Coming Home

The physical therapist at the rehab center told DH yesterday that he thought DH would be released on November 7 and come home! Excitement! Happiness! Pleasure! It will be so good to have him home!

Every day in physical therapy he is increasing his strength and endurance. He is walking up a full flight of stairs in the rehab and walking down a full flight of stairs. That means he will have no difficulty getting around our bi-level home.

We have discovered that the type of walker that we have at home is not going to be the design that the therapist recommends. Another walker will have to be purchased. I am fairly sure that the insurance will pay for it.

Last night I delivered the next installment of t-shirts to DH. Everyone in rehab has been commenting on the different shirts he wears so I brought some different ones to him. It is a way to get him and the people around to interact. This is probably the hardest change that has taken place in his life since he was disabled. There has to be something he can be involved in that will continue this interaction. MIL and I have told him over and over to "get a hobby", but this is difficult because he has always been a worker and had very little play in his life other than his gun collection and scuba diving. Each of these are very expensive to support so with our financial circumstances being what they are these are not a possibility. We are going to have to work harder on this.

Again I must thank all of you for your prayers for DH. I believe that you and others who have prayed made a miracle happen.

Moving On

DH continues to recover day by day. It is incredible to see the progress that he is making. I think his return home this week is a little aggressive, but hope to have him home by November 7. The dogs really miss him and spend as much time with me and as close as possible. I miss him too, but at least I get to visit him.

Last night we were talking about his driving and I told him that if he continued the way he is going and our family doctor agrees, I would be willing to be his passenger when he drives. He asked me when I started being worried about his driving and I had to think, but sometime in May he started to be more of a worry about driving for me. I hope he can get his driving privileges back. He would be much happier.

That is all for today. Please continue to pray for caregivers, dementia patients and their families.

Moving forward

DH is really making strides in his physical therapy. At this rate they may send him home much sooner that we had expected. His only requirement will be handling the steps in the bi-level we live in and taking care of the dogs while I am at work.

Last night he said that I had aged a year since he gotten ill. If he only knew how much this has taken out of me. I am exhausted all the time. Even with a good night sleep, I am still running on empty. Thank God we have the week in Gatlinburg coming up. I need the R&R very much and to be able to spend it with DH will be an added bonus.

I just got an e-mail from my sister-in-law from my first marriage. She has adopted two young children from Liberia. She and her husband are missionaries. She is also looking after the 3 children her daughter has as DD is pregnant and having a hard row to hoe this time. This is the SIL that everyone thought was a yahoo. She has turned out to be a very wonderful woman.

Just wanted to post an update.

Bless all of you for your continuing prayers.

Getting better every day

DH was up and sitting in the chair when I got to the hospital yesterday. Each day when I visit I see progress. I see a positive attitude and a total connection with the world around him. Today will be the first day of real physical therapy. Friday he was having low blood pressure because of the number of days flat in his bed. Today will be different, I know!

I am slowly getting back to a more even keel myself. I actually did some work around the house this weekend. Not nearly enough to catch up with where I was when DH got so sick, but a little bit that hadn't been done.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. Prayer does work and you have proven it!

You would not believe the difference

DH is in a quality hospital/rehab center and within 15 minutes of arriving his entire attitude and well being changed. Instead of being sick he was recovering. The difference was amazing. The people at the new location care. They were on top of the meds immediately and had no trouble going over the meds and dosages. They haven't missed a single dose or had the incorrect amount. I truly believe the other place was selling drugs that should have gone to the patients!

DH is in therapy right now. The therapist that evaluated him yesterday afternoon had him walking up and down the hall with a walker and indicated that DH was not to spend much time in bed. DH must be walking or sitting in a chair, instead of vegging in the bed. Hooray! Finally someone who knows and cares about recovery.

DH is sharper than he has been in weeks. We discussed his reaction to the treatment he has received since the ambulance ride. Initially he was angry when he realized that we had put him on a ventilator. He was the one to make the decision to turn off the machines when his father was so ill. He never wanted to be hooked up to machines. Now a few days later he realizes that we made a decision based on the background of his wishes. He also knows that in the future all factors will be taken into consideration before any medical intervention is done. That he wants DNR under extreme circumstances I understand and will follow, but if he can recover the way he is now, intervention will occur.

We are going to Gatlinburg for a week in early November. He is excited about it. He is already making plans on locations he wants to visit. This is an excellent sign. I am so happy and relieved that these two weeks are over and at the same time these two weeks have brought us closer together. Not a nice way to make a marriage stronger, but stronger our marriage is.

Thanks for the prayers. Please continue to pray for all who need prayers. It doesn't matter what your religious background is, you have a entity that you believe in even if it is only a "High Power" and your prayers are heard.

