criteria for when he may have clear liquids? Does he have to wait until the trach comes out or something?
I agree it sounds like the chest percussion that is a part of postural drainage treatments for CF. If it works, then great!
CF patients are often prescribed DNAse inhaler treatments. Lung mucus secretions have a lot of DNA from dead bacteria and the DNA strands become entangled. The enzyme chops up the DNA and thins out the mucus to make it easier to cough up.
DNAse is safe in normal (ie non-cystic fibrosis) patients. I am definitely not a doctor and cannot prescribe!
Second on letting the nurses and admin staff know about your mother. Aside from HIPAA, nurses tend to get protective of their patients. If they all know the situation, she won’t have much luck getting to him.
Or, worst case, if his mom actually gave out the room number (!), you can have her thrown out if she shows up. They’ll be happy to handle that for you.
Now that he’s moved to a regular room, I recommend decorations.
Put something up on the walls, hospital walls are incredibly dreary. Either pick up some favorite pix/prints from your place, or get posters that you think he’d like. Get some of those removable sticky tabs and tape and such so you won’t hurt the paint.
Wrap ribbons around anything that you can find. Blow up balloons and make chandeliers. Hang stuffed animals from the ceiling.
The point is to make it silly and cheerful and non-institutional. I’ve done this for several patients who were going to be in hospital for several days and it really helps improve the attitude. Nurses often came down to the rooms to hang out for a few minutes, just because it made them giggle.
ETA: this is also a terrific activity for people who want to help but don’t know what to do. Send them to the store for decorations and let them help hang things up.
That is some freaky sci-fi sounding shit! :eek: I know that he’s receiving vapor treatments that are hooked up to his vent. If I were to ask about this stuff, how would I pronounce it so I don’t sound like an idiot? “DeeEhnAisiee” ?
I haven’t brought up my mother with the nurses yet since I didn’t want to somehow cause a problem for anyone else who wanted to visit. I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon, though, and “don’t let my mother-in-law in here” must be a fairly common request from patients, so hopefully it wouldn’t interfere if his high school buddy dropped by. Right … ?
I’ll keep your suggestion in mind, redtail, but for now he’s in the ICU and in an isolation room. You’re right about the dreariness, though. What is it, a requirement for medical facilities to be painted the most gawdawful shades of beige?
but otherwise he seems relatively allright. He’s been sipping at water, ice chips [del]I may have snuck in some iced tea, and mineral water with citrus juice[/del] and was futzing with his TV remote when I left tonight. He even lifted an arm to give me a half-hug when I was saying goodnight…