Getting out of that ____ hole

Today DH will be getting out of his current rehab and into a quality facility. Last night they didn't give DH his pain medication and then lied. He said this morning he could tell the difference once they gave him the morning dose. I am going to find out the process for filing a complaint with the government about this rehab/rest home facility. There are going to be some heads rolling!

I will take some FMLA time to make sure the move goes well.

Thank you again for all the prayers and continue to pray for all patients who have dementia. It is a scary time for them as they loose contact with everything they remember.

Transfer approved

DH will be transferred from the rehab center to the hospital/rehab center tomorrow. I think the people at the current center are in a tizzy. Maybe they have never had a patient transferred away from them before. They seem to think that we are mis-treating them when the shoe is on the other foot. I hope that they learn to properly treat their patients in the future. We may have been the first to complain about the treatment. If they keep it up we won't be the last.

Thank you for your prayers!

Getting better every day

DH is getting stronger everyday. I still have not been able to get him out of the present rehab facility. They still haven't gotten all his meds and he has been there for three and a half days. How unprofessional.

DH is back to normal. Minor short term memory problems and no other evidence of dementia. I really believe that the symptoms the last six weeks were him getting ill and not the dementia. This is very good news as far as I am concerned. I thought dementia was going to take him rapidly. Now I think I will have him around for a much longer time.

Prayers going out from me to all of you reading my blog. Thank you for your prayers for all caregivers and dementia patients.

Update on Rehab facility

Last night while I was visiting DH he was given his pain meds. I asked to look at the dispensing cup and discovered an 80 mg pain med, but no 20 mg pain med. The nurse said "Oops, I forgot it". Then they brought additional evening meds and his anxiety med was 1/2 the dosage he is supposed to get.

The head nurse and I went over the list of med they have copied (by hand) from the list (printed) of meds from the hospital and the discrepancy is unbelievable. They are missing at least 8 meds and have wrong doses on several more. This is unacceptable!

DH went to physical therapy yesterday for the first time. The facility has very old weight machines or else the maintenance is poor. He was working on his arm muscles and the ROPE that lifts the weights broke. A ROPE????? I have phone calls into our doctor and the admissions office at the local hospital that is well known for rehab. I hope to get DH transferred asap.

DH is much more alert and involved in his care and his surroundings. I think that this illness was in progress for a long time and we thought it was the dementia. I want a really good analysis of his actual dementia symptoms. We cannot let an infection or illness happen again and just pass it off as dementia!

Bless all of you and keep praying for everyone you know who is facing physical issues. Prayers can make miracles happen.

Rehab

I do not like the rehab facility that DH is in. I am trying to get him moved.

He is not getting his medications in a timely manner and they are lying about what meds he is getting. The housekeeping is bad and a breathing treatment that should last about 1/2 hour is being left on for two or more hours.

DH is definitely lucid! He is aware of what is going around him. However, he still have short term memory loss. I have to make sure that his communication is accurate before I act on it.

This illness may have been a fortunate experience. We have learned a lot about his care and treatment. Also we have learned warning signs and symptoms to be looking for so that this does not happen again.

God is so good to us. He heaps blessings on us when we least expect them.

God bless you and keep you. Please continue to pray for dementia patients, their families and friends and caregivers. Thank you.

DH has been transferred to Rehab

DH is settling in to rehab in a private room. He will have no physical therapy until Monday. Tonight we will be choosing his menu for the next seven days. What fun! He is a picky eater.

He seems quite upbeat and happy right now. That is a good sign. Never before has he agreed to go to rehab when it was recommended. Also, he has never felt as weak and almost defeated as he does now.

We continue on the road of recovery from this illness knowing that there is another road that parallels us and that is the dementia.

Keep praying. God hears all prayers and knows all hopes and concerns.

DH is much better

DH is symptom free. He has beaten the pneumonia, the staff infection and his kidneys are back to his baseline level. He is still very weak.

DH will be transferred to a rehab facility in Cincinnati today. His doctor expects him to be there for two weeks. It is further away from our home and I will only be able to visit in the evening. The important this is that DH is getting better! Thank you for all your prayers.

Yesterday evening DH seemed a little disoriented. He was talking about things I had never heard him discuss before. I don't know if it is the dementia or not. I do not know exactly what the rehab facility will be ordered to do, but I hope a full dementia exam will be part of it. DH's doctor had talked about it four weeks ago. We will have to see what is ordered.

I made a friend while DH was in ICU. Her name is Carol. Her husband is very ill with congestive heart failure and pulmonary failure. I met her as I was walking into the hospital today and she indicated that she thought he had taken a turn for the worse overnight. Please pray for Carol as she goes through loosing a husband of close to 50 years.

Please continue to pray for family members of dementia patients and the patients themselves. It is hard to see a loved one loose there memory. It is harder to see them realize that it is happening and there is no reversal. God bless you and have a wonderful weekend.

Geting Better

DH is slowly getting better. He has not run a temperature since Saturday and is doing well breathing on his own. They will be getting him out of bed for a short time today.

MIL is coming to visit for the day. A family member will be driving her up from home to the hospital. We expect then around noon. MIL is not in good health herself, but she is managing. I am sure that DH being very ill has not been good for her.

I am getting as much sleep as I can, but this has taken a lot out of me too. I know that DH will not be coming directly home, but going to a rehab facility not too far from our home. He is very weak and will need some assistance that I cannot give him for the first few days after he is released from the hospital.

Please continue to pray for all dementia patients and their families.

Update

We have been through a very rough weekend. Friday morning I called 911 and the ambulance took DH to the hospital. He had a temperature of 104 and his kidneys were shutting down. He had a very bad infection and pneumonia. We almost lost him.

At 10 Friday morning they put him on a ventilator and started massive antibiotics and other medications to jump start his kidneys. He was still delirious and not communicating.

Friday evening they had to sedate him because he was trying to remove the tubes from the ventilator. He was communicating and indicating anxiety and confusion. He slept all day Saturday and Sunday as they decreased the amount of oxygen he was on and he started assisting the ventilator.

This morning they changed his sedation medication and started to ween him off. At 10:30 they took him off the ventilator and he was talking a little. We have him on the road to recovery.

He will have to go from the hospital to rehab for a period. I am not sure when he will be returning home.

Please continue to pray for all caregivers and dementia patients. Thank you.

Ask for help

Last night was even worse. We almost didn't make it into the bedroom and then I had to totally undress DH and put him in bed. He was not really able to communicate when I got him in bed and I almost called 911.

This morning I had to dress him, wash his face and oversee his breakfast and pills. I have been crying ever since.

I just called our doctor and they are going to see about getting more help for me. Adult day care is a possibility, but getting DH out of the house may be more than I can physically do. My right knee is getting worse every day, but I cannot have surgery at this time.

My MIL called last night and was very upset. She asked what is wrong with Jimmy. I told her he was having a bad day and it was caused by the dementia. She was crying.

Pray for all of us. We need every prayer you can make, please.

Home for lunch

Today I went home at lunch to check on DH. He is not doing well. He could not stay awake between bites of sandwich or answer questions. I will be going straight home after work to be his care-giver.

Bless you

Lucid or not

Last evening was the hardest so far. DH had taken his pills out of order and I had to almost carry him on my shoulders down the hall to bed. I had to undress him and put on his CPAP. This is almost beyond my abilities. When he was getting up this morning he asked why I didn't just let him sleep in the recliner in the living room. That may be a solution.

After a long conversation with my daughter we decided that James can no longer be left at home alone over night. This is the end of my retreats. We agreed that one night a week after supper I can justify going to a guild meeting or neighborhood quilt group. I may rejoin the knitting group at my church ocassionally on weeks when my quilt groups do not meet. I do need some time away from home that is not at work.

My schedule is undergoing a drastic change in that I will have to make sure that DH has his breakfast and morning pills before I leave for work. Fortunately I live near work so I can go home at lunch and make sure he eats and takes his noon meds. Then straight home after work, unless there is grocery shopping to do. This seems such a slight thing to do for DH. Many would consider it a major chore. I find the more I do for him the more I love him.

DD doesn't understand the concept of respite. She cannot differentiate between being responsible right now and having someone else take care of DH while I am away relaxing and still worrying, but not responsible. She will be a verbal support, but that is all she can offer.

I hope we are not close to the next step of Adult Day Care. We are only eligible for two days a week at no cost. The other three will be our financial responsibility and I do not think we can find it in our budget.

Please continue to pray for all Alzheimer and other dementia patients and their care-givers.

Nothing good to report

Yesterday DH tried to work on his car. At the end of the day he indicated that he had done too much.

Last night I helped him down the hall to the bedroom. As he was removing his jeans he fell hard onto his left hip and shoulder. It was difficult to get him up off the floor.

Today he seems a little confused. I don't know if he is going down to another level of not being involved with the world around him. He seems to be drifting.

Still waiting for the doctor to call me back. I need some direction.

Bless you and keep you safe for another day.

Latest changes

DH is becoming paranoid. He thinks that the doctor and I are out to get him. He has found another gun in the house that I did not know about. He has given his word that he will not drive, but I am not sure how much longer he can be trusted to keep his word. He is more unsteady on his feet.
Please pray for all care-givers and victims of dementia.